Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th

[Aidymac]

[TABLE=class: couponTable, width: 617]

[TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Manchester City v FC Barcelona (19:45 GMT)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.75[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.7[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.12[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]100.86 %[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

[kevshat]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th 5pts Over 2.5 goals 3/4 Boylesports These two met at this stage of last season’s competition and Barcelona won both matches on their way to the quarter final but the first leg was heavily influenced by a red card to Martin Demichelis else things could have been a lot different. Barcelona won that match 2-0 but I sense this will be higher scoring. I believe Man City had regrets after the tie last year for not ever really going for Barcelona and I don’t think they’ll let that happen again and defensively I’m not convinced Barcelona aren’t more there for the taking here. City definitely are weaker defensively so over 2.5 goals looks good here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/man-city-vs-barcelona-betting-eagerly-awaited-first-leg-can-live-up-to-the-hype

[Simeon Borisof]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th I remember a few years ago a CL final where skills and the beauty of the game met the pure power and the insanity of running all over the field.Guess who won that final?Yes,that was Barcelona beating UTD but that could easily be the case here too.Both teams had different weekends with City destroying Newcastle while Barca suffered a humiliating defeat at home to an out of form team just before a CL participation.Anyhow,this cannot fool us because just before that game the roles were reversed with City struggling for goals and results and Barca dominating every fixture scoring plenty.I think Barca will dominate the possession from the outset with City running after them trying to take the ball.Barca will calm down the tempo,orchestrating the game.I don't like Pellegrini at all and i think he will be replaced after the season.He tries to apply the Spanish way of playing to an UK side who are usually physically dictating the games and are not that technically gifted.It's just not working well for them.After City managing to get through the group stages at last,they are amongst the big boys now and will be threatened like one of them,although they will look like scared girls after Barca are done with them.I am not sure that will happen in UK but if the result leaves them in the game(something like 1:1,1:2)they are gonna get crushed in Spain.They are not a Euro fighter and can only make difference in the EPL.I don't like Enrique at all either and if Barca don't win a trophy this season he will be a goner as well.This game could be a close affair but @ odds against i can't miss them for sure.My bet:Barca to win @ 2.1.Barca over 2.5 team goals @ 3.75,Correct Score 1:3 @ 15 all with bet365.GL! No offence guys!

[vasilli07]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th Yaya Toure will be out because of suspension. Without him, I like Barca to win here.

[sajtion]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th if this game is without at least 4 goals at the end of ninety minutes i will be disappointed. i expect to see some goals from the best forward players in the world. neither side is great defensively so 3,4,5 goal could bring in profit

[vasilli07]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th

if this game is without at least 4 goals at the end of ninety minutes i will be disappointed. i expect to see some goals from the best forward players in the world. neither side is great defensively so 3' date='4,5 goal could bring in profit[/quote'] Last season meetings only ended with only 2 goals and 3 goals in 1st and 2nd leg respectively.

[nicko]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th 4 of the world's finest strikers in City tonight, and some great midfielders as well. It will be a surprise if it is a low-scoring affair. Over 2,5 Goals at 1,725 with bet365, medium to high stake. GL

[GrandaddyCrunk]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th

Yaya Toure will be out because of suspension. Without him' date=' I like Barca to win here.[/quote'] I just want to point out that although City have a poor record in the recent games without Toure, I'm not sure how much that applies here. City's primary problem without Toure is that he is a driver of their comprehensive attacks. In the Premier League, 9/10 games will have the opposition bunkering up against them, and then when Toure does not play they find it hard to break such teams down. When he is there, they are obviously much better at that. However, Barcelona is the last team in the world that is going to come to the Etihad and park the bus. City's attackers will find more space going forward than they would against say Hull, and Fernando, while not a factor in the attack, will not be that big a downgrade on Toure defensively, which is important against this Barcelona attack. I think it is hard to ignore the fact that they miss Toure - at this point it may even be a mental thing for the players, knowing they are without Toure might even put the idea of losing more in their heads - but I do think that the above is applicable and worth mentioning.

[Peitch]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th Both to score a banker here

[HastGill1]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th

Both to score a banker here

Need more reasoning please.

[Smurf]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th

I just want to point out that although City have a poor record in the recent games without Toure, I'm not sure how much that applies here. City's primary problem without Toure is that he is a driver of their comprehensive attacks. In the Premier League, 9/10 games will have the opposition bunkering up against them, and then when Toure does not play they find it hard to break such teams down. When he is there, they are obviously much better at that. However, Barcelona is the last team in the world that is going to come to the Etihad and park the bus. City's attackers will find more space going forward than they would against say Hull, and Fernando, while not a factor in the attack, will not be that big a downgrade on Toure defensively, which is important against this Barcelona attack. I think it is hard to ignore the fact that they miss Toure - at this point it may even be a mental thing for the players, knowing they are without Toure might even put the idea of losing more in their heads - but I do think that the above is applicable and worth mentioning.

I totally agree with you here about Toure not being as big of a miss as people think against a side like Barcelona. I actually think it's a blessing in disguise. I think if you have watched much of Man City over the last two season, not when they play live on sky sports, but week by week you will know that Toure while he has world class qualities he can be very lazy at defensive duties on strolls around the pitch with little to no effort in alot of games. The more his attacking qualities have developed over the last two years the more his defensive qualities and efforts have diminished. I personally think having a midfield three of Fernando, Fernandinho and Milner will be more effective against Barcelona as they will keep up high intensity all throughout the game which is what is needed against them. Especially with a likely front three of Nasri, Silva, Aguero. TBH I would actually like to see Lampard play over Nasri to give even more protection while still including a dangerous threat.

[HastGill1]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th

I just want to point out that although City have a poor record in the recent games without Toure, I'm not sure how much that applies here. City's primary problem without Toure is that he is a driver of their comprehensive attacks. In the Premier League, 9/10 games will have the opposition bunkering up against them, and then when Toure does not play they find it hard to break such teams down. When he is there, they are obviously much better at that. However, Barcelona is the last team in the world that is going to come to the Etihad and park the bus. City's attackers will find more space going forward than they would against say Hull, and Fernando, while not a factor in the attack, will not be that big a downgrade on Toure defensively, which is important against this Barcelona attack. I think it is hard to ignore the fact that they miss Toure - at this point it may even be a mental thing for the players, knowing they are without Toure might even put the idea of losing more in their heads - but I do think that the above is applicable and worth mentioning.

Think the problem is that without Toure they divert to the Fernando/Fernandinho combination that doesn't really work in home games, personally think they should start Lampard in this game with Milner alongside Fernandinho. For me they still don't have the required quality for these big games to provide adequate cover to the back 4. Barcelona will likely line-up as follows; -------------------------------MAtS--------------------------------- -Alves--------------Piqué------------- Mascherano -------------Alba- ---------Rakitic--------------Busquets--------------Iniesta----------- ---------------Neymar ------Messi---------- Suárez------------------ They haven't turned in a decent team performance that often this season but the combined talents of MSN have seen them through. Iniesta is certainly on the decline, and I would expect him to get a lot less game time from next season onward, Busquets does a good job and Rakitic provides good cover and is the most all round midfielder they have, the combined talents they have in forward positions are obviously immense though and the above looks a pretty balanced line-up to me. City's line-up is certainly more difficult to guess, they have 3 main positions where it could be one or the other player - Zabaleta/Sagna, Mangala/Demichelis, and Milner/Navas. More likely line-up for me is; ---------------------------------Hart--------------------------------- -Sagna---------------Kompany------------Mangala-------------Clichy- -----------------------Fernando-------Fernandinho------------------- -------------------------------Milner--------------------------------- -------------Silva-------------------------------Nasri----------------- -------------------------------Aguero-------------------------------- Think the problems for City will be the same as they had last year in the first leg where the striker (in that case Negredo) was pretty isolated and the side where overrun in midfield. You could certainly argue that Barca's midfield then was better than it is now though as they had Fabregas alongside an in form Iniesta and Xavi. City defended well for large periods of the game last year but Demichelis's lack of pace and Messi's ability to time a run changed the game - and indeed the tie - in the second half. I'm not sure City have the weapons to take the game to Barcelona, they get caught on the counter at home frequently by sides like Burnley and Stoke in EPL so I'm sure Barca will get through them. As slow as Demichelis is, Mangala is error-prone and Kompany isn't on top form this season. The change of tactics from City suggested by the players and Pelle will be understandable as they performed better in the games when they played on the front foot but Barca are very cunning and I see them dominating possession and Aguero getting isolated as Nasri and Silva have to come back to help the overworked midfield. Won't be a big play for me but with the £50 and the £50 free bet on bet365 I will be on Barca. Barcelona - 2.1 - bet365

[Rhoads]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th I hope Pellegrini will not ruin the chances of Manchester City here as he did last season, using a defensive formation. Manchester City have to play offensively as they always used to be at the home matches, starting with Agüero - Dzeko up-front, behind them Nasri - Silva and perhaps Navas. World's best offensive players will be in Manchester tonight and I'd really like to see a great game between these two teams. So, I am not placing a pre-game bet in this one until I see the starting 11's.

[mfryta]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th I Think it might be under 2,5 just bcoz 99% of the bets will be for over. Thats my only reasoning.

[MPLouis]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th Manchester City XI: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany ©, Demichelis, Clichy, Fernando, Milner, Nasri, Silva, Dzeko, Aguero. Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen, Pique, Rakitic, Sergio, Iniesta, Suarez, Messi, Neymar, Mascherano, J.Alba, Alves.

[MPLouis]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th Two attacking line-ups?

[HastGill1]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th

Think the problem is that without Toure they divert to the Fernando/Fernandinho combination that doesn't really work in home games, personally think they should start Lampard in this game with Milner alongside Fernandinho. For me they still don't have the required quality for these big games to provide adequate cover to the back 4. Barcelona will likely line-up as follows; -------------------------------MAtS--------------------------------- -Alves--------------Piqué------------- Mascherano -------------Alba- ---------Rakitic--------------Busquets--------------Iniesta----------- ---------------Neymar ------Messi---------- Suárez------------------ They haven't turned in a decent team performance that often this season but the combined talents of MSN have seen them through. Iniesta is certainly on the decline, and I would expect him to get a lot less game time from next season onward, Busquets does a good job and Rakitic provides good cover and is the most all round midfielder they have, the combined talents they have in forward positions are obviously immense though and the above looks a pretty balanced line-up to me. City's line-up is certainly more difficult to guess, they have 3 main positions where it could be one or the other player - Zabaleta/Sagna, Mangala/Demichelis, and Milner/Navas. More likely line-up for me is; ---------------------------------Hart--------------------------------- -Sagna---------------Kompany------------Mangala-------------Clichy- -----------------------Fernando-------Fernandinho------------------- -------------------------------Milner--------------------------------- -------------Silva-------------------------------Nasri----------------- -------------------------------Aguero-------------------------------- Think the problems for City will be the same as they had last year in the first leg where the striker (in that case Negredo) was pretty isolated and the side where overrun in midfield. You could certainly argue that Barca's midfield then was better than it is now though as they had Fabregas alongside an in form Iniesta and Xavi. City defended well for large periods of the game last year but Demichelis's lack of pace and Messi's ability to time a run changed the game - and indeed the tie - in the second half. I'm not sure City have the weapons to take the game to Barcelona, they get caught on the counter at home frequently by sides like Burnley and Stoke in EPL so I'm sure Barca will get through them. As slow as Demichelis is, Mangala is error-prone and Kompany isn't on top form this season. The change of tactics from City suggested by the players and Pelle will be understandable as they performed better in the games when they played on the front foot but Barca are very cunning and I see them dominating possession and Aguero getting isolated as Nasri and Silva have to come back to help the overworked midfield. Won't be a big play for me but with the £50 and the £50 free bet on bet365 I will be on Barca. Barcelona - 2.1 - bet365 WIN

Dzeko started ahead of Fernando which proved to be a poor move as City never took the game to Barca and got outnumbered in midfield as expected. Scoreline was tighter than the play deserved but Barca almost certainly through..they looked light years ahead of City in most areas.

[Simeon Borisof]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th

I remember a few years ago a CL final where skills and the beauty of the game met the pure power and the insanity of running all over the field.Guess who won that final?Yes' date=that was Barcelona beating UTD but that could easily be the case here too.Both teams had different weekends with City destroying Newcastle while Barca suffered a humiliating defeat at home to an out of form team just before a CL participation.Anyhow,this cannot fool us because just before that game the roles were reversed with City struggling for goals and results and Barca dominating every fixture scoring plenty.I think Barca will dominate the possession from the outset with City running after them trying to take the ball.Barca will calm down the tempo,orchestrating the game.I don't like Pellegrini at all and i think he will be replaced after the season.He tries to apply the Spanish way of playing to an UK side who are usually physically dictating the games and are not that technically gifted.It's just not working well for them.After City managing to get through the group stages at last,they are amongst the big boys now and will be threatened like one of them,although they will look like scared girls after Barca are done with them.I am not sure that will happen in UK but if the result leaves them in the game(something like 1:1,1:2)they are gonna get crushed in Spain.They are not a Euro fighter and can only make difference in the EPL.I don't like Enrique at all either and if Barca don't win a trophy this season he will be a goner as well.This game could be a close affair but @ odds against i can't miss them for sure.My bet:Barca to win @ 2.1.Barca over 2.5 team goals @ 3.75,Correct Score 1:3 @ 15 all with bet365.GL! No offence guys!

Jesus,Messi is a mor*n :ok

[nicko]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th

Jesus' date='Messi is a mor*n :ok[/quote'] Very unlucky, excellent ''reading'' of the game. Fingers crossed for you to make it next time!

[Masturbinho]

Re: Manchester City v FC Barcelona > Tuesday February 24th A bit off topic, but why did the Manchester City fans boo the Champions League anthem? This seems idiotic to me, the Champions League is football's premier club competition and their team is priviliged to be part of it.