La Liga champions FC Barcelona play host to big-spending Premier League outfit Manchester City in the second leg of their round-of-16 Uefa Champions League clash at Camp Nou on Wednesday night looking for a miracle to make it into the last eight of Europe’s premier club competition.
SEE ALSO: Best Football Manager wonderkids
Dani Alves v Gael Clichy
The attack-minded Brazil international had an impressive performance in the first leg at Eastlands last month when he managed to score the crucial second goal late on that has made the return leg at Camp Nou almost a formality.
And the right back, or right wing back more like, will surely have another big role to play for the Catalan giants on Wednesday night to prevent the visitors’ own left back Gael Clichy from influencing the tie in the opposite end of the pitch.
However, one suspects that it will be the France international though who will be spending most of the match trying to stop his opposite number from making too many inroads into the City back line.
Gerard Pique v Sergio Aguero
If Manuel Pellegrini’s expensively assembled outfit are to stand any chance whatsoever of overturning the 2-0 deficit from the first leg in the north west last month, then they will need their inspirational Argentina international to be fit and firing on all cylinders at Camp Nou.
The diminutive front man has been in razor-sharp all campaign long, however, the 25-year-old’s season has also been badly disrupted by several untimely injuries too, including his most recent problem that crucially kept Aguero out of the first meeting at Eastlands.
But the man charged with stopping Kun is Barca’s silky-smooth Spain international, a centre back who has experience of trying to quell some of the world’s most deadly marksmen over the years.
Lionel Messi v Vincent Kompany
This particular head-to-head battle promises to be absolutely fascinating, with the home side’s brilliant four-time Fifa World Player of the Year coming up against the visitors’ ice-cool skipper.
In the first leg in the north west in February, the little Argentinian needed just one small opening just past half-time with which to hurt Manuel Pellegrini’s side, although on that particular occasion it was actually Kompany’s central-defensive partner Martin Demichelis who was at fault for bringing down Messi for the La Liga champions’ vital opener via the penalty spot.
However, other than that particular moment of madness from the experienced Argentina international, the Belgium was largely able to keep Messi quiet, with the twinkle-toed forward not really influencing the game too much.
But Kompany and Co know that their task will be even harder away from home, and with the visitors needing to also chase the game at Camp Nou, which will inevitably leave plenty of gaps for Messi to exploit at the back.
Fernandinho v Neymar
In the end, the Brazil international’s absence through injury did prove hugely costly for the big-spending Premier League outfit in their first meeting with the La Liga champions in the north west last month.
Not only did it lead to a complete reshuffle of their starting lineup, but it also deprived Manuel Pellegrini’s men of their usual calming influence, as well as one of their best passers too, in the middle of the park.
However, the holding midfielder has now recovered from that knock and is set to take up his usual place in front of City’s back four for the return encounter at Camp Nou on Wednesday night, and the man the Brazilian will need to be keeping close tabs on will be his compatriot Neymar.
As if the visitors are to have even the smallest chance of progressing to the last eight, then Fernandinho will need to muzzle his mate.