Barca draws Man City

[Barcilliant]

For some reason EVERYONE seems to think Citeh are going to destroy Barca. OK, so there have been times this season where we've been either poor or average but I am sure a CL KO tie will fire the team up. If it doesn't we need replacements asap.

We have more experience and more pedigree. The danger is the set pieces and maybe some strong physical play from guys like Yaya and Negredo. If we control the ball and move them around they will become very uncomfortable. City have to play during the holiday season-we don't. Surely there will be some tired legs come Feb. They are not used to this and we have more experience at this level. I hope we sign some excellent players in Jan. A CB is a must for me.

 

[FCBarca]

A CB is indeed must but I think the club would be hard pressed to find one that will actually help this team between now & the end of the season without breaking the bank for a bonafide world class starter

As for City, they are all tough opponents for different reasons at this point...Personally, Pellegrini's side doesn't give me much pause at this point - we'll see the form of both clubs going into the tie but right now, meh...Pellegrini has never beaten Barcelona as a coach and most of their starting XI have had extensive experience (losing) against Barcelona

Plus, more than anything, Messi will be back far in advance of this knockout and he obviously makes the difference

But as they say, this is why you play the games

 

[serghei]

The boys better beat Man. City, their fans are getting really over the hills with their team. Big time. They say City is going to punish us if Barcelona dares to attack them. Imagine that.

 

[linetty]

If you're so afraid of Citeh, then their fans must be shitting their pants.

 

[JamDav1982]

Haha the Spanish players seem to be thinking 'oh fuck' and the rest juts seem quite chuffed about getting to face Barcelona.

 

[ZenI]

It was funny to read their forum, some of their fans are really delusional. Some are more rational, saying that they've improved and that we maybe aren't the same team we were 2-3 years ago and this is going to be close. Some say that players like Messi, Xavi, Iniesta etc. are a class above everything they got. I really hope Pellegrini and the players are too cocky, that will surely bring them down faster and harder.

 

[Antimadridista1]

"Les entrades per al Barça-City, a partir d’aquest dijous" FCBarcelona_cat

Tickets available next thurday.
I should be in bcn to watch the game.

 

[serghei]

some of their fans are really delusional

I can understand them. Their team isn't used to playing in such amazing european matches. After decades of struggles, they've reached a point where they can just enjoy the football their team plays. And that's a nice feeling to have. They are wrong though when they think Barca from last year is the same with today's Barca. They're in for a surprise IMO.

 

[mazp]

I don't take their banter seriously. You should have seen Spurs fans when they beat Milan couples seasons back...obnoxious.

 

[ZenI]

I can understand them. Their team isn't used to playing in such amazing european matches. After decades of struggles, they've reached a point where they can just enjoy the football their team plays. And that's a nice feeling to have. They are wrong though when they think Barca from last year is the same with today's Barca. They're in for a surprise IMO.

I don't take their banter seriously. You should have seen Spurs fans when they beat Milan couples seasons back...obnoxious.

Yeah I know right! You could ask 'objective' experts about our squads and 9/10 would say that the only players that could walk right in to our starting 11 would be Kompany + Aguero. Not saying that the rest of their players are far behind - but Busi, Iniesta, Xavi, Alves, Alba, Neymar and of course Messi have that small edge that sets them out. BUT, we are still being more down to earth about this draw than the majority of City fans - while some of them are already discussing who they will play after they trash us.

 

[serghei]

BUT, we are still being more down to earth about this draw than the majority of City fans - while some of them are already discussing who they will play after they trash us.

Yeah, but, somehow, they misinterpret our respect as fear.

 

[BarcaGirl]

Neymar, Alexis, Montoya y Puyol predicted Barcelona would face City in the CL. They won the sweepstake organized by Pique. [sport md]

 

[Deco 20]

Will be tough

 

[Bartra]

I predicted it the day before the draws then it came up so i'm not surprsed. It'll be tough for Barca but they can get through it with Messi like old times and all team together.

 

[Alik]

I don't personally look much at the squads. We're better for sure.

I look at how we've performed this season so far. True, we only lost 2 games but a lot of other games we won playing poorly or playing well for only a half. This was often due to player complacency, Tata playing players out of position or in most cases the difficulty in adapting to Tata's new tactics.

City on the other hand have lost more games but they have also put in more top performances than Barca so far, against top opposition too.

I hope we improve our form as we approach the game and that the team gels further so that we can put in our best performance.