How Manchester City Will Line Up Against Barcelona in Champions League Play

What a different tone this preview would have if Manchester City had not finally cracked Jose Mourinho's code in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Manchester City 2-0 Chelsea did nothing to pull back the six Premier League points the Londoners took from City this season. It did not draw City any closer to catching Chelsea or Arsenal in the Premier League.

It guaranteed City nothing by way of silver, as three more hurdles must be cleared before the FA Cup is won.

Still, can you imagine how the headlines would have read in the tabloids if City boss Manuel Pellegrini had his lunch stolen by Mourinho again?

A third loss to Chelsea would have left City winless in February and reeling. What hope would anyone have had for City against mighty Barcelona in Champions League play?

Just one win really can make all the difference.

This is not to suggest that City are now going to steamroll Barcelona or even win the match narrowly. Oddschecker.com has Barcelona as a very slight favorite to win at the Etihad (6/4 as against 19/10 for City).

But the relief and belief the Citizens came away with were neatly encapsulated in Alvaro Negredo's Twitter remarks after the win over Chelsea:


Which leads us nicely into the new big question for Pellegrini which XI will he pick to take on Barcelona?

Pellegrini is very likely to be without star striker Sergio Aguero and invaluable midfielder Fernandinho for this match.

Per David McDonnell of the Mirror, Pellegrini "will give Fernandinho until after training today to prove his fitness, while admitting Aguero has only an outside chance of being fit for the first leg of the last 16 tie."

Aside from the availability of those two, Pellegrini must answer the following questions for himself and his team:

Is Samir Nasri now fit enough to run for 90 minutes? If not, should Nasri start anyway?
Will Pellegrini break up the budding partnership of Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic to start Alvaro Negredo?
Has Pellegrini finally fallen out of love with Martin Demichelis, or will the Argentine slot right back in next to Vincent Kompany?

If you take Pellegrini at his word, Aguero will not even make the team sheet. “It’s my opinion that for Aguero it’s very difficult for him to play,” said Pellegrini to McDonnell. Sending Fernandinho out at less than full health against a dangerous side like Barcelona would be a very bad idea.

The projected City XI below suggests what the answers to those other questions above might be.

City's predicted XI against Barcelona: Joe Hart; Gael Clichy, Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis, Pablo Zabaleta; Samir Nasri, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Jesus Navas; Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic.

Source: Bleacherreport
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Lionel Messi's Brilliant Chip Doubles Barcelona's Lead Against Rayo Vallecano

Lionel Messi doubled Barcelona's lead over Rayo Vallecano with a brilliant chip that you've come to expect with Messi.

Messi was on the receiving end of a perfect through ball from Cesc Fabregas to put the Argentine free against Ruben and he didn't waste his chance.

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How Manchester City Will Line Up Against Norwich City at Carrow Road

Very soon, Manchester City's schedule gets thorny.

In a four-week stretch beginning Feb. 15, City will play:

a fifth-round FA Cup match at the Etihad against a Chelsea side that has eaten the Sky Blues' lunch twice this seasonboth legs of their Round of 16 Champions League tie with Barcelonaa Capital One Cup final at Wembley Stadium against Sunderland, who are resurgent under Gus Poyet

How Manchester City's season is viewed in June will depend largely on the results they achieve in these crucial matches.

Before that, though, Manchester City have to go to Carrow Road and play relegation candidate Norwich City, a side the Sky Blues hit with a touchdown and an extra point in November.

It is tempting to look at Manchester City's coming fixture list and call this visit to Norwich a trap game. But there are too many negative factors in play for Manchester City to believe they could look past the Canaries.

Above all, Manchester City are missing too much quality to take any team lightly right now. When Samir Nasri went down at Newcastle, it was a fluke. When Sergio Aguero limped off against Tottenham Hotspur, it was a shame.

Now Manchester City are going to be without the indispensable Fernandinho for a month, which is a message. The message is this: Even mighty Manchester City can look ordinary when three of their preferred XI are out injured.

They certainly looked a step slow against Chelsea earlier this week.

Moreover, Manchester City's loss to Chelsea drew Jose Mourinho's club level with the Sky Blues on points and restored Arsenal's two-point cushion at the top of the Premier League table. Manchester City's margin for error in the league is nearly non-existent now.

How many of my projected Manchester City XI will start at Carrow Road? 11 10 9 8 or fewer Submit Vote vote to see results How many of my projected Manchester City XI will start at Carrow Road? 11 17.9% 10 28.2% 9 33.3% 8 or fewer 20.5% Total votes: 39

These are three points against Norwich City that Manuel Pellegrini's team positively must have.

Manchester City's XI at Carrow Road should look like this: Joe Hart, Gael Clichy, Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis, Pablo Zabaleta, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Jack Rodwell, Jesus Navas, Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko.

Ironically, the XI that Pellegrini chose for the recent Chelsea match, with Matija Nastasic at centre-back next to Kompany and Demichelis in the midfield, would probably work just fine against a relatively skill-deprived Norwich City side.

After the way Eden Hazard, Willian and Ramires tormented Demichelis and Yaya, though, it is hard to imagine Pellegrini running that XI back here.

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Lance Stephenson Takes Nasty Spill Against Atlanta Hawks

"Born Ready" might have scored two of the most painful points in NBA history on Tuesday night.
Lance Stephenson has been on a mission to prove the NBA world wrong ever since he was taken in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft. This season, he's continued to defy the odds, and was one of the more notable All-Star snubs when the Eastern Conference reserves were named last month.
He's filled the stat sheet all season long and frequented many a highlight reel for the Indiana Pacers. This finish against the Atlanta Hawks was just the latest in a long list of spectacular plays he's had, but easily the most wince-inducing.
Stephenson laid on the hardwood for a few moments after the crash, and was eventually helped back to the locker room. Lance had played in 46 of the team's 47 contests heading into the night.
At the time of the crash landing, he had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 23 minutes.

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Kevin Love Goes Down Hard in Brutal Fall Against LA Lakers

The floor never likes losing to NBA players, and it proved that once more when Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love took a nasty spill during the fourth quarter of Tuesday night's contest against the Los Angeles Lakers.
While driving the lane, Love collided with Robert Sacre and couldn't stop his limbs from flailing in every direction possible. With his leg kicking up in the air, the power forward went down hard until his lower regions made hard contact with the hard(er)wood.

If you're watching that Kevin Love fall, make sure you have the mute button ON.

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