Barcelona v Man City is a match guaranteed to bring Europe to a standstill as Pep Guardiola returns to the Camp Nou.
As we countdown to one of our most eagerly anticipated games of the season so far, here’s all of the key information, all in one place…
When?
Wednesday 19 October, 19:45 (BST) kick-off.
Where?
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Tickets
Barcelona v Man City ticket information
As it stands…
Barcelona sit atop Champions League Group C after coming from behind to defeat Borussia Monchengladbach on matchday two, following their emphatic opening night win over Celtic.
City lie in second after recovering from a deficit on three occasions in Glasgow to claim a 3-3 draw which followed up the 4-0 victory Borussia Monchengladbach.
The Last Time
The teams met in the Last 16 for two consecutive seasons between 2014 and 2015 with Barcelona edging out City on both occasions.
Last time they met at the Camp Nou was in the second leg of 2015’s meeting when Ivan Rakitic scored the only goal to give Barcelona a 3-1 aggregate win.
Team News
Although there’s still a weekend of league football to get through, the early forecast suggests that Lionel Messi is winning his race to be fit after he suffered a groin injury last week.
The Argentine forward trained on Wednesday morning and is expected to feature against Deportivo this weekend.
Sergi Roberto has an abductor problem, Ivan Rakitic is nursing an Achilles tendon problem, Jordi Alba has a muscle injury and Samuel Umtiti has a stretched ligament, so all are rated as “touch and go” as to whether they will be fit for Wednesday’s game.
Goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen has a sprained ankle and will miss the game.
Form Guide
Barcelona have suffered their worst start to a La Liga season in more than a decade following their 4-3 loss to Celta Vigo last week.
Luis Enrique’s side have taken 13 points from a possible 21 in their first seven but they’ve been without their star man for a number of those matches and their perfect start to the Champions League cannot be forgotten.
Elsewhere…
Celtic kick-off their double header with Monchengladbach away from home where they’ll be looking to secure their first Group C win at Borussia Park.
Represented Both
Pep Guardiola, Claudio Bravo, Nolito, Mikel Arteta, Denis Suarez, Yaya Toure, Txiki Begiristain, Sylvinho, Geovanni
Played Together
Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)
Ivan Rakitic and Jesus Navas (Sevilla)
Did You Know?
Pablo Zabaleta is the only survivor from City’s 1-0 friendly win over Barcelona at the Camp Nou in August 2009.
