3 In Defense: Will Manchester City succumb to Barcelona once again?

The first leg matches from the Round of 16 conclude this week and theScore’s trio of footy editors debate the key topics ahead of Tuesday’s fantastic ties. You better believe the takes are going to be hot.

Are there any significant differences between this Manchester City side and the one that lost to Barcelona last season that make you believe they can reach the quarter-final this time around?

Gordon Brunt: The one glaring difference between this year's version of Manchester City and the one that bowed out at this stage of the tournament last year is the squad's drop in scoring from anyone not named Sergio Aguero. While the team's decline in scoring during the group stage could be blamed on a trio of tough opponents, improved contributions from the club's collection of superstars, including newly signed forward Wilfried Bony, should help City forget about last year's disappointing results and enhance the competitiveness.

Carlo Campo: The one obvious difference that comes to mind is Tuesday's absence of Yaya Toure, who is suspended for the fixture. However, another notable difference lies in City's Premier League form going into the Champions League tie. Last season, City entered their first leg against Barcelona following a scoreless draw against Norwich City that was preceded by a 1-0 loss at Chelsea. This time around, City are going into the Round of 16 fresh off a 5-0 thrashing of Newcastle that came days after a 4-1 drubbing of Stoke City. In other words, City's confidence should be higher than it was one year ago.

Gianluca Nesci: Aside from replacing Alvaro Negredo with one of Edin Dzeko or Wilfried Bony, there is one noticeable difference about this Manchester City side from a purely personnel perspective: Yaya Toure. The Ivorian, despite not being the dominant force of last season, is still a catalyst for the Citizens. He’ll miss the opening leg as he serves the last of his three-match ban for a red card against CSKA Moscow in November. So yes, there is a major difference for City from last season. It’s just not a positive one.

With both Barcelona and City boasting a plethora of attacking geniuses, the two defenses will be put to the test. Which team’s backline is better equipped to slow down the opposition's attack?

Brunt: Both teams possess backlines capable of registering clean sheets against the world's best, but Manchester City's historic lack of discipline against Barcelona gives the Catalans the edge. City saw their run in the Champions League come to an end last year after dropping both matches to Barca, yet both outcomes had the potential to be different if 11 City players managed to finish a match on the pitch. They had men sent off in both legs, with Martin Demichelis going in the first and Pablo Zabaleta seeing red in the final match. The constant pressure of the Barca attack could see the City defense repeat the same mistakes from a year ago.

Campo: Barcelona gets the edge. When the two sides faced off in last season's Champions League, Manchester City's lone goal over the course of 180 minutes came courtesy of some poor marking off a corner kick that allowed Vincent Kompany to get on the scoresheet.  And at that point - the 89th minute of the second leg – the Catalan club had already sealed their progression.

City may be entering Tuesday's fixture high on confidence, but it should come as no surprise if Barcelona's backline registers a clean sheet like they did at the Etihad last year.

Nesci: Messi, Suarez and Neymar – a triumvirate you may also know as Benzema, Bale and Ronaldo on steroids – have eaten defenses alive all season long. Defenses not named Malaga, anyway. Now they get a crack at Kompany and whoever is going to partner him in central defense – either red card-in-waiting Eliaquim Mangala or Demichelis, who once lost to a tortoise in a straight sprint (probably). I’m not convinced Barcelona can stop the combination of David Silva and Sergio Aguero, but they sure as hell have a better chance than Kompany and, um, company.

Will this be the seminal match that we look back on as the turning point of Borussia Dortmund’s season, or is their recent run of good form in the Bundesliga a mirage?

Brunt: It seems like the perfect scenario for Borussia Dortmund to continue the positive momentum after producing three straight league wins, but an away win against Juventus is an accomplishment few teams can brag about over the last few years. After posting an unbeaten record at Juventus Stadium last year during league play, the defending Serie A champions are off to another successful run at home without suffering a loss. Despite Dortmund's attacking options, the German club will be lucky to come away from Turin with the advantage before the second leg.

Campo: Borussia Dortmund may have distanced themselves from the relegation zone in the second half of the Bundesliga season, but just look at how they've done so. For example, their 3-2 win at bottom-of-the-table Stuttgart on Friday was only the result of a defensive error from an 18-year-old, while their 4-2 victory versus Mainz included a first half where they looked just as lackluster as ever. As Jurgen Klopp's side prepare to face Juventus, their improved form in the Bundesliga could be something of a mirage.

Nesci: I won’t go as far as saying that Dortmund’s three consecutive wins are a mirage, considering their results are simply starting to reflect their performances – something that wasn't happening early in the season when they were, while admittedly not playing to their vast potential, falling victim to some rotten luck. That said, I don’t believe Klopp has completely turned things around just yet, and Juventus, especially at home, will fancy their chances against a side still not firing on all cylinders.