Manchester City vs. Barcelona: 2 Key Battles to Watch

theScore’s Gordon Brunt and Carlo Campo examine two key matchups that will play a significant role in determining who emerges victorious from the first leg of the highly-anticipated round of 16 tie between Manchester City and Barcelona.

Gordon Brunt: Samir Nasri vs. Sergio Busquets

Judging by Samir Nasri’s comments entering the match, suggesting Manchester City have seemingly shed its idolization dilemma, the defending Premier League champions are booming with confidence.

Throwing Barcelona out of rhythm and limiting their stranglehold in the midfield are the obvious objectives. However, City’s ability to establish a comfortable pace with the ball and overcome Barca’s relentless pressure off the ball will give the hosts an opportunity to create more chances than last year’s meeting.

Nasri will be vital to City’s success with his presence in the middle of the park and comfort on the ball under pressure. His vision in attacking positions should lead to increased chances for his teammates as he draws in Barcelona players desperate to regain possession.

The La Liga outfit is famous for its incredible possession and a majority of the time it rarely happens without a stop-gap in the middle of park able to break-up an opponent’s approach like Sergio Busquets.

The big Spanish international will pose as one of the biggest threats to City’s play up the middle, forcing Nasri to think two-steps ahead and have the foresight to make smart decisions quickly under stressful circumstances.

Although Yaya Toure won’t feature because of suspension, Nasri’s got some impressive help with the likes of David Silva and Jesus Navas expected to join him in attacking midfield roles. Unfortunately for City, Barcelona will have its collection of superstars on full still display, starring an almost unfair trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in their lethal attacking scheme.

Despite City’s preparations and boatloads of talent, the defending Premier League champions might see their European journey face the threat of ending if they don’t execute a near-perfect game plan against one of the world’ best to start off the Round of 16.

Carlo Campo: Neymar vs. Pablo Zabaleta

Looking to exorcise the ghost of last season's defeat to Barcelona in the same stage of the Champions League, Manchester City will inevitably need to shut down the Catalan club's "trident for the ages" of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar to have any hope of progression. At least to some extent.

The attacking line in Barcelona's 4-3-3 normally features Neymar on the left side, meaning it will be largely up to right-back Pablo Zabaleta to keep the Brazilian off the scoresheet and prevent him from linking up with teammates in the final third. Keep in mind that Neymar has scored three goals and notched one assist in his last four Champions League appearances.

Since Suarez arrived at the Camp Nou, Barcelona have developed a counterattacking style of football that marks something of a paradigm shift from the style of football they've become associated with over recent years. That's not to say that Luis Enrique's side are playing an altogether different style of football, but the speed of Barcelona's forwards - as Messi pointed out ahead of Tuesday's first leg - means the team can take more advantage of the space available than in the past.

In particular, Neymar's speed and ability to beat opponents in one-on-one situations suggests that Zabaleta will be in for a busy night at the Etihad Stadium. He won't be able to join City's attack as frequently as he normally does throughout a match, as doing so will give Neymar a dangerous amount of space to exploit.

It's almost as if just having Neymar on the pitch directly withdraws one of City's attacking options.