Barcelona vs Manchester City: SunSport columnist Lothar Matthaus on how Pep Guardiola can beat former club
Germany legend analyses how Spainiard can return to Barca and orchestrate a stunning Champions League triumph
LOTHAR MATTHAUS is SunSport’s European and international football pundit.
Here, the Germany legend analyses how Pep Guardiola can return to Barcelona and orchestrate a stunning Champions League triumph.
Three’s Kompany for Pep
THE great thing about any Pep Guardiola team is that you never know how they will play.
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Even if you can get the first team right, he will change the system if he wants to do that.
He always wants to surprise the opposition and the fans — and sometimes the players, too.
Pep played a back three against Everton and, while Barcelona are a very different team, City can benefit by doing the same in the Camp Nou. The return of Vincent Kompany can make it even easier.
City could play with a normal defensive line in a 4-1-4-1 and the key then is that they are compact because you can’t let Barca have the space to play their game.
But I think Guardiola will want to show something special going back to his old team. Tactically it gives you five at the back when Barca come at you, but three in the line when you have the ball.
The two wing-backs then go into the centre to close that space up where Barca play short passes.
Pep always wants at least one extra man in midfield than the opposition and that means the wing-backs can push in and play around the defensive midfielder.
It’s a real plus when it comes to ball possession as well.
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Class but Nou mystery
BARCELONA are a team without secrets.
Yes, they have high-quality players. But they have no secrets and that means it is possible to work out what to do against them.
The first thing is to keep your concentration defensively.
But it is not only about that, because you have to try to give them problems, too. And if you do, you can hurt them. Yes, Messi is back and this is a boost for Barca.
The three up front are special and Iniesta and Rakitic can give the right pass at the right moment and with the right speed. You can’t find better.
But they have problems at the back. They miss Dani Alves and on the left have been vulnerable without Jordi Alba, while Mascherano is not a centre-back. Guardiola has a squad which can hurt Barca because of the pace they have.
De Bruyne, Sterling, Nolito and Aguero are one of the best attacks in Europe, especially when you then have Silva at No 8.
Pep will know the only way they can get a result is to attack. So this is a big chance at Camp Nou.
City slickers hold the key
FOR Manchester City to win they have to trust and believe in themselves as an attacking force.
With the players they have, they must attack and that is the key.
That means a quick transition every time they win the ball.
Barcelona are not good at getting organised when they have to swap from attack to defence, with Busquets vulnerable and the other midfielders reluctant to get back.
If City have faith in themselves, they can win. I know they haven’t been as good in the last few weeks as they were at the start of the season. But you only have to look at the quality of their players, their sheer speed, to see they can really hurt Barca.
They must make sure they are not afraid. City can’t afford any mistakes but when they run at them, Barca will be nervous.
Verdict
THIS is a game that everybody will want to watch — and one that City cannot afford to lose if they want to win the group.
After drawing at Celtic, they will be playing for second if they are beaten.
But when you look at the two teams, the coaches and the systems, this could be the Champions League final. I know only one English side has beaten Barca in the Camp Nou — Liverpool — but I think that will be two tonight.
Prediction: Barcelona 1 Manchester City 2
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