Manchester City v Barcelona preview

• Manuel Pellegrini expects to see the "real" Barcelona, not the side beaten on Saturday
• Barcelona won 2-0 in this fixture a year ago, Lionel Messi and Daniel Alves on target
• Pellegrini says Sergio Agüero is "back to his best" after an injury lay-off in December
• Luis Enrique reckons that City are dark horses for glory in Berlin this May
• Yaya Touré serves the last match of a three-game ban

Possible lineups
Manchester City: Hart; Zabaleta, Mangala, Kompany, Clichy; Fernandinho, Fernando; Nasri, Silva, Milner; Aguero.
• Out: Touré (suspended)

Barcelona: Bravo; Alba, Mascherano, Piqué, Alves; Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitić; Neymar, Messi, Suárez.
• Out: Douglas (hamstring), Vermaelen (hamstring)

Manuel Pellegrini, Manchester City manager
Last year was different. Last year we arrived here after 19 games in two months and I don't think it was our best period. This year I hope we do it. My team are in good form, but we recognise that we are playing a very strong side.

Last year we tried to change our style, maybe we couldn't do what we wanted to do, so we tried to contain Barcelona and couldn't play our attacking game. This time we will play our game. The main thing for my team is to fight for possession. We need to have the ball as long as we can, have good distribution, force Barcelona near to their box and concentrate on them and their good players.

Lionel Messi is the best player in the world. We can't think about just stopping Messi. If we just stop him then they have a lot of other good players. It's very important for us to fight for possession, not to lose easy balls. When they have the ball we must be very focused on Messi and their other players.

Sergio Agüero was on target on Saturday©Getty Images

[Sergio] Agüero is one of the top five players in the world and when he is 100% fit he is very difficult to stop. He's coming back from an injury, but he's adding minutes and seeing him in his last two games against Stoke and Newcastle, he's back to his best.

Before the game at the weekend Barcelona had won 11 in a row, so you can't criticise them. Maybe if we played them in December they were in a difficult period, but tomorrow we will see the real Barcelona. Maybe against Málaga they were thinking of tomorrow, but before that they were playing very well.

Luis Enrique, Barcelona coach
We didn't relax against Málaga, we were well prepared. We wouldn't have gone into a league game thinking about a Champions League match. We just couldn't get through their defence. These things happen in football. But now we are in a different competition.

After a defeat you want to get the chance to compete again, especially against a team that are among the favourites for the competition. We shouldn't be down after the run we've been on. We need to carry on doing what we have been doing.

We've got to make use of the space. If we can get hold of the ball then we can put our plan into action. The battle for the midfield will be pivotal. Last year Barcelona were in control of the game in terms of possession and 2-0 was a big advantage coming home. It will be difficult this time.

I don't know if there is a bigger gap than last year. City have won their domestic title and have improved their squad since then, as have we. We hope to win the trophy and if you want that, then you have to go through games like this.

Weekend results
Manchester City 5-0 Newcastle United FC (Agüero 2pen, Nasri 12, Džeko 21, Silva 51 53)
Barcelona 0-1 Málaga CF (Juanmi 7)

Form guide (all competitions)
Manchester City: WWDDLL
Barcelona: LWWWWW

Match facts
• While City are seeking to make the quarter-finals for the first time, their manager, Pellegrini, has been there on three occasions with which two Spanish clubs? Find out in our extensive match background.