UEFA.com works better on other browsers
For the best possible experience, we recommend using Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge.

Guardiola's City seek better against Barça

After their Camp Nou humbling, Josep Guardiola will want more from Manchester City as they host a Barcelona side who will qualify for the last 16 with a draw on matchday four.

Guardiola's City seek better against Barça
Guardiola's City seek better against Barça ©Getty Images

Manchester City FC will look to make amends for their humbling 4-0 defeat at FC Barcelona when the teams meet again on UEFA Champions League matchday four.

• Barcelona made it an unhappy return to the Camp Nou for Josep Guardiola on 19 October, Lionel Messi scoring a hat-trick and Neymar adding a fourth goal on an evening when Claudio Bravo and Jérémy Mathieu were sent off.

• A draw will secure Barcelona's 13th successive participation in the knockout phase. If they win and VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach do not, the Blaugrana clinch first place.

Previous meetings
• Barcelona have won all five competitive meetings, starting with home and away victories in the 2013/14 round of 16. Barcelona won 2-0 in England with Lionel Messi (pen) and Dani Alves scoring, and that pair struck again in a 2-1 victory back at the Camp Nou, either side of Vincent Kompany's goal. In both games City had a man sent off – Martín Demichelis, then Pablo Zabaleta.

• The line-ups in Manchester on 18 February 2014 were:
Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Demichelis, Kompany, Clichy, Touré, Fernandinho, Navas (Nasri 58), Silva, Kolarov (Lescott 58), Negredo (Džeko 74).
Barcelona: Valdés, Alves, Mascherano, Piqué, Alba, Fàbregas (Sergi Roberto 86), Busquets, Xavi, Sánchez (Neymar 74), Messi, Iniesta.

• Barcelona prevailed again at the same stage in 2014/15. In Manchester, Luis Suárez scored twice in a 2-1 win in which Sergio Agüero also found the net, Gaël Clichy was sent off, and Messi had a last-minute penalty saved by Joe Hart. Back in Barcelona, Ivan Rakitić got the only goal and Marc-André ter Stegen saved an Agüero spot kick.

• The line-ups in Manchester on 24 February 2015 were:
Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Nasri (Fernandinho 62), Milner, Fernando, Silva (Sagna 78), Džeko (Bony 68), Agüero.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Alves (Adriano 75), Piqué, Mascherano, Alba, Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitić, Messi, Suárez, Neymar (Pedro 80).

• Andrés Iniesta is the only survivor of the match played to inaugurate City's stadium in August 2003 – a friendly which Barcelona won 2-1, in which he appeared as a 63rd-minute substitute.

Match background

Manchester City
• City sit in second place in Group C with four points, their one victory to date coming at home against Mönchengladbach (4-0) on matchday one.

• City are unbeaten in seven home matches in UEFA competition and have not conceded a goal against continental visitors since last December.

• City's home record against Spanish sides is W3 D3 L2, both defeats coming against Barcelona.

• Last season City faced two Spanish clubs at home, beating Sevilla FC 2-1 through a 91st-minute Kevin De Bruyne goal in the group stage, then drawing 0-0 with Real Madrid CF in the first leg of their semi-final defeat (aggregate 0-1).

Barcelona
• Barcelona are one of only three teams in the competition with a 100% record to date.

• Barcelona won 2-0 at Arsenal FC on their most recent visit to England in UEFA competition in last season's round of 16 (aggregate 5-1). Their record away to English clubs is W9 D8 L14.

• Including the 2-1 victory at Gladbach on matchday two, Barcelona have lost just one of their last six matches on the road in the UEFA Champions League (W3 D2 L1).

Club and player links
• Guardiola is looking for a second home victory over his old club having previously beaten them 3-2 with FC Bayern Munchen in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League semi-finals – albeit in a losing cause after a 3-0 first-leg defeat.

• Between 2008 and 2012, Guardiola amassed 14 trophies as Barcelona coach, including the UEFA Champions League in 2009 and 2011 and three successive Liga titles (2009–11).

• As a Barça player, Guardiola landed six league titles as well as the club's first European Cup in 1992. He made 263 appearances between 1991 and 2000, also featuring in their 1997 European Cup Winners' Cup final success – alongside Luis Enrique – and the 1992 UEFA Super Cup victory.

• City's director of football, Aitor Begiristain, filled the same role at Barcelona between 2003 and 2010. He was previously a member of the Blaugrana's 1992 European Cup-winning squad and also won four Liga titles, the Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

• Luis Enrique scored on three separate UEFA Champions League trips to England as a Barcelona player – in a 3-2 defeat at Newcastle United FC (1997/98 group stage); a 3-3 draw at Manchester United FC (1998/99 first group stage); and a 4-2 win at Arsenal FC (1999/2000 first group stage).

• Bravo made 75 appearances for Barcelona between 2014 and 2016, but did not appear in any of their UEFA Champions League matches.

• Bravo was captain of the Chile side that beat Messi and Javier Mascherano's Argentina 4-2 on penalties in the 2016 Copa América final. Messi hit his penalty over the crossbar.

• At Barcelona (2008–11), Nolito played under Luis Enrique for Barcelona B. He made five league and cup appearances for the senior side, scoring in a 5-1 Copa del Rey victory over AD Ceuta.

• Nolito provided the assist for the only goal when RC Celta de Vigo recorded their first-ever win at Barcelona in November 2014. In September 2015 he scored in Celta's 4-1 home Liga win over the Catalan club.

• City assistant coach Mikel Arteta began his career in Barcelona's youth academy before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain aged 18.

• As a teenager at City, Denis Suárez made two first-team appearances in English League Cup ties (v Wolverhampton Wanders FC in October 2011, v Aston Villa FC in September 2012).

• Ivan Rakitić was in the FC Schalke 04 side beaten 2-0 at home by a City team including Vincent Kompany in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage.

• Gerard Piqué spent four years in Manchester as a United player from 2004–08, making 23 appearances but never facing City.

• Agüero hit five goals in ten Liga outings against Barcelona for Club Atlético de Madrid.

• Zabaleta won none of his four derbies against Barcelona as a player at RCD Espanyol (D2 L2).

• Gaël Clichy was an unused substitute for Arsenal in the 2006 UEFA Champions League final defeat by Barcelona.

• Jesús Navas was in the Sevilla FC side that beat Barcelona 3-0 in the 2006 UEFA Super Cup.

• Played together in club football:
Luis Suárez & Raheem Sterling (Liverpool FC)
Ivan Rakitić & Jesús Navas (Sevilla FC)

Match facts

Manchester City
• After starting the season with ten successive victories in all competitions, City had gone six matches without a win – the worst run of Guardiola's coaching career – before beating West Bromwich Albion FC 4-0 on Saturday.

• The Citizens had conceded the first goal in each of their previous six fixtures.

• Agüero registered 11 times in his first six appearances this season but failed to score in his subsequent eight games for club and country before rediscovering his touch with two strikes at West Brom.

• City have failed to convert half of their eight spot kicks this season.

• Bacary Sagna suffered a hamstring injury while in training with France on 10 October.

• Agüero and De Bruyne are among the 30 players shortlisted for the 2016 Ballon d'Or by France Football magazine.

Barcelona
• Mathieu serves a one-game ban following his dismissal on matchday three.

• Rafinha returned following a rib injury to score Barcelona's winner in a 1-0 success against Granada on Saturday – his fifth goal in six Liga appearances this season.

• Messi has scored 15 goals in 13 appearances for club and country this term.

• Mathieu was signed off for three weeks after sustaining a calf injury as part of a reserve side that lost 1-0 at home to RCD Espanyol on 25 October in the Catalan Super Cup.

• Iniesta partially injured the lateral ligament in his right knee during the 3-2 victory at Valencia CF on 22 October. He is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks.

• Jordi Alba (hamstring), Piqué (ankle) and Aleix Vidal (thigh) are out.

• Iniesta, Messi, Neymar and Suárez are on the Ballon d'Or shortlist.

Selected for you