Former Barcelona and Manchester City defender Sylvinho feels that the Champions League tie between the two teams will be a humdinger of an affair.
Sylvinho has intimate knowledge of both teams having played five seasons for the Catalan giants from 2004 until 2009 before finishing his career at the Etihad Stadium in 2010.
The Brazilian was on the winning side with Barcelona when they defeated Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League final in Paris.
Luis Enrique’s side struggled with their form in the early part of the season, but have hit their stride since the turn of the year and are currently on an 11-match winning spree. Sylvinho feels that the fact that Barcelona are playing the second leg at home gives them a slight advantage over the Citizens.
“Barcelona are getting better results now. From my experience in Champions League, I think that Barcelona are the favourite because they play the second leg at home and is not easy to win a tie there”, Sylvinho was quoted as saying by the Manchester City site.
relatedNewsStory
However, he added that Manuel Pellegrini’s side are also getting better every year due to their continued European presence, and they are capable of playing great football over the two legs.
“But City are improving every year in the Champions League, which is normal, and I think that they can beat Barcelona. I think that City can put two great performances.
“City have great players and a very good manager and their time is now. Maybe before they weren’t used to play Champions League [sic], but now it’s a very strong team and they can beat Barcelona.”
He further added that no matter what the result is, the two clashes promise to be a great spectacle for the fans.
“I think it will be a very open tie and I’m really looking forward to it because it will be great to watch.”
Manchester City will host Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie on 24th February and will play the reverse fixture on 18th March at the Camp Nou.
Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.
