Barca Mustahil Dikalahkan City, karena Bakal Susul Arsenal?
Mission Impossible II? Arsenal are Out of Europe and Man City are Tipped to Follow...
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
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Barcelona (B2B) - Ini Camp Nou, Bung! Ujaran itu hendak menyasar kepada skuad Manchester City yang hendak menyambangi kemudian menantang Barcelona, meski tuan rumah kini sedang merasakan pahit getir gelombang kekalahan.
Camp Nou begitu disesaki oleh oksigen perlawanan kepada siapapun tim lawan. Barcelona akan menjamu Manchester City dalam leg kedua babak 16 besar Liga Champions yang akan diadakan pada Rabu waktu setempat, atau Kamis dini hari, pukul 02.45 WIB.
Baik Barcelona maupun Manchester City kini sama-sama bergulat dengan kata "perjuangan". Skuad asuhan Gerardo Martino terus bermandikan kritik, setelah menelan dua kekalahan dalam tiga laga Primera Division terakhir, seperti dilansir Yahoo Sports.
Memang, Neymar dan kawan-kawan telah menundukkan Manchester City 2-0 di leg pertama. Hasil ini tidak otomatis membawa sukacita sepenuhnya bagi fans setia Los Azulgrana, lantaran tim kesayangan mereka menelan tiga kekalahan dalam enam partai liga terakhir.
Setali tiga uang, "The Citizens" sedang berkutat dengan pekerjaan rumah relatif njlimet. Pasukan asuhan pelatih Manuel Pellegrini itu harus mencetak tiga gol di kandang Barcelona, sementara para striker Manchester Biru itu tak lagi mencetak gol sejak sebulan terakhir.
Ini mencolok, terhitung hingga akhir Januari, City sudah mengemas 115 gol di semua kompetisi. Dan trio penyerang mereka, Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko dan Alvaro Negredo mampu memberi gelar juara Piala Liga pertama sejak 1976 dengan mengalahkan Sunderland 3-1 di Wembley.
Sukses serupa relatif sulit diukir kembali Aguero dan kawan-kawan, karena Camp Nou jarang sekali menerima kekalahan. Sementara, skuad Gerardo Martino siap bangkit setelah Barcelona kalah dari Valladolid di La Liga pada Sabtu (8/3).
Barcelona bakal turun dengan kekuatan penuh dalam pertandingan ini. Penjaga gawang cadangan Jose Manuel Pinto dapat tampil kembali, meski Jonathan dos Santos dan Isaac Cuenca masih absen.
Bek tengah City Joleon Lescott dapat bermain untuk menggantikan Martin Demichelis yang sedang terkena suspensi.
Bek tengah Matija Nastasic bakal absen karena mengalami cedera lutut dan striker Stevan Jovetic juga absen karena didera cedera hamstring.
Post scriptum, Pellegrini akan memberikan instruksi penting pada skuad asuhannya justru dari hotel tim, dua jam sebelum kick-off di Camp Nou.
Pelatih asal Chile itu menerima hukuman larangan dua laga karena melancarkan protes kepada wasit Jonas Eriksson ketika City menderita kekalahan 0-2 dari Los Blaugrana pada leg pertama di Etihad Stadium pada tiga pekan lalu.
Barcelona - Manchester City have the unenviable task of trying overcome a two-goal deficit against Barcelona in their Champions League last-16 tie at the Camp Nou on Wednesday.
The build-up to the return leg of this fixture is just as fascinating as that of the first match but for different reasons.
Prior to their first meeting at the Etihad Stadium on February 18, both teams were expected to produce a football exhibition of epic proportions, having been extremely prolific during the group phase of the Champions League.
Just days before what was the most anticipated first-leg clash of the last-16 Barcelona had handed Rayo Vallecano a 6-0 drubbing in a La Liga fixture at the Camp Nou.
Likewise, in the weeks building up to that fixture City had inflicted more misery on an English team when they beat what was previously thought to be a competent Tottenham Hotspur 5-1.
The stage had been set for a clash of the titans, which would produce a plethora of goals and in the end just two were scored.
As both teams prepare for this Wednesday´s encounter, the circumstances have changed considerably.
City will travel to Catalunya still licking their wounds after a humiliating FA Cup quarter-final loss to second tier club Wigan Athletic. Meanwhile Barcelona are still recovering from an equally humiliating loss to relegation-threatened Real Valladolid.
Egos have been dented and expectations have not been met. While there are still opportunities for both teams to make amends for their failings in their domestic competitions, the Champions League is the one tournament which can erase any and all other disappointments this season.
This week´s fixture is fascinating because it presents an opportunity for pundits and fans alike to establish which of the two teams handles adversity the best. Which team has the greater desire to win?
Even when City started their current campaign there were glaring concerns about their defensive deficiencies, which were horribly exposed when these two teams last met.
They were exposed again during City´s loss to Wigan at the weekend.
While it isn´t a given that Matija Nastasic, who is still sidelined by a knee injury, would help address those woes if he were fit, the fact that he isn´t available for this match does limit manager Manuel Pellegrini somewhat.
This has been compounded by the fact that Martin Demichelis is still serving a suspension after receiving a red card during the first-leg tie. Some might argue that is actually a blessing in disguise.
