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FC Barcelona will be looking to secure their place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League tonight when they welcome Manchester City to the Camp Nou in their hotly-anticipated Round of 16, second-leg clash with the English Premier League champions. Indeed, after a 2-1 victory in the first-leg at the Etihad Arena, the Blaugrana are overwhelming favourites to progress but still have a job to do; as we've seen thus far this season, anything can happen in knock-out football.
For instance, who would have thought that Chelsea would be eliminated at Stamford Bridge against the very side that trailed us in the group stage, Paris Saint-Germain? Who would have thought that Arsenal would be knocked out by AS Monaco, and that Real Madrid would come so close to a similar fate against a mediocre Schalke 04 outfit?
They say that curiosity killed the cat; in football it's probably complacency -- and Barça cannot afford to flirt with an exit, particularly with a Clasico upcoming at the weekend. And as such, Luis Enrique has named arguably his strongest squad for tonight's match. Jordi Alba and Dani Alves are back after suspension, replacing Martin Montoya and Douglas Perreia respectively, although Sergio Busquets continues to miss out through injury.
These are the eighteen men named by Lucho for the game:
Goalkeepers: 1. Marc-André ter Stegen, 13. Claudio Bravo
Defenders: 3. Gerard Piqué, 14. Javier Mascherano, 15. Marc Bartra, 18. Jordi Alba, 21. Adriano Correia, 22. Dani Alves, 24. Jérémy Mathieu
Midfielders: 4. Ivan Rakitic, 6. Xavi Hernández, 8. Andrés Iniesta, 12. Rafinha Alcântara, 20. Sergi Roberto
Forwards: 7. Pedro Rodríguez, 9. Luis Suárez, 10. Lionel Messi, 11. Neymar Jr.
Expected Starting Lineup (4-3-3):
ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Mathieu, Alba; Mascherano, Xavi, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
The match starts at 20:45 CET, and you can follow and comment all the action right here, at Barça Blaugranes.
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