Manchester City Must Keep It Close Without Yaya Toure
By Adam Clifton
@adamdclifton
Getty Images
At this point, Manchester City should be accustomed to competing in meaningful games without the services of Yaya Toure.
The Ivory Coast star was missing from the squad for nearly a month due to the African Cup of Nations. Toure helped to lead the Ivory Coast to the trophy, but his club team struggled in his absence. Manchester City finally ended a year-long winless streak without Toure in the lineup with a 4-1 victory against Stoke. However, Toure will be serving the final game of a three-game suspension against FC Barcelona.
For Manchester City, the key will be to keep the first leg close against Barcelona and give themselves a chance to win the contest in the second leg with Toure returning to the lineup.
Despite hosting the first leg of their Round of 16 UEFA Champions League tie at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City will be satisfied with a draw in this contest. In a season that must feel like deja vu for the Citizens, Manchester City have faced two of the same three opponents in the group stage, taking on CSKA Moscow and Bayern Munich.
The Round of 16 pits Manchester City against Barcelona for the second season in a row. Last year, Barcelona went to the Etihad Stadium and left with a 2-0 victory. The end result saw Barcelona advance 4-1 on aggregate en route to the semifinals. In order to seal a different fate, the Citizens cannot allow Barcelona to pick up a vital away goal in the contest.
For Manchester City, a win will be hard to come by in this matchup. They have experienced a terrible run of form early in 2015. However, recent wins have seen the once-prolific Manchester City attack return to its goal-scoring ways. In the last two Barclays Premier League outings, Manchester City have scored nine goals. The addition of Wilfried Bony should boost an attack that has already earned a reputation as one of the most potent in Europe.
Despite the omission of one of their most important players, Manchester City have a great chance to advance to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League against Barcelona. If the Citizens can manage in the first leg, the tie will be poised for an enthralling second leg at the Camp Nou.
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