Gary Armstrong

For those of you who have indulged in Football Manager over the years will, I’m sure, be giving your own views as to how Manchester City should be going about tackling Barcelona tonight. They will be in a bout with some of the biggest players on the planet and will need to stay disciplined in order to take any hope to the Nou Camp in the second leg. With that in mind, should Manuel Pellegrini set his side up to hit the La Liga giants on the break, or should they  go all out attack and hope they can find a way through?

When Jose Enrique was suffered an injury that would keep him out for a lengthy period of time, Liverpool fans were cautious, but they were not too worried. After all, Brendan Rodgers brought in Aly Cissokho on loan from Valencia, and he was rated very highly by some of their fans. A powerful, athletic full-back who loves storming up the pitch – Cissokho, on paper, looked an exciting acquisition. However, his first handful of games couldn’t have gone any worse for the Frenchman.

Despite having hundreds of appearances to his name, experience on the biggest stage of them all and having been a huge part in Manchester City’s title win a couple of seasons ago, Joleon Lescott has had to be patient this season. The England international has made just eight league appearances this term and according to the Metro he will be leaving the club at the end of the season. For me it’s a mistake, and I know that I am in the minority but here are my reasons.

I cannot stress to you how important I believe the signing of Juan Mata was for Manchester United last month. With a midfield almost void of creativity and with no pace or hunger, the record signing of the little Spaniard was a shrewd one.

Aaron Ramsey had never really been a player to set the Premier League alight. The Wales international was a typical British player in the way that he put everything into his performances but he never looked as though he could be a match winner. That changed this season though as his dazzling performances in the opening parts of the campaign set Arsenal up for a season of hope.

It is finally here – the Champions League knockout stages are scheduled to kick off tonight with Manchester City hosting La Liga giants Barcelona. City, who have an incredible home record this season, will be up against some of the best players in the world and will need to stand tall in order to get anything out of it, but how are the Spaniards line up at the Etihad?