Barcelona will be facing Manchester City in the last 16 of the Champions league in a match that could be the standout fixture in this round. Barcelona are one of the best teams in Europe even though they are going through an identity crisis at the moment under the new manager Gerard Martino.

They have done extremely well in the league up until now, but without playing the same style of football that has become synonymous with the club over the last five years. City, on the other hand, have managed to shake off the early-season poor form to dominate the league in the last few weeks.

They have moved to the top of the table after a 3-2 win over Swansea, while they have been receiving a lot of plaudits for the attacking style of football adopted by Manuel Pellegrini this campaign. They are close to break Chelsea's record of 103 goals scored in the league campaign. They are already up to 57 for the season. Ahead of this encounter in February, Fabregas has spoken about the need to be at the best in order to beat City. The former Arsenal man has come up against City in the past, but this current version will be very different indeed.
"I’ve seen them 10 or 12 times, I know them well. They have a very complete, balanced and competitive squad.

They can break from very deep with Yaya Toure as their leader and they have players who can change games such as (Samir) Nasri, David Silva and Jesus Navas. Kun Aguero is very competitive for them in attack and I think Alvaro Negredo has found a style of football that really suits him. It will be a very difficult game," said Fabregas.
Barcelona are top of the Spanish league will be with no advantage over Atletico Madrid.