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Manchester City v Barcelona Live TV Channels, Team News

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MANCHESTER (Sporting Alert) — Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has decided to start with Edin Dzeko as the strike partner for Sergio Aguero against Barcelona in tonight’s Champions League last 16 first leg tie.

Coverage: 1:45pm Manchester City v Barcelona
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Pellegrini plans on being a little more physical against the Spanish giants and he believes that starting with Dzeko will add that quality.

New January signing Wilfried Bony is only on the substitutes bench, but will certainly play some part in this fixture before the end of the 90-minutes, while fit-again James Milner starts in the midfield.

Samir Nasri, Fernando and David Silva are all in midfield as well for Manchester City, who have the likes of  Frank Lampard, Jesus Navas, Fernandinho and Eliaquim Mangala on the bench.

Manchester City are without energetic midfielder Yaya Toure, who misses the game because of suspension after he was sent off in the last game in the group stage against CSKA Moscow.

Barcelona, in the meantime, have given the green light to Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar to light-up the attack in the search of goal.

Suarez will be making his first appearance since leaving Liverpool last summer and Pellegrini will be hoping the Uruguay forward will have an off night on Tuesday night.

Veteran midfielder Xavi is a substitutes tonight for Barcelona, with Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets all starting.

Javier Mascherano slips into center-half to partner Gerard Pique, while Dani Alves and Jordi Alba play on each side of them in the back four.

So will it be the battle of the strikers from Argentina?

Messi v Aguero, or will the likes of Suarez, Neymar, Rakitic, Silva or even Lampard make the headlines.

Manchester City v Barcelona

Barcelona Teams: Ter Stegen, Alves, Mascherano, Pique, Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta, Suarez, Neymar, Messi Subs: Bravo, Xavi, Pedro, Rafinha, Sergi Roberto, Adriano, Mathieu.

Manchester City Teams: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Fernando, Milner, Nasri, Silva, Dzeko, Aguero Subs: Caballero, Sagna, Mangala, Fernandinho, Lampard, Navas, Bony.

Reports: Man City Eye Move For Paul Pogba

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MANCHESTER (Sporting Alert) — Manchester City are reportedly plotting a move for a former Manchester United player, according to the latest paper rumors.

The Sun is reporting that Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is looking to swoop for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, as a replacement for Yaya Toure.

It is understood that French champions Paris Saint-Germain are still interested in signing Toure after making it known in the summer that he was one of the players high on their shopping list.

The Ivory Coast international has been the subject of criticisms this season, following his slow start to the campaign and he has refused to rule out the chance of leaving the Etihad Stadium for the Parc des Princes, which has put all parties on alert.

“You never close the door to a big club,” Toure was quoted as saying in an interview with French radio station RMC last month. “The important thing is to continue my job, you do not know what might happen tomorrow.

“It is always an objective to play at big clubs and win trophies,” he added.

It is believed that Toure, although committed to the English Premier League champions until the remainder of the season, is not looking past the current campaign and Manchester City are looking for a long-term replacement.

Pogba is seen as the ideal midfielder to replace the 31-year-old Toure.

The 21-year-old Frenchman has been in superb form since moving to the Serie A to join Juventus from Manchester United on a free transfer in 2012.

A number of club’s including the Red Devils, have been linked with a move for the powerful central midfielder, but Manchester City are apparently ready to pay whatever it takes to seal a deal for the World Cup star.

In other Manchester City news, the Daily Mirror is reporting that another Frenchman, Samir Nasri could be on his way out of the club after apparently claiming that he will not stay at the Etihad if he is no longer wanted by the club.

Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur Team News, Preview

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MANCHESTER (Sporting Alert) — Team news ahead of Manchester City fixture at home against Tottenham in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday.

GAME INFORMATION
(2nd) Manchester City vs (6th) Tottenham Hotspur
English Premier League
Saturday, Oct. 18, 6:45 AM on NBC Sports, mun2
Etihad Stadium
Jamie Redknapp’s Red Hot Tip and Prediction: Manchester City 2 v 1 Tottenham

In the last six games in this series, Manchester City has won five and outscored Tottenham 22-8.

En route to winning the title last year, the Citizens hammered Spurs 6-0 at Etihad Stadium before taking the return leg at White Hart Lane, 5-1.

Both teams head into this EPL fixture on good form and are undefeated in their last four games overall.

Their respective Premier League last outings, prior to the international break, saw Man City taking down Aston Villa 2-0, while Tottenham scored a 1-0 victory over Southampton.

Injuries are a worry though for both managers, with Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino hoping goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and top scorer Nacer Chadli will recover in time for the away trip after being listed as doubtful on the EPL injury list.

Kyle Naughton, who was injured against Southampton in the last game and Kyle Walker, recovering from pelvic surgery, will miss the game for the travelers.

“Kyle Naughton is getting better and perhaps he will have the possibililty to be in the squad for the next game (Asteras Tripolis),” Pochettino said on www.tottenhamhotspur.com.

“Kyle Walker is still recovering from his injury but he’s doing okay, he’s started to run and that’s good news.

“He improves every day but it’s important not to rush him because most the important thing is a full recovery after surgery.”

Man City boss Manuel Pellegrini continues to be without Samir Nasri, but the champions should have midfielder Fernandinho, despite him picking up a knock at Aston Villa.

Manchester City trails leaders Chelsea by five points in the EPL table standings after five games and Brazilian midfielder Fernando believes all three points are needed against Tottenham as the early race for the title heats back up.

He said on www.mcfc.com: “This is a very important game for us because we can’t afford to lose points because we are behind Chelsea and we are up against a very good side.

“We have enough quality to win every game we play but we are expecting Tottenham to make it difficult on Saturday.”

Fernando added though that the game will be far from easy, while outlining where the threat from the opponent could come from.

“Spurs are good going forward and solid in midfield and at the back so they will come here and look to make things difficult for us,” he said.

“We need to get into our stride early on and carry on where we left off against Aston Villa.”

Sergio Aguero, with five goals lead Manchester City in scoring this season, while Chadli has netted four for Spurs in the same column.

Goals are expected in this fixture, on evidence of their match-ups, and Man City are expected to score most of them once again.

WatchESPN/ESPN3: Manchester City v Olympiacos

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(SportingAlert) — Edin Dzeko ans Stevan Jovetic lead the attack for Manchester City in today’s International Champions Cup clash against Olympiacos at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

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Jovetic has been in good goalscoring form thus far this summer, and will be hoping to continue adding to his goal tally in preseason against the Greek champions.

Starting as well for Manchester City are Joe Hart, who returns in goal, as well as midfielder Samir Nasri, Yaya Toure and Fernando.

David Silva and James Milner are amongst the substitutes today for the English Premier League champions.

The experienced Argentine forward Javier Saviola is amongst the starters for Olympiacos, with Alejandro Domínguez, Giannis Maniatis, Dimitrios Diamantakos and Kostas Manolas also starting as well.

Eric Abidal, Dimitrios Kolovos and Avraam Papadopoulos are all on the bench.

Olympiacos line up: Roberto, Elabdellaoui, Siovas, Masuaku, Manolas, Domínguez, Maniatis, Samaris, Kasami, Saviola, Diamantakos. Subs: Avlonitis, Ndinga, Salino, Papazoglou, Abidal, Bouchalakis, Dossevi, Kolovos, Papadopoulos, Megyeri, Holebas, Fuster.

Manchester City line up: Hart, Clichy, Kolarov, Boyata, Rekik, Fernando, Yaya Toure, Nasri, Navas, Dzeko, Jovetic.

Manchester City beaten in pre-season opener

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Samir Nasri in action for Manchester City

(MAN City) — Manchester City suffered a defeat in their opening pre-season friendly on Sunday, after losing 2-0 to Dundee.

The Blues, playing their first game since returning for pre-season, were understandably sluggish while Dundee were a yard quicker and much sharper having begun their own pre-season a fortnight ago.

Manuel Pellegrini opted to get the maximum use out of the game by playing two virtually different starting XI’s in either half but the hosts were already two goals to the good by the break.

First, Gary Harkins scored after his penalty had been saved by Willy Caballero with the Dundee man following up to force the ball home on 26 minutes.

Eleven minutes later and City were 2-0 down when Luka Tankulic’s effort struck a sky blue body and wrong-footed Caballero and send the majority of the 6,859 home crowd wild.

The Blues made wholesale changes as planned after the break with onlyy Callabero and Emyr Huws remaining from the team that began the first-half but apart from a half-chance from Alvaro Negredo and a Samir Nasri snap-shot, City created little in the way of presentable opportunities.

City will resume action against Hearts next Friday.

Man City 1st half: Caballero, Bossaerts, Kolarov, Denayer, Boyata, Navas, Fernando, Rodwell, Huws, Jovetic, Guidetti

Man City 2nd half: Caballero, Richards, Leigh, Rekik, Nastasic, Zuculini, Garcia, Nasri, Negredo, Huws, Sinclair

Manchester City v Sunderland Live Stream, Team News

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(Sporting Alert) — Sergio Aguero for Manchester City, who are without midfielder Yaya Toure because of injury for today’s Barclays Premier League game against Sunderland.

Manchester City v Sunderland Live Stream on NBCSports Extra | Live Scores

Aguero will lead the attacking line and he will be partnered by Alvaro Negredo, with Edin Dzeko dropped to the bench.

There is also no David Silva, so James Milner starts in midfield alongside Javi Garcia, Fernandinho and Samir Nasri. Aleksander Kolarov also starts, while Gael Clichy, who started against Liverpool dropped to the bench.

Meanwhile, Sunderland have started Seb Larsson and Santiago Vergini today, as they seek to win points in the battle to stay in the Premier League next season.

Manchester City v Sunderland

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov, Milner, Javi Garcia, Fernandinho, Nasri, Aguero, Negredo
Subs: Richards, Lescott, Dzeko, Rodwell, Clichy, Pantilimon, Jovetic

Sunderland: Mannone, Vergini, O’Shea, Brown, Alonso, Cattermole, Borini, Larsson, Colback, Johnson, Wickham
Subs: Altidore, Ba, Giaccherini, Scocco, Ustari, Mavrias, Agnew

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Live Radio Coverage: Manchester United v Manchester City

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MANCHESTER (Sporting Alert) — Manchester United has recalled Rio Ferdinand to play alongside Phil Jones in the center of the backline for tonight’s Manchester derby clash with Manchester City at Old Trafford.

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Ferdinand comes in to take the place of Michael Carrick, who has moved back into his main position at central midfield, with Tom Cleverley coming in to play alongside him.

Danny Welbeck has also been recalled with Ashley Young and Shinji Kagawa also making way.

For Manchester City, captain and leading defender Vincent Kompany returns from suspension to lead the backline, while Edin Dzeko starts on his own in the attack.

David Silva, Yaya Toure, Fernandinho and Samir Nasri all start as well for the Citizens, who are looking to complete the sweep over their arch city rivals this season.

Manchester United starting XI: De Gea; Rafael, Ferdinand, Jones, Evra; Carrick, Cleverley, Fellaini; Mata, Welbeck, Rooney.

Manchester City starting XI: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany (C), Demichelis, Clichy, Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, Nasri, Silva, Navas, Dzeko.

Barcelona v Manchester City Team News; Live Stream

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BARCELONA (Sporting Alert) — Sergio Aguero leads the attack for Manchester City in tonight’s Champions League 2nd leg last-16 clash against Barcelona at Camp Nou.

Barcelona v Manchester City Live Coverage Stream | Live Scores and Updates

Aguero, who missed the first leg, which Barcelona won 2-0, will be hoping to help the English Premier League side bounce back from the stunning FA Cup defeat to Wigan over the weekend.

Also starting tonight is James Milner, while Joleon Lescott comes in at the back for Martin Demichelis, who is out suspended after he was sent off in the first leg.

Samir Nasri starts over Jesus Navas, while Alvaro Negredo is on the bench.

Barcelona, in the meantime, made just one change from the team which came away victorious in Manchester three weeks, with Brazilian star forward Neymar replacing Alexis Sanchez and joining Lionel Messi, with Pedro on the bench.

Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández, Sergio Busquets and Cesc Fabregas all start in midfield.

Barcelona will be hoping to keep the pressure on the EPL side, but head coach Gerardo Martino is expecting a very tough game.

“We have to think that ten or 12 days ago, we played a very good match against Manchester City,” he said. “I don’t see why we can’t do the same again and I’m sure we will play well.”

TEAMS
Manchester City: Hart, Kompany, Zabaleta, Lescott, Kolarov, Milner, Nasri, Silva, Fernandinho, Y. Touré, Agüero. Subs: Pantilimon, Clichy, Boyata, Javi García, Jesús Navas, Negredo, Džeko.
Barcelona: Víctor Valdés, Piqué, Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Daniel Alves, Fàbregas, Xavi Hernández, Iniesta, Busquets, Messi, Neymar. Subs: Pinto, Bartra, Adriano, Song, Sergi Roberto, Pedro Rodríguez, Alexis Sánchez.

Watch Manchester City v Barcelona Live Stream: FoxSoccer2Go

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Gerardo Martino, Barcelona coach

MANCHESTER (Sporting Alert) — The Champions League second round clash everyone has been waiting for, Manchester City v Barcelona at Etihad Stadium has finally arrived.

Watch Manchester City v Barcelona Live Stream: FoxSoccer2Go
Manchester City v Barcelona 
Live from 2:00 PM 
Soccer > UEFA Champions League

On Tuesday night, two of the competition favourites will lock-horns early, as they seek to take an early advantage from the first leg.

Both teams have been boosted by the return of some key players, although Manchester City will be without star forward Sergio Aguero, who remains on the sidelines injured.

The English Premier League side welcomes back midfielder Fernandinho, who could be fit to face Barcelona, while Samir Nasri is also set to feature after scoring against Chelsea in his return from an injury at the weekend.

“He has a chance. He is in the squad list for tomorrow,” Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said about Fernandinho. “We will see tomorrow who can start but he has worked without any problem.”

About Aguero, he revealed: “He is not in the squad list.

“We will see if he can be fit on Saturday, but maybe that is also difficult.”

After missing practice, defender Matija Nastasic is also set to miss out.

Barcelona, in the meantime, welcome back striker Neymar, while Lionel Messi’s return to form after being out injured is also scary time for Manchester City.

Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino wants his team to keep the ball, as he strongly believes that will limit Man City’s chances of scoring.

“Maintaining possession benefits us and it reduces City’s chances,” Martino said.

At the same time, he is remaining cautious.

“I think Manchester City is one of the greatest teams in the world right now. What I really like is Manchester City’s diversity.

“They have so many different threats; they are good at set pieces, good in the air and they score a lot of goals. Obviously, for us to defend that we will have to keep possession.”

Video Highlight: Manchester City beat Chelsea 2-0 in FA Cup

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MANCHESTER (Sporting Alert) — Manchester City beat Chelsea 2-0 in their fifth round English FA Cup at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

Stevan Jovetic and Samir Nasri scored the goals for Manuel Pellegrini side, which turned the tables on Jose Mourinho’s men, who had defeated them in the English Premier League earlier this month.

Jovetic, handed the start on the home, netted the opener in the 16 minute after beating Petr Cech from a tight angel, before substitute Nasri, returning from an injury, sealed the win after scoring from close range in the 67th minute of play.

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany told ITV1: “We wanted revenge.Twelve days ago we had a really bad game, we gave them a lot of chances but we created a lot as well.

“Today we just adapted, they played the same and it was comfortable for us.

“From the word go were hard in the challenge, we were spot-on creating a lot of chances and we didn’t give any away.

“It’s a big win against a strong team. We love the FA Cup, I think this was a great game for the competition and we’re really happy with the result.”

Chelsea team: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, David Luiz, Azpilicueta, Mikel, Matic, Ramires, Willian, Hazard, Eto’o. Subs: Schwarzer, Cole, Lampard, Salah, Schurrle, Oscar, Torres.

Man City team: Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Garcia, Toure, Milner, Silva, Jovetic, Dzeko. Subs: Hart, Richards, Demichelis, Kolarov, Navas, Negredo, Nasri.