Premier League holders Manchester City have again been pitted against mighty Barcelona and they will have revenge on their minds after last season’s 4-1 aggregate loss.

The Catalans also have a point to prove having suffered a disappointing La Liga defeat to Malaga, meaning we should see a very interesting match at the Etihad.

As much as Manchester City proved their worth in English Premier League, winning two of last three league titles, the Citizens have been unable to live up to the billing in Europe’s elite competition.

Having crashed out in the group stage two times in a row, the Etihad outfit finally reached the knockout stages last term, but in turn suffered two defeats to Barcelona.

Manchester City will be hoping to fare much better this time out and they are available at 3.40 (12/5) to qualify for the quarter-finals.

The Citizens have finally managed to show some improvement in English Premier League, recording big wins over Stoke and Newcastle to prove a four-match winless run was a thing of the past.

They thus closed the gap behind Chelsea to five points and this should give the players an extra incentive ahead of the final stretch of the season.

Chances are Yaya Toure, serving the final game of his three-match ban, will be sorely missed, but Manuel Pellegrini hopes James Milner will recover from a knee problem in time to face Barcelona.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Hart – Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy – Fernando, Fernandinho – Nasri, Silva, Milner – Aguero.

Barcelona, too, experienced plenty of problems in the past two Champions League campaigns, first suffering an embarrassing 7-0 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich before being beaten by eventual finalists Atletico Madrid last term.

The Catalans’ performances this term, however, have been quite impressive, with Luis Enrique’s charges winning five group games and losing only to PSG.

Barcelona also reached the Copa del Rey semis and seriously improved their league position with a run of 11 straight wins, but the impressive streak came to an abrupt end last weekend.

Against all odds, the Catalans were beaten at home by Malaga and it remains to be seen how they will respond in the Manchester City clash.

But, in spite of the disappointing result, Barcelona remain 2.20 (6/5) favourites with William Hill to win the first leg at the Etihad.

Jordi Alba is expected to recover from a minor knock, but Thomas Vermaelen and Douglas Pereira are definitely out.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Bravo – Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba – Xavi, Busquets, Rakitic – Messi, Suarez, Neymar.