Wednesday 19 October 2016 18:54, UK
Manchester City's trip to Barcelona in the Champions League will be a fascinating tactical battle of superiority, says Graham Hunter.
Pep Guardiola will be heading back to the Nou Camp, where he had huge success as a manager between 2008 and 2012, to face former team-mate Luis Enrique.
Speaking with Sky Sports' Guillem Balague on Revista Bitesize, Hunter says the tactical clash will be captivating, and that both sides will look to gain superiority in midfield.
"One of the words the coaches will use with their players is superiority," Hunter said. "That doesn't mean winning the game, or scoring more goals, but superiority in passing positions, particularly in midfield.
"This weekend what we saw was a Barcelona who looked confident, electrically quick, goals to spare. Whether all those pieces come together against a high class rival like Manchester City, let's wait and see.
"One of the things I'll be fascinated by is how they both try to achieve that. Luis Enrique will be desperate to surprise Pep Guardiola, and I think Guardiola won't play three up front at the Nou Camp."
Barcelona prepared for the midweek clash with a 4-0 win over Deportivo on Saturday, while Guardiola's City have stuttered of late, taking one point from their last two Premier League games.
But Hunter believes a point would be a fine result for City, and that Guardiola will not make the same mistakes as he did in 2015, when his Bayern Munich side lost their Champions League semi-final first leg 3-0 at the Nou Camp.
"In 2015 when he came to the Nou Camp with Bayern Munich, he tried to contain all over the pitch. I think Pep will take a leaf out of the teams that come to the Nou Camp and press Barcelona, try to rob them of the ball.
"They key is which team will press better and who will gain superiority in midfield. There's no question that if they score they can make Barcelona nervous.
"Clearly if they get a point this will be a major result, Guardiola doesn't need to win to prove his reputation, it'll be damaging to Barcelona if he comes and gets a draw."
Guardiola bought six first-team players in the summer, spending over £150m, but Hunter believes he will dip back into the transfer market to strengthen in central midfield and full-back areas.
"When Pep Guardiola has full backs that are happier moving into the centre of midfield, when he is more confident in his central defenders, and John Stones has more experience, and let's face it, when Guardiola buys again in midfield and full-back, which he definitely will, we'll see a far less predictable Manchester City.
"What we're patently seeing is a more intense City with threat in Silva, De Bruyne and Sane, which Barcelona don't usually face at the Nou Camp week in, week out.
"Barcelona are favourites, but this is a test."
