Fear not an option for Manchester City as Barcelona arrive for Champions League spectacle

Pellegrini and Toure say City will stick to their plan and make Barcelona do the worrying

Yaya Toure, left, and Manuel Pellegrini say they are confident about their chances of success against Barcelona in Tuesday night's Uefa Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Etihad Stadium. Paul Ellis / AFPShow less

MANCHESTER // There was a chuckle from Manuel Pellegrini. He had been informed of a quote from Fabio Capello, that the only way to stop Lionel Messi was with a rifle.

As it happens, Pellegrini’s Manchester City have done plenty of shooting this season, but the task of subduing a modern great is a welcome problem.

Fifteen years ago, City had just drawn 0-0 with Bournemouth. They were gearing up for their major local derby that season – against Macclesfield Town, not Manchester United – and hoping for a play-off place in the third tier.

This year, Pellegrini has branded City as the only team in Manchester in the current campaign. They are preparing for the biggest game in their European history. It is Tuesday night against Barcelona, not Bournemouth, Messi not Macclesfield. It is, they hope, a staging post en route to a greater destination. It has already been quite a journey.

“Of course I understand,” Pellegrini said, comparing City’s lowly past and lofty present.

And so he faces a dilemma that none of his predecessors has faced: how to halt Messi.

“He does a lot of different things: he has speed, good control, a good finish,” the City manager said. “But I don’t think Barcelona is Messi. You can have Messi tight and other players will decide the game.”

With a typical willingness to downplay the occasion, Pellegrini branded it, “a good test”.

Yaya Toure, an alumnus of Camp Nou, said: “We have a lot of respect for Barcelona. They have a great history in the last 10 years. Barcelona are a strong team: physically, tactically, the way they use the ball with Messi, Xavi [and Andres] Iniesta.”

Yet his message is that City will not be afraid – not of Messi, the Spanish champions’ 337-goal record scorer, and not of “the most important club in the world”, as Pellegrini branded them. Not of anyone. Instead, the aim is to ensure that Barcelona worry about them.

“I believe in the style of play,” Pellegrini said. “We are not just going to think about defending, but what we can do with the ball.”

Toure added: “We have the players, we have the quality and the temperament.”

They welcome back another of their premier performers with Fernandinho passed as fit. Star striker Sergio Aguero, approximately a week away from a return, will not feature on Tuesday.

Barcelona have been Uefa Champions League semi-finalists in each of the past six seasons, emerging as European champions in 2009 and 2011. Toure was part of the 2009 team, and 12 months later he gave up his place to sign with City, who had gone 34 years without a trophy.

“For me to come to Man City was the right move,” he said. “I was always talking about coming here to win something.”

He has been a winner, scoring the goal that decided the 2011 FA Cup final and winning the Premier League 12 months later. Now his sights are set higher. City are chasing a quadruple. Toure is eyeing the most prestigious prize of all.

“Obviously, the Champions League is our top objective,” he said.

A personal goal is to become the 10th player to win the competition with different clubs.

“I hope if I’m lucky enough to get it this year,” he said. “I would love to be part of that group.”

There are plenty in Catalonia who would like to see him among Gerardo Martino’s group. Toure topped a radio poll for the City player Barcelona fans wanted most in their team. Instead, a giant figure should tower over teammates-turned-rivals, such as the diminutive technicians Xavi and Iniesta, in midfield.

Toure has become more prolific since leaving Camp Nou – he has scored 15 times this season – but it has led to suggestions that a man who played in the 2009 final as a centre-back is not defensive enough.

“The most important thing is what my manager tells me to do,” Toure said.

Pellegrini concurred: “Yaya plays the way I want him to play. He scores a lot of goals and gives a lot of creativity to our team.”

In that respect, Toure personifies City. They have progressed, while United have regressed.

“If we only consider this season, there is just one club in Manchester, and it’s ours,” Pellegrini said.

If it is a controversial analysis, it is also an accurate appraisal. The bigger statement would be if the Champions League quarter-finals contained just City and not Barcelona.