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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Ricky Charlesworth

Man City team the last time they faced Barcelona with just three players still at the club

Manchester City take on Barcelona on Wednesday night in a glamour friendly at Camp Nou.

The clash sees Pep Guardiola take on his old club for a charitable cause. The game will raise funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) awareness through the Luzon foundation. It is in honour of Juan Carlos Unzue, a former Barcelona player and coach who was diagnosed with the condition just over two years ago. All the money raised from the match will be going towards research for the disease.

The game will be the first meeting between the two super-clubs since City beat Barca 3-1 in a Champions League group game in November 2016. Here, we look at the team that featured on that famous night at the Etihad six years ago.

Read more : City's squad to face Barca revealed

Willy Caballero

The Argentinian shot-stopper played in four of that season's Champions League games, after Claudio Bravo was sent off against former club Barca in their Camp Nou meeting.

Remarkably, Caballero, 40, is still playing and is at Southampton having earned a one-year contract extension.

Pablo Zabaleta

The long-serving full-back was at City for nine trophy-laden years.

He was a mainstay in the team for a large majority of that time before a three-year stay at top-flight rivals West Ham preceded his retirement in 2020.

Nicolas Otamendi

The Argentinian centre-back was at City for five years between 2015 and 2020. He's now in his third season at Portuguese side Benfica having previously been at their rivals Porto.

John Stones

One of only three players who are still at City, this was one of Stones' first tastes of Champions League football.

Six years on he remains a key part of the defence although he is among a bunch of stellar centre-backs including Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte.

Aleksandar Kolarov

The free-kick specialist was in Manchester for seven years and this tie against Barca represented his final taste of Champions League action at the Etihad.

He went on to represent Roma and Inter Milan before retiring this summer.

Ilkay Gundogan

The German international scored two goals in this famous win, and is still a key component for Guardiola to this day. Such is his importance he was recently voted club captain by his fellow players.

Kevin De Bruyne

Still the beating heart of this City team, the Belgian scored the team's second in this memorable game. Now in his eighth season at the Etihad he remains as crucial as ever.

Fernandinho

The Brazilian ended nine years at City in perfect style last season with a fifth Premier League title. Many expected him to hang up his boots but instead he returned to his first club, Athletico Paranaense.

David Silva

The Spanish magician dazzled in his decade at City and would have enjoyed this victory against one of the giants from his homeland.

After an emotional City departure in 2020, Silva is now in his third campaign with Real Sociedad.

Raheem Sterling

The England forward was, to the surprise of many, allowed to depart this summer after top-flight rivals Chelsea forked out £47.5million for his signature.

He certainly made a big contribution during his time at City, winning four Premier League titles and scoring 91 league goals.

Sergio Aguero

An icon at the Etihad, Aguero's 10-year spell saw him establish himself as one of the club's all-time greats. He set numerous records and proof of his legacy is the statue which proudly sits outside the ground. He retired in 2021 shortly after joining Barca due to a heart condition.

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