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Manchester City vs. Barcelona: Combined Starting XI

By Cody Griffin

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 18: Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City speaks to the media during the Manchester City Press Conference at Camp Nou on October 18, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 18: Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City speaks to the media during the Manchester City Press Conference at Camp Nou on October 18, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) /
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TURIN, ITALY – 2016/10/06: Spain Sergio Busquets during the Fifa World Cup 2018 qualification soccer match between Italy and Spain at the Juventus Stadium. The game ended 1-1. (Photo by Isabella Bonotto/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY – 2016/10/06: Spain Sergio Busquets during the Fifa World Cup 2018 qualification soccer match between Italy and Spain at the Juventus Stadium. The game ended 1-1. (Photo by Isabella Bonotto/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) /

Second Central Midfielder: Sergio Busquets

Sergio Busquets is the clock that keeps Barcelona ticking, he is their most important midfielder (in my opinion) in that everything runs through him. He plays a perfect role in the back of a midfield diamond for Barca, breaking up attacks and turning those break-ups into new opportunities for the Catalans.

Busquets is not a Yaya Toure type of player, a duel threat that (in the past) plays defensively while also offering a goal-scoring threat going forward. A few seasons ago I might have picked Yaya Toure over Busquets here, but certainly not anymore.

Ilkay Gundogan also has a shout here at this position, but after only recently beginning to play for Manchester City, he still has much more to prove to attempt to beat out Busquets on this list.

Fernandinho also gets a strong shout out at this position, as he plays a similar style to Busquets, but with a much higher tempo.

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