Manchester City vs Barcelona: Champions League matchday one preview

Manchester City are preparing for their opening game in this season's UEFA Women's Champions League group stage, and it all begins with a stellar matchup between the Cityzens and the reigning European champions Barcelona.

Manchester City booked their spot in the Champions League 24/25 group stage after a comfortable qualifier against Paris FC, which ended with an aggregate score of 8-0 to confirm their place in Europe.

The 8-0 win came as a somewhat surprise to many, who would have expected a rather closer and nailbiting encounter, after witnessing Paris FC's emilaintions of Wolfsburg and Arsenal last year.

But, Gareth Taylor's squad was too strong for the French side to compete with and as a result, it was Manchester City whose Champions League journey would continue beyond the qualifying stage.

Manchester were then drawn into a group alongside current Champions League title winners Barcelona, Austrian side St Polten and Swedish club Hammarby.

While Manchester City will be heavily favourited against the likes of St Polten and Hammarby, it's the Barcelona fixtures that come as the biggest games for the Cityzens, as we all know the talent that the Catalan club possess which has resulted in them winning two Champions League titles in a row.

However, we also know that this Manchester City squad are surpassing expectations, and even though they did fail to attain any silverware last season, the team have expressed their determination to right the wrongs and come out successfully this time around.

Manchester City already have positives to go alongside their winning start to the new campaign, as they also have seen big players return from injuries such as Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw and Jill Roord, who have shown valuable impact in matches.

As Manchester City go into this Champions League encounter, they will have the confidence knowing that they are currently at the top of the Women's Super League table with seven points after three matches (one draw, two wins).

The game is set to kick off at 20:00 (UK time) on Wednesday, the 9th of October.

Man City Square Prediction

Manchester City 2-2 Barcelona

This will be an incredibly tough test for Manchester City, the biggest they could be facing so early in a European group stage.

While Man City won't be considered favourites going into the game, as Barcelona will be the competition number one chosen to win the title, but Manchester City are slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with and they should be able to take something away from the match, but a win could be considered a little far-fetched so early on.

You can read about all six of the fixtures awaiting for Manchester City in the 24/25 Champions League.