Vincent Kompany: Stoke City can be tougher than Barcelona

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has alleviated fears among City fans over their Champions League tie against Barcelona in midweek, stating that it is harder to survive at the Britannia Stadium against Stoke City than against the European giants.

City host Barcelona at the Etihad in the first leg, where they will be desperate to get a positive result, failing which their chances of progressing in the competition will be significantly reduced.

The English Champions have already been thwarted by Barcelona in the round of 16 stage last season and a similar result will put massive pressure on Manuel Pellegrini, who is struggling to keep his job after falling 5 points behind Chelsea in the title race.

However, Chelsea's failure to beat Burnley and City's 5-0 demolition of Newcastle United in the weekend should lighten the mood at the Etihad, who are looking for their first ever progression into the quarter finals of Europe's most prestigious club competition.

With a daunting task ahead of them, the skipper was asked about his thoughts on the tie and if the Citizens will approach the game with a certain degree of fear, given their previous encounters with the Spanish giants.

"Fear? We don't fear them. You don't go in at this level fearing strikers," Kompany said.

"We want to play against them. It will be the fourth time in a year. There's nothing new to worry us, it's a case of having the whole team at a very high level.

"They're a special team with special players, of course. I think their ability is not about hurting you all game - you can have tougher games when you go to Stoke City.

"It's about the fact they can decide a game within a second. They have more players than anyone else in the world who can finish games with a touch of magic.

"But I've come into football to play those games. The moment I'm feeling reluctant to play in these games, I'm not in the right place. This is what I want," he concluded.