Barcelona not as tough as Stoke away - Kompany

The Belgian insists he has faced more challenging assignments at the Britannia Stadium than taking on Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez

Vincent Kompany insists Manchester City have no reason to fear Barcelona and believes an away trip to face Stoke City is more intimidating than a clash with the Catalan giants.

City renew hostilities with Barca at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday, having been eliminated 4-1 on aggregate by them at the same stage of the tournament last season.

Manuel Pellegrini's men, however, head into the match on the back of two resounding league victories: a 4-1 win at Stoke City and a 5-0 drubbing of Newcastle United.

Barca, in contrast, suffered a shock 1-0 loss at home to Malaga in La Liga on Saturday but will likely line up at the Etihad Stadium with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez up front.

"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," Kompany told reporters.

"They're a special team with special players. 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 these games. The moment I'm feeling reluctant to play in these games I'm not in the right place. This is what I want.

"The next game is a massive one now and it's one of those - if you have a good day it can be a special night.

"So we have to prepare and I think everyone is ready for it. We don't fear them. You don't go in at this level fearing strikers.

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

City trail Chelsea by five points in the Premier League title race and are yet to reach the last eight of the Champions League since Sheikh Mansour's takeover in the summer of 2008, but Kompany insists he and his team-mates are capable of scaling even greater heights in the coming seasons.

"Our team's been proving our determination in recent years," he added. "We've always come back. We're putting in a fight again for the Premier League and we'll put in a fight for the Champions League too.

"The history of this club tells you that in the past six years we always keep progressing. It's only a matter of time."