David Villa thinks there is little to choose between Manchester City and Barcelona as they prepare to face off in the Champions League.
Villa, who scored in Barcelona's Champions League final victory over Manchester United in 2001, and was a runner-up in the competition with Atletico Madrid last season, has been appointed New York City FC's first captain.
While Barcelona beat City 4-1 on aggregate at the same stage last season, the former Spain international feels Manuel Pellegrini's side are quite evenly matched with the four-time European champions.
"I think it is a very close tie," Villa said told City's official website. "City and Barcelona are two of the best clubs in the world with great players so I'm sure it will be a very good tie to watch."
David Villa is #NYCFC's captain. https://t.co/uCnp7toqp3
- New York City FC (@NYCFC) February 1, 2015
After a troubled run before Christmas, Barcelona have recorded 11 successive victories and Villa admits it is a difficult time to meet them.
"I think that Barcelona were also playing well before but they didn't get the results and always when you win games you have more confidence," he added.
"Now they are in very good form. They win games, they have closed the gap with Real Madrid [to one point] and they won against Atletico -- a very difficult team to beat -- in the Copa del Rey, so they are in a good place.
"I'm sure that Manuel Pellegrini and all his staff know Barcelona very well. When you face this kind of team you have to make sure that you make it difficult for them and try to take advantage of the weaknesses."