Arsenal travel to Camp Nou to face the tough challenge of turning a 0-2 first leg deficit against Barcelona into their favour.
Barcelona host Arsenal at the Camp Nou for the second-leg Round of 16 fixture of the Champions League. The Catalans have a 2-0 away goal advantage from the first leg thanks to two goals by Lionel Messi. Arsenal faces the tough task to turn a two goal deficit in their favour in order to advance into the quarter-finals of the tournament.
The La Liga leaders are currently on an unbeaten streak of 37 matches in all competitions. They have won all of their last eight games and are aiming to advance into the quarter-final for the tenth consecutive time.
Despite a 2-0 cushion, Barcelona’s manager, Luis Enrique has warned his team to remain wary of Arsenal. He insists that the match is still open and the Gunners should not be taken lightly.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference he said, ‘[The 2-0 win in London] was a good result but it doesn’t change our approach. It is still an open match, our opponents are dangerous and we need to play very well to go through to the next round.’
He has also insisted that his team needs to remain wary of the capability of Arsenal’s squad.
‘We have to try to handle quality players like Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez’, he added. ‘We want to keep the ball as much as possible to avoid counterattacks – it will not be easy, but lately we have being doing that well.’
The Catalans’ boss has laid special emphasis on Sanchez. He said, ‘Alexis is a very important player for Arsenal and the national team. He is a quality player, fast and attacking and he has improved his way of playing since he came to Barcelona. We have to be careful with him.’
Arsenal has lost all three previous encounters against Barcelona (2010, 2011 and 2006 Champions League final). A defeat in the second leg for the North London club would mean a sixth successive elimination from the Round of the 16.
Head to Head
Barcelona secured a 2-0 advantage at Emirates Stadium three weeks ago, with Lionel Messi netting a late brace.
Barcelona have come out on top in both of their previous two-legged European affairs with Arsenal. The last time that the two sides met in the Champions League was during the 2010-11 season, when the Gunners lost 4-3 on aggregate – including a 3-1 defeat at Camp Nou.
The previous season, Messi hit all four goals as Barcelona recorded a 4-1 victory at home to Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the competition. Barcelona also beat the Gunners 2-1 in the 2006 European Cup final in Paris.
Match facts
- Barcelona are in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the 12th consecutive campaign. They have reached the semi-finals in seven of the last eight campaigns.
- Barcelona have won the Champions League in four of the last 10 seasons. They could become the first team since AC Milan to win back-to-back European Cup/Champions League titles. The Rossoneri did it in 1989 & 1990.
- Arsenal are the only team alongside Real Madrid to have reached the knockout stages of the Champions League every season since the new format in 2003/04. They have gone out in the Last 16 in each of the last five seasons.
- Barcelona have come out on top in each of their three previous Champions League home & away knockout encounters with Arsenal: 2006 final (2-1), 2009/10 quarter-final (6-3 on agg.) and 2010/11 Last 16 (4-3 on agg.).
- Arsenal have never beaten Barcelona at the Camp Nou (D1 L2). They’ve conceded seven goals in their last two Champions League trips to Catalonia.
- Only one team has beaten Barcelona by at least two clear goals at the Camp Nou in the Champions League in the last 12 seasons: Bayern Munich in May 2013 (3-0).
- Barcelona are one of two clubs still unbeaten in the Champions League this season, the other being Real Madrid. They have won 16 of their 20 Champions League games since last season (D2 L2), scoring in all 20 games.
- Luis Enrique has won all nine of his Champions League games at the Camp Nou as Barcelona manager (24 goals scored, 4 conceded). A 10th win in a row would set a new record for the Blaugranas in the competition.
Team News
Barcelona
Out: Rafinha (knee), Sandro (hamstring), Piqué (suspended)
Doubtful: none
Misses next match if booked: none
Arsenal
Out: Ramsey (hip), Čech (calf), Cazorla (Achilles), Oxlade-Chamberlain (knee), Rosický (thigh), Wilshere (calf/shin), Chambers (not in squad)
Misses next match if booked: Monreal, Özil, Campbell, Giroud
Possible line-ups
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Alves, Mathieu, Mascherano, Alba; Busquets; Rakitić, Iniesta; Messi, Suárez, Neymar.
Arsenal: Ospina; Bellerín, Mertesacker, Gabriel, Monreal; Coquelin, Elneny; Campbell, Özil, Sánchez; Giroud.
