Barcelona vs Bayer Leverkusen preview

March 6, 2012
By: Matthew Clarke

This tie is very much done and dusted following Barcelona’s 3-1 win at Bay Arena, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see an interesting affair at Camp Nou.

Seeing that Barcelona’s La Liga title chances went up in smoke just before the first leg at Bay Arena, many predicted the Catalans a tough encounter against very good Bayer Leverkusen side.

However, Pep Guardiola’s side eased off to a 3-1 victory in Germany and are now expected to finish the job at their own ground.

The Catalans have since recorded three La Liga victories in as many games, so it is no wonder they are now just 1.17 (1/6) with William Hill to win this game.

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Pep Guardiola will probably have to make do without Thiago Alcantara, who is out with a bruised shin, whereas Alexis Sanchez is set to miss ten to fifteen days with an adductor tear.

Leo Messi returns from domestic suspension, but Eric Abidal, Ibrahim Afellay, Andreu Fontas and David Villa all miss out.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Valdes – Alves, Puyol, Pique, Adriano – Iniesta, Xavi, Keita – Pedro, Messi, Fabregas.

Bayer Leverkusen could do little to avoid defeat in the first leg, but it appears that the 3-1 setback somehow had a positive effect on the team.

Robin Dutt’s men not only recorded back to back league victories over Augsburg and Koln, but also put a big dent into Bayern Munich’s title hopes by beating them at Bay Arena this weekend.

Die Werkself are obviously full of confidence following the good run of results, but odds of 21.00 (20/1) offered by Stan James on away win show that Bayer don’t have much to hope for before the trip to Camp Nou.

Striker Eren Derdiyok returned into action after recovering from an ankle problem, whereas Andre Schurrle played with a protective mask after suffering a broken nose.

Vedran Corluka remains doubtful, whereas Sidney Sam, Michael Ballack, Rene Adler, Danny Da Costa and Tranquillo Banetta continue to miss out.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Leno – Schwaab, Friedrich, Toprak, Kadlec – Bender, Reinartz – Castro, Augusto, Schurrle – Kiessling.

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  1. djelid aissa says:

    je veux que le barca gagne se soir 4-0 et 1 ou 2 but de messi