Played
February 15, 2012 1:15 AM IST
BayArena — Leverkusen
Referee:‬ C. Thomson‎
Attendance:‬ 29400‎
 

Champions League Preview: Bayer Leverkusen - Barcelona

The Catalan giants will be hoping to extend their dominance over German opposition in recent seasons as they prepare to face Robin Dutt's side in the round of 16

By Karthick Arvinth

More On :  Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayer Leverkusen vs Barcelona
Champions League: Bayer Leverkusen - Valencia, Andre Schuerrle
Bongarts

 PROBABLE LINEUPS

BAYER LEVERKUSEN


Leno
Corluka, Schwaab, Friedrich, Kadlec
Castro, Reinartz, Rolfes
Bender
Kiessling, Schurrle
BARCELONA


Valdes
Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal
Xavi, Mascherano, Iniesta
Fabregas, Messi, Sanchez

Bayer Leverkusen Vs. FC Barcelona
February 15, 2012 1:15 AM IST
Live On Ten Action+

Michael Ballack suffered a calf injury during training on Sunday and will miss Bayer Leverkusen's round of 16 first leg clash with Barcelona on Tuesday. The news comes as a blow to Bayer coach Robin Dutt, who is already without his two top scorers, Eren Derdiyok (foot) and Sidney Sam (thigh).

Defender Danny da Costa should be fit after suffering a knock to his shin during training.

Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets, who has been missing from action with a bruised knee since 4 February, is included in the squad travelling to Germany, and may feature at the BayArena.

Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Cesc Fabregas could all start for the Catalan outfit after the trio were left on the bench for Saturday's defeat at Osasuna.


 DID YOU KNOW?
  • Bayer Leverkusen and Barcelona have met each other six times in European competition, with the Catalan club notching three wins to Bayer's two.
  • Leverkusen, who are sixth in the Bundesliga table, are bidding to reach the last eight of the Champions League for the first time since 2002, when they went on to lose to Real Madrid in the final.
  • The German club's overall home record against Spanish opposition is W5 D3 L4.
  • Barcelona have avoided defeat in their last seven trips to Germany (W4 D3).
  • However, Leverkusen were the last German side to beat the reigning European champions on German soil - a 2-1 win in the 2001-02 Champions League first group stage.
  • With six goals to his name, Lionel Messi (pictured) was joint-top scorer of the Champions League group stages along with Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez.

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Top 3 Predictions
  • Bayer Leverkusen 0-3 Barcelona
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  • Bayer Leverkusen 1-3 Barcelona
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  • Bayer Leverkusen 0-2 Barcelona
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Head to Head
UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎ 08-Mar-2012 Barcelona 7 - Bayer Leverkusen 1
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UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎ 15-Feb-2012 Bayer Leverkusen 1 - Barcelona 3
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Last Five Matches
Bayer Leverkusen
05-May-2012FC Nürnberg 1 - Bayer Leverkusen 4GER1
28-Apr-2012Bayer Leverkusen 1 - Hannover 96 0GER1
21-Apr-2012TSG Hoffenheim 0 - Bayer Leverkusen 1GER1
14-Apr-2012Bayer Leverkusen 3 - Hertha BSC 3GER1
11-Apr-2012Bayer Leverkusen 3 - FC Kaiserslautern 1GER1
Barcelona
26-May-2012Athletic Bilbao 0 - Barcelona 3ESPC
13-May-2012Betis 2 - Barcelona 2LIGA
06-May-2012Barcelona 4 - Espanyol 0LIGA
02-May-2012Barcelona 4 - Malaga 1LIGA
30-Apr-2012Rayo Vallecano 0 - Barcelona 7LIGA
Team News
Available Squads
23Bernd LenoGoalkeeper
2Daniel SchwaabDefender
3Stefan ReinartzDefender
5Manuel FriedrichDefender
24Michal KadlecDefender
27Gonzalo CastroDefender
14Vedran CorlukaDefender
6Simon RolfesMidfielder
8Lars BenderMidfielder
10Renato AugustoMidfielder
9Andre SchürrleStriker
22David YelldellGoalkeeper
4Bastian OczipkaDefender
20Danny da CostaDefender
21Ömer ToprakDefender
17Michael OrtegaMidfielder
11Stefan KießlingStriker
38Karim BellarabiStriker
1Víctor ValdésGoalkeeper
2Daniel AlvesDefender
5Carles PuyolDefender
21AdrianoMidfielder
22Éric AbidalDefender
4Cesc FàbregasMidfielder
8Andrés Iniesta LujánMidfielder
14Javier MascheranoMidfielder
16Sergio Busquets BurgosMidfielder
9Alexis SánchezStriker
10Lionel MessiStriker
13José Pinto ColoradoGoalkeeper
32Marc Bartra AregallDefender
11Thiago AlcántaraMidfielder
28Dos SantosMidfielder
30Sergi RobertoMidfielder
17PedroStriker
-Joan Isaac Cuenca LopezStriker
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi
Striker
Barcelona 		14 4
Mario Gomez Mario Gomez
Striker
FC Bayern München 		13 0
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker
Real Madrid 		10 2
Karim Benzema Karim Benzema
Striker
Real Madrid 		7 0
Didier Drogba Didier Drogba
Striker
Chelsea 		6 0