UEFA Champions League
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Played
November 1, 2011 7:45 PM GMT
Eden Aréna — Praha
Referee:‬ R. Schörgenhofer‎
Attendance:‬ 20145‎
 
 
Lionel Messi 24′ (PG)
 
Lionel Messi 45+2′
 
Cesc Fàbregas 72′
 
Lionel Messi 90+2′

Champions League Preview: Viktoria Plzen v Barcelona

The Catalan side travel to the Czech Republic for the return match against Pavel Vrba's outfit after winning the previous encounter two weeks ago by a 2-0 score at Camp Nou

By Martin Macdonald

More On :  FC Barcelona, FC Viktoria Plzeň, FC Viktoria Plzeň vs FC Barcelona
UEFA Champions League: FC Barcelona v FC Viktoria Plzen: Andres Iniesta; Xavi Hernandez, Lionel Messi
Getty

 PROBABLE LINEUPS

VIKTORIA PLZEN


Cech
Limbersky, Bystron, Cisovsky, Rajtoral
Petrzela, Jiracek, Horvath, Kolar, Pilar
Bakos
BARCELONA
Valdes
Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Abidal
Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta
Messi, Cesc, Villa

Roman Pavlik is still out for Viktoria Plzen after suffering a serious knee injury and has not played a match since July 27.

Barcelona are still without long-term absentees Ibrahim Afellay and Alexis Sanchez, who are still shelved with a cruciate knee injury and a hamstring problem respectively.

Cesc Fabregas is set to make his return in the Champions League after his hamstring strain and may be selected in the 'false 9' role in attack.

Pedro will miss the game with a knee injury after coming off in the Liga win against Granada a week ago.

Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique paired together for 20 minutes in the weekend win against Mallorca but it is unlikely that Pep Guardiola will risk both for this away encounter. Pique may get the nod to partner Javier Mascherano at the back.


 DID YOU KNOW?
  • The game between Viktoria Plzen and Barcelona two weeks ago was the first time in history that the sides have faced one another.
  • The Czech outfit are unbeaten in four home Champions League matches this season.
  • Prior to this season, Viktoria Plzen had only played two European home games in their history; a loss against Bayern Munich in 1971 and a draw with Besiktas last season.
  • If BATE Borisov fail to beat AC Milan and Barcelona win this match, Pep Guardiola's side will qualify for the knockout stage.
  • Barcelona have lost just one of their last seven European away fixtures.
  • The Catalan club's away record against Czech teams is two wins, a draw, and two losses.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • FC Viktoria Plzeň 0-3 FC Barcelona
    21.4 %
  • FC Viktoria Plzeň 0-4 FC Barcelona
    18.07 %
  • FC Viktoria Plzeň 0-5 FC Barcelona
    17.16 %
Head to Head
UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎ Nov 1, 2011 FC Viktoria Plzeň 0 - FC Barcelona 4
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  • Match Report
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UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎ Oct 19, 2011 FC Barcelona 2 - FC Viktoria Plzeň 0
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Last Five Matches
FC Viktoria Plzeň
Mar 14, 2013Fenerbahce 1 - FC Viktoria Plzeň 1EL
Mar 7, 2013FC Viktoria Plzeň 0 - Fenerbahce 1EL
Feb 21, 2013FC Viktoria Plzeň 2 - SSC Napoli 0EL
Feb 14, 2013SSC Napoli 0 - FC Viktoria Plzeň 3EL
Dec 6, 2012FC Viktoria Plzeň 1 - Atletico Madrid 0EL
FC Barcelona
May 19, 2013FC Barcelona 2 - Valladolid 1LIGA
May 12, 2013Atletico Madrid 1 - FC Barcelona 2LIGA
May 5, 2013FC Barcelona 4 - Betis 2LIGA
May 1, 2013FC Barcelona 0 - FC Bayern München 3UCL
Apr 27, 2013Athletic Bilbao 2 - FC Barcelona 2LIGA
Odds
Returns: Viktoria Plzen £810.00 BetVictor Sign up today with BetVictor and get a £25 FREE BET!
Returns: Draw £810.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Barcelona £11.30 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Team News
Available Squads
33Roman PavlíkGoalkeeper
8David LimberskyDefender
28Marián ČišovskýDefender
-David BystronMidfielder
14Václav PilařMidfielder
10Pavel HorváthMidfielder
11Milan PetrželaMidfielder
20Petr JirácekMidfielder
26Daniel KolarMidfielder
27Frantisek RajtoralMidfielder
23Marek BakosStriker
30Martin TichacekGoalkeeper
14Radim ReznikDefender
-Frantisek SevinskyDefender
16Vladimír DaridaMidfielder
11Martin FilloStriker
12Michal DurisStriker
-Jakub HoraStriker
1Víctor ValdésGoalkeeper
2Daniel AlvesDefender
3PiquéDefender
5Carles PuyolDefender
22Éric AbidalDefender
21AdrianoDefender
4Cesc FàbregasMidfielder
11Thiago AlcántaraMidfielder
16BusquetsMidfielder
10Lionel MessiStriker
23CuencaStriker
13José Pinto ColoradoGoalkeeper
17MaxwellDefender
8Andrés Iniesta LujánMidfielder
6XaviMidfielder
14Javier MascheranoMidfielder
-Seydou KeitaMidfielder
9Alexis SánchezStriker
Players to Watch
Marek Čech
Marek Čech
Position: Goalkeeper
Squad Number: 1
Games Goals YC RC
0 0 0 0
The goalkeeper was the best player in his side in the last match against Barcelona. He was kept extremely busy all night but acquitted himself well and made a couple of smart saves, and a cracking stop from Lionel Messi. He will need to be on this kind of form again if his team are to have any chance of emerging with anything from the contest. However, even with this, he will still need a lot more protection.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 10
Games Goals YC RC
11 8 0 0
Messi grabbed a hat-trick at the weekend within the first 30 minutes against Mallorca, and he was outstanding versus Plzen in the last Champions League meeting two weeks ago. You wouldn't put it past the Argentine putting in a performance of the same calibre in this match.
Prediction
Lionel Messi was the Goal.com Top Of The Match against Plzen in their last encounter, and this was a completely warranted accolade. The Argentine was in scintillating form, and the Czech side were extremely lucky to come away from the match only having lost two goals. With Messi grabbing a hat-trick and Barcelona winning 5-0 at the weekend, you cant see  anything but complete domination from the tournament holders.
Editor's Prediction
Viktoria Plzen 0
Barcelona 3
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker
Real Madrid 		12 0
Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski
Striker
Dortmund 		10 1
Thomas Müller Thomas Müller
Striker
Bayern 		8 1
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi
Striker
Barcelona 		8 0
Burak Yılmaz Burak Yılmaz
Striker
Galatasaray 		8 0