MIKE HARVEY takes a detailed look at the prospect of facing Barca again in the Champions League…
Before the draw took place in Nyon last Friday, we knew we would face one of four teams. It’s easy to say now, but I would have put my life on us drawing Barcelona. Ideally, we would have drawn a German side. Even Real Madrid wouldn’t give me too much to worry about. But like all of us now, we’ve had to accept that we are going to need to beat Barcelona – at least once.
On current form, this appears to be an impossible task. We’ve had too many disappointing results and performances so far this year, with the ongoing problem of us being unable to keep clean sheets. It’s all well and good saying “we can just outscore them”, but this isn’t happening for us as often as it should be.
Barcelona on the hand, have been quite incredible this campaign. I feel Pep Guardiola is a much more fortunate coach than Arsene Wenger, as he gets rewarded by playing attractive football. Note that when I say “fortunate”, I don’t mean he’s more lucky than Wenger. He has the best team to handle, with very few problems arising. The attacking force of Villa, Messi, Iniesta and Xavi is simply world class.
The Catalonian side have the luxury of scoring multiple goals each game against whoever they face. They also have the ability to keep clean sheets regularly – not that they need to! Like I’ve suggested, whether they win the Champions League, or (hopefully) crash out to a team that consists of Bendtner, Denilson and Eboue, they are the best footballing side in the world at the moment.
Last year, we struggled in both legs because of injuries. It’s not an excuse to why we were knocked out, but it doesn’t help when you have to rely on Bendtner to get you goals, or Eboue coming off the bench to “change the game”. Ideally, we will have a fully fit squad to pick from. Here’s hoping that we can avoid any long-term injuries, while also getting Thomas Vermaelen to overcome his worryingly mysterious Achilles injury.
We also need to improve our form, and consistency. We’ve thrown away points in the league, and even lost our Champions League top spot. Yes, we’ve shot ourselves in the foot and have been punished for our mistakes. But if we do this against Barcelona, we might as well hand the gun over now. Our record in Spain isn’t too convincing, but I’m not a man that thinks statistics are relevant. I understand why they are mentioned, but I don’t feel they are important as the general media make out to be.
I believe we can win at home, and then scrape a score draw at the Nou Camp. We just have to stay fit, improve our form and hope that players like Nasri, Arshavin, Fabregas and Chamakh can work hard, work together and be clinical when the chances arise – as they won’t come often. I wouldn’t complain if Messi picks up an injury. Nothing serious obviously, but just something to prevent him from scoring 4 against us again!
On paper, the odds are all against us. But this is football – a sport made for underdogs to cause upsets. Progressing will be very, very hard – but not impossible.
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