Champions League Preview: Stuttgart v Barcelona

Posted on February 23rd, 2010 by admin

Pep Guadiola has warned his players that they need to up their game to make through this round of Champions League, saying “this standard won’t be enough to put us through to the quarterfinals”.

Barcelona travelled to Stuttgart yesterday and were training yesterday evening. Despite not yet being given the medical all clear, both Xavi and Alves were training with Iibrahimovic, who sat out Saturday’s match to rest a minor ankle injury; Abidal and Keita are both ruled out due to injury still.

Stuttgart are currently in excellent form, with a 6-2 win at the weekend and so tonight will be a real test for Barcelona.

Kickoff tonight is at 20:45 CET.

Tags: Alves, Ibrahimovic, Xavi

Barça and Racing to field under strength squads

Posted on February 18th, 2010 by admin

This weekend Barça faces Racing de Santander, with both teams fielding under strength squads. In the previous three matches, Barcelona has beaten Racing twice and drawn once. While Barcelona is suffering in midfield, which could be a danger against a full strength team, Racing’s own injury and suspensions may negate this deficiency.

For Barça the players almost certainly missing the match are Alves, Xavi, Keita and Abidal. Touré Yayá is also unlikely to play, although there is a slim possibility he’ll be fit.

It’s not all bad news though, as returning to Barça will be Piqué and Marquez, who sat the last match out due to suspension.

Tags: Abidal, Alves, Keita, Márquez, Pique, Racing, Santander, Touré Yaya, Xavi

Two in, two out

Posted on February 16th, 2010 by admin

After fielding a much reduced squad against Atletico de Madrid last Sunday and suffering the consequences, it must be reassuring to Pep Guardiola that Piqué and Márquez will both be back from suspension, and Dani Alves is at least back in training.

The week ahead sees Barça play Racing at the Nou Camp on Saturday, where they’ll be looking to hold on to three points while hoping that Real Madrid lose some points against Villarreal on Sunday. And while they have time on their side in the league – although that can work both ways – Barça faces Stuttgart next week.

While Guardiola gains some key players, he’ll also be doing without Keita and Xavi who are added to the injury list. Keita is expected to be out for four weeks with a hamstring injury and Xavi is suffering from a thigh injury which will see him out of action for a fortnight.

Tags: Alves, Guardiola, Keita, Márquez, Pique, Xavi

Injuries plague Barça squad

Posted on February 11th, 2010 by admin

Eric Abidal injured himself while training on Tuesday and will be out of action for 6-8 weeks after doctors confirmed a tear in his abductor, joining Alves, Touré, Márquez and Piqué who will all be missing Saturday’s match against Atletico de Madrid.

And to add to Pep Guardiola’s headache Dmitri Chygrynskiy also noticed a problem during training and will be out of action for a week while he recovers from a thigh problem.

Tags: Abidal, Alves, Márquez, Pique, Touré

Match preview: Getafe arriving in town

Posted on February 5th, 2010 by admin

Albert Dalmau was training with the main squad again yesterday ahead of the clash with Getafe on Saturday. Puyol is definitely sitting the match out thanks to his one match suspension, but Dani Alves and Eric Abidal are recovering from injury and their fitness is still unknown.

Getafe are well known for putting up a fight Рoften a bit too enthusiastically Рand the match could easily see Bar̤a dropping points.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the Champions League final against Manchester United in Rome last May was watched by more people than the Superbowl for the first time ever. 109 million people worldwide watched the entire match, while 206 million watched at least part of it.

The Superbowl was 3 million short at 106 million, compared with 54 million who watched the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix and 29 million who watched the Wimbledon final.

Tags: Abidal, Alves, Barcelona v Getafe, Dalmau, Getafe, Puyol