Barcelona v AC Milan – Match Preview and Betting Tip
Barcelona need to overturn a two goal deficit in this second-leg of their tie with AC Milan if they are to proceed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. However, a goal conceded by Barca will put their opponents in an extremely strong position, meaning that Barca would need to score four times to be victorious.
The odds would appear to be stacked against Barcelona. Not only has no side ever overcome a two goal deficit in the Champions League without scoring an away goal, they played Milan twice in the Nou Camp last season, and didn’t win either match.
However, Barcelona will be able to call on a full strength side for this fixture, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Pedro and Victor Valdes returning, having been rested at the weekend.
Milan have injury concerns over Phillipe Mexes and Kevin-Prince Boateng, and will be without Giampaolo Pazzini, after he picked up a niggle at the weekend.
Barcelona (possible 4-3-2-1): Valdes; Alves, Pique, Puyol, Alba; Xavi, Busquets, Fabregas; Iniesta, Pedro; Messi
AC Milan (possible 4-4-1-1): Abbiati; Abate, Zapata, Mexes, Constant; Montolivo, Ambrosini, Muntari, Boateng; El Shaarawy; Bojan
Betting Prediction: Barcelona haven’t been in the best of form lately, and gave another fairly unconvincing display last time out, in beating La Liga’s bottom club, Deportivo la Coruna by two goals to nil. However, several big plus points came out of that game for Barca. Firstly, Lionel Messi scored a brilliant goal, showing that the mercurial Argentinian has lost none of his goal-getting sharpness. Secondly, a rare clean sheet was acquired, which is precisely what is required in this fixture against Milan. Thirdly, Barcelona were able to rest many of their best and most important players, with the Spanish title virtually completely secure already. Thus, the likes of Pique, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro and Messi will be completely fresh for this fixture.
By contrast, Milan picked most of their best players for the 2-0 win over Genoa, and will be without centre-forward Pazzini for this fixture, after he picked up an injury in the Serie A victory. This will pose Milan problems for this tie, with Balotelli unavailable due to being cup-tied, and Robinho only just back from injury. Former Barca man Bojan may lead the line, but he has struggled for form, scoring only 3 goals in 25 apperances this season.
In addition, this is potentially Barcelona’s last significant fixture of the season. Although they have to complete their league programme, Barca look to have La Liga in the bag, and they are already out of the Copa del Rey. If they crash out of the Champions League, there is not much left for the Catalan giants to play for this season.
I just feel that we will see the best of Barcelona in this tie, and that they will overturn the first-leg deficit, at least in normal time. I can see this game going into extra time, with the final score at the end of ninety minutes being Barcelona 2 – 0 AC Milan.
