The Camp Nou is the venue tonight (at 22.00) for a gripping encounter between Barça and Vila-real, second and third in the table respectively. Without Piqué or Milito, the big mystery is who will partner Puyol in the centre of defence.
Because of the way FC Barcelona and Vila-real are playing, Josep Guardiola expects a good game on Saturday night. He has been impressed with what he’s seen of Garrido’s third place outfit.
FC Barcelona eased into the next round of the Copa del Rey with a 5-1 triumph over Ceuta in their second leg encounter on Wednesday evening thanks to goals from Nolito, Gaby Milito, Pedro, Bojan Krkic and Lionel Messi.
FC Barcelona tonight welcome Ceuta (at 22.00) where they will need to make the most of the 2-0 win in the away leg and qualify for the next round of the cup. The squad contains 12 first team players and five from the B.
Pep Guardiola is not treating Ceuta as a done deal despite winning the away leg, but instead intends to give the match all the attention it deserves.
Barcelona (FCB).- The CIHEFE has looked back over the first decade of the century and totting up its points has given Barça 1,630 against second placed Real Madrid with 1,482.
FC Barcelona produced a domineering display against Getafe to secure all three points on Sunday evening as Lionel Messi, David Villa and Pedro all scored in a game in which Gerard Piqué was sent off.
The team travels to Getafe today at 19.00 in what promises to be an excitement packed clash. Every time Barça has won here, they have gone on to win the league.
David Villa knows that at Barça, the team should always be put ahead of personal aims, and does not feel he should be judged on how many goals he scores. “Barça did not sign me to be the top scorer, but to help make Barça better”, he said.
There’s just no stopping Leo Messi. In Copenhagen, the Argentinian scored yet again and now has 100 in the Josep Guardiola era. Messi has also overtaken Rivaldo as the club’s highest scorer in international competitions.
FC Barcelona have taken a point from their visit to the animated Parken Stadium in Copenhagen in which they hit the woodwork three times. Messi opened the scoring in a game that sees Barça stay top of their group table.
Barça face Copenhagen this evening at 20.45 h in a game to decide the leadership of Group D of the Champions League. A win for Guardiola’s men would virtually ensure classification.
Ahead of Tuesday’s game, Pep Guardiola has insisted that Copenhagen will pose a very different threat from Seville: “it’s a different competition and a completely different game – we`ll have to put in a very good performance”.
Messi missed the trip to Ceuta in midweek and he stressed the importance of a week of training at the Ciutat Esportiva for a number of the senior players: “it’s been a good week for working out and recovering our physical fitness”, he explained to the Barça TV programme” El Marcador”, after the game against Seville.
Barça treated the fans to a fantastic performance at the Nou Camp tonight, hitting five past Seville with two goals apiece from Messi and Villa and one from Alves to chalk up their fifth win on the trot.