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The story of the first leg

Barcelona were only capable of collecting a 2-2 draw when they traveled away to the Emirates Stadium, despite leading 2-0 in the early moments of the second half.

Barcelona displayed a superb performance in the first 20 minutes of their clash against Arsene Wenger’s side, taking both the wings and the center of the field to as attacking measures.

The Arsenal defense was resistant, and an ineffective Zlatan Ibrahimovic was incapable of stealing an early lead for Barca.

Therefore, the score line stayed 0-0 at half-time; yet, the second half began in favor of Barcelona who scored two quick goals through Ibrahimovic.

Coach Pep Guardiola almost had reasons to believe that his men were going to have a comfortable match at the Camp Nou, but a goal from Theo Walcott toward the end of the game changed the situation.

Finally, with Cesc Fabregas being awarded a penalty and Carlos Puyol being sent off, the game ended 2-2 at the shock of Barca fans.

The Champions League title holders are now awaiting a tough battle at home on Tuesday night.

Misfortunes ahead of the second leg

Both Arsenal and Barcelona fans have problems to worry about ahead of the game at the Camp Nou on the evening of April 6.

Barcelona

Gerard Pique will not feature in defense for Barcelona against Arsenal, as the Spaniard was controversially shown a yellow card in the first leg at the Emirates.

This forbids him from playing in the second leg encounter at the Camp Nou, and Barca supporters can only hope that this will not be a bonus for Arsenal forwards.

Moreover, skipper Carlos Puyol was given a red card for a bad challenge on Fabregas in the ending minutes of the encounter in London.

As a result, Puyol will miss the return leg match in Spain, increasing Arsenal’s chances of imposing theirselves on the Barcelona backline.

Likewise, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to miss this game due to an injury he sustained in training around the weekend.

This is sad news for the Champions League title holders, in view of the fact that he was the one who got all their away goals.

Ibrahimovic’s exclusion from the line-up of the hosts at the Camp Nou will eventually require more efforts from the FIFA Player of the Year Lionel Messi, who looks set to impress this time around.

Additionally, midfielder Andres Iniesta is also anticipated to miss this clash, since he has not completely recovered from his injury.

The wound Iniesta suffered late in the month of March was said to take up to 10 days before getting away, but with the match taking place just tomorrow, his presence is doubtful.

It is a shame though, as the Spanish midfielder was the one who sent Barcelona to the 2009 Champions League final thanks to a last-minute strike against London side Chelsea.

But taking into account the current circumstances, Barca might just have to do with his absence.
Defender Dimitriy Chygrynskiy could also be left out as he passes his time in the treatment room.

Arsenal

The hugest blow for Arsenal is the exit of Cesc Fabregas.

Fabregas is expected to be out for over 5 week, hence his absence will cause a great hole in the visitors’ formation on Tuesday night.

Fabregas was severely tackled by Carlos Puyol at the Emirates, resulting in a fractured bone in his leg, as well as his nonappearance in the return leg in Barcelona.

Defender Gallas is also likely to watch the battle from the stands at most, since an injury he obtained earlier on hasn’t proved to be improving too quickly.

To finish, Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs, Johan Djourou, Robin van Persie, and Andrey Arshavin are also all ineligible for the clash.

Lionel Messi vs Nicklas Bendtner

Both Lionel Messi and Nicklas Bendtner were eclipsed in their first leg encounter in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Their supporters are expecting far better shows from them in Cataluña, and the forwards are aware that unconvincing performances will be enough to anger their fans.

Messi got a goal at the weekend in Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao, while Bendtner was the goalscorer in Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton.

Both players had a nice time in their respective leagues, and on Tuesday, it will be their chance to power their clubs to triumph in Europe.

Predictions

With the wonderful performance of Bojan Krkić against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend, and the return of Xavi Hernandez, Barcelona are supposed to get the game under control.

Perchance, Arsenal might cause them some trouble through tricky moves from Nasri and Walcott, but a nice start for the Catalans might kill the spirit of the visitors.

Nicklas Bendtner could also be a threat for the hosts, but with Lionel Messi also in action, Barcelona should win the game, even if they do not keep a clean sheet.

A reasonable prediction would be: Barcelona 2-0 Arsenal

Otherwise: Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal

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