Barcelona vs Arsenal: Predicted lineups and match review – on Koscielny, Bellerin, Messi and Pique

Barcelona will host Arsenal at the Camp Nou for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie as the Gunners needing simply a miracle to overturn the two-goal deficit to stand a chance of proceeding to the quarter finals.

Barcelona, who have one foot in the last eight (quarter finals) and the other in the last 16, are firmly in the driving seat in this tie and are very optimistic to finish the job on Wednesday night when they take on the English Premier League title hopefuls, Arsenal.

The north London club arrived in Barcelona on Tuesday night and their manager Arsene Wenger has remained optimistic that his side has whatever it takes to overturn Barcelona.

“We don’t have to calculate too much, we know we have to attack and score,” said Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. “The players are united to give a strong performance.”

If Wenger’s men are to progress to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League, they will need to overturn a two-goal deficit against a brilliant Barcelona side. For 70 minutes in the first leg of this tie the Gunners had held firm against Barcelona, threatening on the break and limiting their opponents to just a few chances.

But two Lionel Messi goals in the final 20 minutes put the Spanish champions firmly in control. Defending his side’s first leg lose to Barca, Wenger said: “Our approach was not bad in the first leg but we lost our balance and got caught.”

Meanwhile Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has been advising his side to remained focus, despite the fact that they are in a better position to progress to the last eight.  Enrique has recognized Arsenal as strong team, hence they need to remain focused to assure themselves a win on Wednesday. “We want to be better than Arsenal on Wednesday,” he said.

Barcelona will be enjoying the service of their attacking-trio Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez who are fit for the match. Enrique will have to make a major decision whether to use the League-winning partnership of Andreas Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic or turn to Arda Turan who has been regaining his full match fitness. Pique is still on suspension.

For Arsenal, Laurent Koscielny could make a comeback on Wednesday after returning from injury. David Ospina, who has shown good form, will continue to play for the injured Number goalkeeper Peter Cech.

Hector Bellerin is expected to take the right-back position. Aaron Ramsey, Santi Carzola, Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere remain out with injuries.

Predicted Lineups.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Dani Alves, Jeremy Mathieu, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic; Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): David Ospina; Hector Bellerin, PerMertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal; Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny; Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; DannyWelbeck.