FC Copenhagen vs Barcelona preview - Barca target early boost

Posted Tuesday, November 02, 2010 by PA

Barcelona take on FC Copenhagen knowing a victory will secure them a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Barca took over top spot in Group D with a 2-0 home win over FC Copenhagen a fortnight ago, and that has left Pep Guardiola`s side on seven points - one clear of the Danes, five above third-placed Rubin Kazan and six better off than Panathinaikos.

Therefore, with only two rounds remaining after this week, Barca will guarantee themselves a top-two finish in the group if they can down FC Copenhagen at the Parken Stadion.

Barca playmaker Xavi admits securing qualification so early would be a boost, saying: "That would mean we could rest some players, but it won't be easy to beat Copenhagen."

Lionel Messi added: "It'd be good to get a win so that we can practically forget about the Champions League for a while."

The 2009 European champions warmed up for the trip with an impressive 5-0 home mauling of 10-man Sevilla at the weekend.

The Catalan giants have not had the best of form at the Nou Camp so far this season, but they put on an impressive showing to down Sevilla thanks to braces from Messi and David Villa, plus another from Dani Alves.

Messi's double took him to 14 goals in all competitions this season, while Villa moved onto six and eased some of the pressure that has been building on the Spain international following a relative lack of success in front of net this season.

Guardiola said of the 40 million euro summer signing from Valencia: "We never doubted him. He has played for Sporting (Gijon), for Zaragoza, for Valencia, and scored goals for all of them, so we knew his signing was a guarantee (of goals)."

More good news for Guardiola was the return of Xavi following a troublesome Achilles problem.

Xavi was substituted after an hour, but Guardiola said after the match the World Cup winner was in perfect shape for the game against to FC Copenhagen.

Xavi himself admitted he was still suffering some pain but felt he could have played the full 90 minutes against Sevilla.

"I felt very good, I was very happy," he said on his club's website.

"I felt nearly 100% again and I'm optimistic about being able to play in every game, although that will depend on the injury."

Guardiola took a 19-man squad with him to Denmark today, with the fit-again Gabriel Milito included.

Goalkeeper Jose Pinto is missing, though, as he serves a two-match European ban after being found guilty of gross unsporting conduct during the previous encounter against FC Copenhagen.

The Danish club reported the 34-year-old to UEFA alleging he imitated the referee's whistle in a bid to trick striker Cesar Santin into thinking he was offside.

Despite their loss at the Nou Camp, FC Copenhagen are still in a strong position in Group D having won their first two matches.

That defeat was also a rare setback for Stale Solbakken's side, who have been in magnificent form this season.

In the Danish SAS Liga they boast a 14-point lead at the summit following a record-breaking start that has seen them win 12 of 14 matches, drawing the other two.