Wenger: Barca are favourites to win UCL

Posted Wednesday, March 21, 2012 by ESPN

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed Barcelona to lift the Champions League trophy this season.

Despite several European giants still being in the running for this season's Champions League, Wenger has tipped Barcelona to take the honours. The Frenchman believes the Spanish side have the confidence and skill required to take them to the end.

"In my opinion, Barcelona are the big favourites to win the Champions League. Firstly, they are high on confidence because they have already won the competition before." Wenger wrote in Eurosport.

"Additionally because they are now starting to recoup players who have been injured for quite a while,"

Wenger considers Barcelona's talismanic midfielder Lionel Messi as another factor in favour of the Catalan giants' Champions League crusade.

"Madrid might have Cristiano Ronaldo, but Barcelona have Messi, who is capable of scoring two goals even if he's not in top form." he stated.

Furthermore, the Gunners' manager thinks the Los Cules' attacking impetus is almost impossible to stop, giving Barcelona a psychological advantage over their opponents.

"It's very difficult to play in Barcelona without conceding a goal. They are very strong at home." Wenger shared.

"Even when you play at home, you know that they will make a goal in the return because of their attacking potency."

Barcelona are slated to take on AC Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals.