Fabregas sets sights on Spartak win

Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas has called on his team-mates to focus on sealing qualification to the next round when they play Spartak Moscow.

Despite a shocking loss to Champions League Group G opponents Celtic in the previous match day, Barcelona remain in good stead to top the group and qualify for the knockout stages. However, the team must negotiate a tricky tie away from home to Spartak Moscow in order to do so.

Speaking to the club's official website, Fabregas admitted he was not looking forward to the conditions awaiting them at the Luzhniki Stadium, but he also insisted that the Catalans would deliver regardless of the circumstances.

"The artificial pitch and cold won't be a problem or an excuse, we could see their potential when they came to the Camp Nou, it'll be difficult, all teams in the Champions League are always dangerous and it's always a tough task in Russia," Fabregas stated.

"It will be a hard game, but we are not thinking about holding out for a draw, just because that will see us through - we want to win, we always play our way and we'll just have to adapt that to whatever they do."

The club's director of football Andoni Zubizarreta echoed the midfielder's comments, as he warned the squad that Spartak would pull out all the stops to prevent Barcelona from leaving Russia with a victory.

"Our goal is to qualify for the next round as soon as possible. We must win on Tuesday for that to happen. We weren't able to clinch qualification in Glasgow, but we are hopeful that we can do it in Moscow," Zubizarreta said.

"We're aware of how difficult the match will be because Spartak are running out of options to get to the next round."

Barcelona take on Spartak Moscow in their Champions League Group G clash on Tuesday.