Bayern Munich vs Barcelona preview - Guardiola hails Barca

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has labelled Barcelona "the best European team in the past 15 years" ahead of their Champions League clash on Tuesday.

The Bundesliga champions must overcome a 3-0 deficit at the Allianz Arena to reach the final in Berlin.

"We are Bayern and will do everything we can," Guardiola said in a news conference on Monday."We will use our heads and our hearts.

"But we are playing against the best European team in the past 15 years."

The five-time European winners conceded three goals in the space of 13 minutes in last week's opening leg in Spain.

Two goals from Lionel Messi and one from Neymar put Guardiola's former club Barca one step closer to their eighth final.

However, Bayern did hit back from a 3-1 deficit to beat FC Porto 6-1 at home and reach the semi-finals of the competition.

"It's not the same but we will try," Guardiola said.

Failure to score at the Nou Camp means Bayern have plenty of work to do in attack but they must also stop Barca's formidable attacking trio of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez from scoring.

"People think we have to attack but the first thing we must do is defend because Barca has become the best counter-attacking team in the world," Guardiola said. "Obviously, we will have to attack more than we did in Barcelona."

The German champions are in the midst of a five-match losing streak in all competitions and are without star duo Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, who both suffered season-ending injuries.

Moreover, Bayern defenders Holger Badstuber and David Alaba are also out injured while Barca are at full strength.

Bayern have won all five home games en route to the semi-finals but take on a Barca side that has won its four consecutive away games in the competition.

Barca are, however, looking for their first victory at the Allianz Arena.

"We want to win the return leg," Barca coach Luis Enrique said. "We have not won the tie and hence, we don't see ourselves in the final yet."

Barca, who have won the European Cup four times, are on course for a treble success this season.

Saturday's 2-0 win over Real Sociedad lifted Barca four points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the Primera Division with two games remaining.

The Catalan giants have won eight games on the trot and have not conceded for seven games.