What: Champions League Quarter-final (second leg)
Who: Barcelona (0) vs AC Milan (0) (first leg score in brackets)
When: Tuesday 3rd April, 2012, at 19:45 UK time
Where: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain

No Excuses

Having seen Real Madrid emerge as winners minutes before their kick-off with Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, Barcelona were obliged to succeed at the risk of seeing their gap with the league leaders widen to a potential nine points.

With no Fernando Llorente and Iker Muniain up front for the Basque side, Josep Guardiola’s team still found it hard to break down the opposition, before eventually winning the game 2-0. Now the same is expected here as the club’s Champions League hopes are at risk following a goalless draw against AC Milan last week.

In the previous clash, despite their opponents being crippled by a growing list of injuries, Lionel Messi and co. still could not find the space to maneuver the way they wanted to, and were rebuffed several times by the likes of Luca Antonini and Daniele Bonera.

Now Andres Iniesta – hero on the night against Athletic Bilbao – understands that nothing but a win will do against the Italian champions.

“We have to win, that’s the reality. At home, with our fans, we have to get to the next round and we must go into the match with confidence. We’ll see 90 thrilling minutes”, said the World Cup winner.

Cheated Out of Victory

Having managed to keep out Barcelona at the San Siro a week ago, AC Milan go into this match with much optimism, as they do not need to win the game in order to qualify – any score draw would see the Rossoneri through according to the away goal rule. Prevailing over Barcelona is the hardest task in world football though, and Milan will need to put on quite a display to do so.

The Rossoneri were held at the weekend to a 1-1 draw against Catania, but were left fuming at the end over what appeared a legitimate goal that was disallowed by the referee. Speaking post-match, coach Massimiliano Allegri admitted that his side froze in the build-up leading to the corner from which they conceded, but maintained that the case will be different in the second leg against Barcelona.

“It was a beautiful game. We knew we would find some difficulties here; we had something of a blackout and conceded from the corner. It is a shame that we were not able to finish off some of the chances we had and that we leave two points on the road like this.

“Tuesday [against Barcelona] will be another game. Motivation comes by itself and we will have to produce the best performance possible."

Recent form

Barcelona:
Real Mallorca 0-2 Barcelona
(24/03; La Liga)
AC Milan 0-0 Barcelona
(28/03; Champions League)
Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Bilbao
(31/03; La Liga)

AC Milan:
AC Milan 2-1 Roma (24/04; Serie A)
AC Milan 0-0 Barcelona
(28/03; Champions League)
Catania 1-1 AC Milan (31/03; Serie A)

Key absences

Barcelona: Eric Abidal; Andreu Fontas; David Villa; Ibrahim Afellay

AC Milan: Thiago Silva; Filippo Inzaghi; Mark van Bommel; Rodney Strasser; Antonio Cassano; Mathieu Flamini; Alexander Merkel (doubt)

Players to watch

Barcelona – Carles Puyol: Rested against Athletic Bilbao, the veteran captain will undoubtedly resurface against Milan. Now 33 years of age, Puyol is not the same man he was for his club two or three years ago, however, his leadership of the Blaugrana defence is unquestionable.

AC Milan – Robinho: The Brazilian missed a complete sitter in the first few minutes when the two teams last met, despite a recent purple patch. Robinho did net his side’s only goal against Catania at the weekend though, but it is in games like these where he should shine the most.

Match Prediction

As Iniesta himself declared, only a win will do against Milan. In front of the die-hard Cule fans, and with the Camp Nou pitch in perfect condition to play tiki-taka football, all bets are on Barcelona to win this one. Expect a final 2-0 score in their favour.


This Barcelona v AC Milan clash is when the Champions League gets serious. But who will win? Make sure you visit OLBG for tips and to compare the current odds and betting markets available at all the important bookmakers.