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UCL: Barcelona vs Spartak Moscow Preview

Barcelona, Sep 19: Barcelona new coach Tito Vilanova takes charge of his first ever UEFA Champions League match as Spartak Moscow visit the Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Former Valencia coach Unai Emery visits the Catalan giants home yet again but this time round its with Russian club Spartak Moscow. Emery has never won at the Camp Nou as coach of Almeria and Valencia, his record reads W0 D5 L7.

Barcelona have maintained a 100% record in La Liga winning all four opening matches while Spartak find themselves in seventh place in their domestic league.

Lionel Messi is set to start after coming on as a substitute against Getafe while David Villa could get the nod ahead of Alexis Sanchez who is a doubt for Wednesday's clash. Captain Carles Puyol and playmaker Andres Iniesta are ruled out for this match.

Kim Kallstrom and Jose Manuel Jurado made their debuts for Spartak while Emery must decide whether to start with striker Artem Dzyuba or Emmanuel Emenike.

Trivia:

*Barcelona have lifted the trophy twice in four seasons. Overall the Catalan giants have won it four times, making them fifth most successful club in the competitions history.

*Barca have finished as group winners 13 times, one more than rivals Real Madrid and Manchester United.

*Barcelona are unbeaten in 16 European home games against Russian opponents, their last defeat came in 2009 when Rubin Kazan beat them 2-1. Their home record against Russian sides reads W4 D0 L2 while Spartak's record in Spain is W4 D0 L8

Probable Lineups:

FC Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes-Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Adriano-Xavi, Busquets, Fabregas-Pedro, Messi, Villa

Spartak Moscow (4-2-3-1): Dikan-D Kombarov, Insaurralde, Suchy, K Kombarov-Romulo, Kallstrom-McGeady, Ari, Bilyaletdinov-Dzyuba

OneIndia News

Story first published: Thursday, August 24, 2017, 17:29 [IST]
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