Champions League is by far one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world and the most important championship in Europe. Organized by UEFA each year, the tournament is contested by top division professional football clubs from European nations.
Currently, the competition is in the play-off stage and one of the most anticipated matches from the Champions League’s second leg round of 16 is the clash between Barcelona vs. Arsenal. As bookmakers are ready for this event, it is one of the best opportunities to use the Unibet Bonus Code that grants access to a first risk-free bet.
With a combined revenue of almost 1 billion EUR, both clubs have impressive records that make the upcoming match even more exciting.
Barcelona finished the group stage leading with 14 points, having a record of 4 wins and 2 draws with matches against As Roma (1-1;6-1), Bayer Leverkusen (2-1;1-1) and BATE Borisov (0-2;3-0).
Arsenal finished the group stage on the 2nd place behind Bayern Munich. In 6 matches played, the club accumulated a total of 9 points and managed 3 wins and 3 losses against Dinamo Zagreb (3-0;2-1), Olympiacos ( 2-3; 0-3) and Bayern Munich (2-0; 5-1).
This is not the first time that the clubs meet. In fact, Arsenal and Barcelona met during the 2010-2011 Champions League’s knockout phase when the Spanish team swept aside Arsenal with a 2-1 victory at the Camp Nou stadium in the 2nd leg after a 2-2 draw in the first leg.
This season Barcelona had already faced Arsenal during the first leg of the last 16 round when the club managed an impressive away win at Emirates Stadium by a score of 0-2. Both goals were scored in the last 20 minutes of the match by none other than Leo Messi (71’, 83’).
Regarding recent form, Barcelona is unbeaten in 36 games, winning their last 7 matches from all competitions. Currently, the club occupies the 1st place in Primera Division with 8 points ahead of 2nd place, Atletico Madrid.
Arsenal can’t pride itself with such a terrific recent form. In their last 5 games, the team suffered 3 defeats, 1 draw and 1 win in all competitions. In the Premier League, the club occupies the 3rd place, behind 2nd place Tottenham and 1st place Leicester. However considering their latest away match in the FA Cup against Hull City (0-4), Arsenal shows signs of improvement.
Both teams still have matches to play until their clash in the Champions League. While Barcelona will face Getafe in a Primera Division this Saturday, Arsenal will play Sunday against Watford in the FA Cup.
Considering Barcelona’s home record at Camp Nou stadium and the 2-0 aggregate, Arsenal is faced with a difficult task if they wish to qualify for the quarter-finals. Although the club has reached the knockout stage of the Champions League in every season since 2003/2004, they have been eliminated in the Last 16 stage in each of the last five seasons. Also, the club has never won the Champions League title.
Barcelona, on the other hand, has won the competition 5 times already, and they are the current champions after their last year victory against Juventus (1-3) in the final.
Regarding injured players, Barcelona’s squad will be without central midfield Rafinha, who suffered a ligament rupture, left-back Adriano, and right-back Douglas. The situation is much more difficult for Arsenal, that has more than 5 players injured including keeper Petr Cech (calf injury), central midfield Jack Wilshere (crack in calfbone), right-wing Chamberlain (knee injury), right-back Carl Jenkinson (torn ligament) and attacking midfield Tomas Rosicky (muscle injury).
In a recent press conference, F.C. Barcelona’s manager, Luis Enrique commented: “We are the current Champions League champions, and I think it’s logical that we are tagged favorites against Arsenal. However, being favorites means absolutely nothing. We have to prove our qualities in game after game.”
In this context, the Champions League’s match between F.C. Barcelona vs. Arsenal will be nothing less than extraordinary and we expect it to be filled with plenty of football action for all sports fans enjoyment so make sure you don’t miss it.
