Barcelona vs. Arsenal: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info

Arsenal head to the Camp Nou needing miracle. If they are to progress to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League, they will need to overturn a two-goal deficit against a brilliant Barcelona side. Not since Ajax’s unlikely comeback against Benfica in 1969 has a team produced a feat on that scale.

For much of the first leg, it looked as if the Gunners might be able to keep pace with Luis Enrique’s men. They held them off impressively for 70 minutes, before physical and mental fatigue set in.

First of all, a lapse in concentration allowed Barca to break at lightning speed. The move ended with a certain Lionel Messi cutting infield and firing past the stranded Petr Cech. Barca’s bid to become the first team to retain the trophy looks to be in good shape.

The lead was doubled when Mathieu Flamini came off the substitutes' bench to concede a needless penalty. Arsenal were left to reflect on what might have been—especially given that they missed a very good chance to take the lead in the first half through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Of course, Arsenal’s main goal is improbable qualification, but they’re also playing for pride at the Camp Nou. After their FA Cup exit against Watford, Arsene Wenger badly needs a performance to help his plummeting reputation.

Date: Wednesday, March 16

Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT/3:45 a.m. ET

Location: Camp Nou, Barcelona

Television coverage: BT Sport Europe / BT Sport Europe HD (U.K. only), Fox Sports 1 (U.S. only) 

Streaming: BT Sport app (U.K. only), Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S. only)

Form

Barcelona

W (0-2) vs. Arsenal

W (2-1) vs. Sevilla

W (1-5) vs. Rayo Vallecano

W (0-4) vs. Eibar

W (6-0) vs. Getafe

Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images

Arsenal

L (3-2) vs. Manchester United

L (1-2) vs. Swansea City

D (2-2) vs. Tottenham Hotspur

W (0-4) vs. Hull City

L (1-2) vs. Watford

The associations between Barcelona and the Champions League grow stronger by the season. The Catalan club have won the trophy in four of the last 10 years—and they are one of only two clubs (the other being Real Madrid) that remain unbeaten in this season’s competition.

Although Arsenal are the only team to have reached the knockout stages every year since the competition was reformatted in 2003, they have been eliminated at this stage in each of the last five seasons.

What’s more, they have never won a competitive match at the Camp Nou. Arsenal’s hopes of qualification are clearly very slim indeed.

The Managers

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Luis Enrique has taken to the Champions League very quickly indeed. In his time as Barcelona manager, he has overseen nine European games at the Camp Nou, winning every single one.

Nonetheless, he insists there is no room for complacency against Arsenal, per UEFA.com:

"

[The 2-0 win in London] was a good result but it doesn't change our approach. It is still an open match, our opponents are dangerous and we need to play very well to go through to the next round. Sometimes the match looks perfect because of the result, but there is always room for improvement. That's why football is so complex—11 players have to do the same things at the same time. We want to keep the ball as much as possible to avoid counterattacks—it will not be easy, but lately we have being doing that well. 

"

While Enrique sounds cautious, Wenger is curiously optimistic. Presumably in an attempt to inspire his side into an unlikely comeback, he has talked up his team’s mental attributes.

The Gunners boss told BTSport.com:

"

We want to make the impossible possible. We know we play against a very strong side, and it's important that we go there and focus and show a very good response.

We have shown that we can respond always. I think this team has a great spirit, a very strong attitude. They play at the moment with the idea that they cannot afford any [bad] result, but we can deal with that.

We have a good opportunity to show on Wednesday night that we are up for it.

"

The problem for Arsenal is that being “up for it” against a side of Barcelona’s quality may not be enough.

Team News

Barcelona

Enrique will have to do without centre-half Gerard Pique, who picked up a booking in the first leg that rules him out of this game. 

Jeremy Mathieu is likely to get the nod over former Gunner Thomas Vermaelen as Pique’s replacement. Other than that, Enrique will be able to field the same side that triumphed at the Emirates Stadium.

Predicted Barcelona XI (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Dani Alves, Jeremy Mathieu, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic; Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez.

Arsenal

Wenger will bring Spanish full-backs Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal back into the side at the expense of English pair Calum Chambers and Kieran Gibbs. He’ll also hope that Laurent Koscielny can recover in time to start—if not, Brazilian Gabriel Paulista will continue alongside Per Mertesacker, with David Ospina deputising for the injured Cech.

Arsenal will set up their side to hit Barca on the break, so Wenger may well look to include the speed of Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott alongside Alexis Sanchez in a pacy front three.

Predicted Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): David Ospina; Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal; Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny; Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; Danny Welbeck.

Players to Watch

Barcelona: Lionel Messi

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Whatever the occasion, Messi is always worth watching. However, he tends to be particularly good against Arsenal: In five Champions League fixtures against the Gunners, the Argentinian has racked up eight goals.

In the first leg, Monreal shackled Messi relatively well for long periods, but in the end he was able to make the difference with two clinical strikes.

Any goal for Messi on Wednesday night would surely be enough to kill the tie dead.

Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Barcelona are particularly wary of the man who used to grace the Camp Nou on a regular basis. Enrique said, per UEFA.com:

"

Alexis is a very important player for Arsenal and the national team. He is a quality player, fast and attacking and he has improved his way of playing since he came to Barcelona. We have to be careful with him.

"

If Arsenal are to stand any chance of producing a fairytale result in Barcelona, they will need Alexis to be at his blistering best against his former club.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.