How Barcelona Will Line Up Against AC Milan

Just 15 days after taking a point from AC Milan at the San Siro, Barcelona welcome their Italian foes to Camp Nou for round two of their Champions League group stage matchup.

There's no doubt as to who are the form team going into this one.

Barca have won all three league games since the last Champions League tie—including an El Clasico victory over Real Madrid and a derby win against cross-town rivals Espanyol—and they remain atop La Liga.

Milan, by contrast, are languishing in 10th place in Serie A and haven't won since before they held Barca.

An away loss to Parma was followed by a home draw vs. Lazio, but their most recent defeat, 2-0 at home to Fiorentina, was so bad in performance terms that the stadium was almost empty by the end of the game.

Any Rossoneri fans who remained until the end booed off the playing and management staff in a clear message to the club's hierarchy.

Whilst the odds may seem stacked against the Italians, the game does provide Mario Balotelli, Robinho, Kaka et al the opportunity to give the Milanese a real foothold in the group, a win seeing them replace La Blaugrana as leaders with two rounds left to play.

Barca should come into this one completely refreshed and raring to go thanks to their Friday night derby fixture. Virtually five whole days to prepare gives Tata Martino a luxury he is unlikely to enjoy again for the foreseeable future and the incentive for the home side is clear.

A win here and safe passage through to the round of 16 is virtually assured. Indeed, if Celtic fail to beat Ajax in the other game and Barca do take all three points, then qualification for the next stage is guaranteed.

Therefore, expect Martino to leave nothing to chance in this one, playing the strongest Barcelona side possible—injuries permitting—in an expansive and explosive attacking 4-3-3. 

There may be one glaring omission, with out-of-form Andres Iniesta dropped in favour of Cesc Fabregas.

The addition of Fabregas gives Martino options insofar as both Cesc and Lionel Messi are equally as comfortable dropping deep as they are leading the line.

Nigel De Jong's role is crucial for the visitors and he will need to decide early on whether to sit just in front of his back four and allow Barca space in which to work, or go toe-to-toe knowing that he can be picked off at will, potentially exposing both Cristians, Zapata and Zaccardo, at the heart of the Milan defence.

Neymar is a shoe-in for the left-sided attacking berth. The Brazilian continues to impress and has the highest assist rate of any player in the top five European leagues so far.

Ignazio Abbate will have his hands full containing the youngster who has already shown in spades the in-game intelligence he possesses. Abbate should therefore aim to be "touch-tight" throughout to negate Neymar's impact in this match. 

Alexis Sanchez is on fire with three goals in his last three games and the Chilean will continue on the right side as he looks to push Pedro Rodriguez and Cristian Tello firmly to the periphery in the battle for one of the three to claim the right-wing slot as their own.

Xavi Hernandez has a free role to dictate the pace and pattern of play and Sergio Busquets once again provides the necessary defensive cover for the Barca back four. 

After a less-than-complimentary defensive performance from Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano against Espanyol, expect one or the other to be dropped in favour of Marc Bartra.

The elegant young Catalan has more than proved his value to the side and would have been rightly disappointed not to have made the cut against the "Periquitos."

The returning Carles Puyol will deputise for Adriano Correija at left-back, Martin Montoya fluffing his chance to claim a regular spot in the defence after a poor performance against their local rivals.

Dani Alves' raiding down the right side should keep the exciting Sulley Muntari quiet and, with a limited supply line to Balotelli, Milan's chances in this game are much reduced.