FC Barcelona vs. FC BATE Borisov: UEFA Champions League Match

FC Barcelona arrived at the Minsk International Airport to prepare for their UEFA Champions League match against FC BATE Borisov this Wednesday.

The airplane was carrying the players, Sandro Rossell (Barca President), the spokesperson, secretary, as well as Jordi Moix, Eduard Coll and Silvio Elias (Barca directors).

Andoni Zubizarretta (Barca Professional Football Sports Director) was also part of the flight. Josep Guardiola (Barca coach) and Javier Mascherano (Barca Midfielder) are expected to hold a press conference to discuss the match.

Barca will be using the Dynamo Stadium in order to train for this important match. Filipp Rudik (FC BATE Borisov Midfielder) responded in an interview with UEFA.com that he is ready for the match against FC Barcelona.

Rudik also admitted that many people in Belarus have been awed by the possibility of FC Barcelona in their country.

Rudik concluded by saying that he will hope for the best in this upcoming match between FC BATE Borisov and Barca.

I agree with Rudik since the people in Miami Florida (where I live) had the same sensation last August when FC Barcelona played against Chivas of Guadalajara at Sun Life Stadium.

The people went further and the match had more than 70,000 spectators.

FC Barcelona has four UEFA Champions League trophies and is second in the UEFA Ranking for 2011-2012.

FC BATE Borisov is 58th in the UEFA Ranking for 2011-2012.

While FC Barcelona (theoretically) may have an advantage, it should not underestimate the opponents. The reason is based in the press conference given by Viktor Goncharenko (FC BATE Borisov Coach).

Goncharenko declared that he was not going to use the match "to experiment". Goncharenko consulted with Kurban Berdyev (Rubin Kazan" target="_blank">Rubin Kazan coach) concerning FC Barcelona.

Goncharenko finished his press conference by saying that FC BATE is thinking only of winning. FC BATE Borisov is hoping for a first victory at home in the UEFA Champions League.

Guardiola appears to be listening to the advice of not underestimating opponents. Guardiola admitted in a press conference that he has sent scouts to study the domestic matches played by FC BATE Borisov.

Guardiola admits that he studied the play-off matches between FC BATE and Sturm Graz. The match is not expected to be an easy one like Barca against Osasuna and Atletico Madrid.

I will predict (and this is a personal opinion) the following: FC BATE Borisov 1-2 FC Barcelona.