FC Barcelona - VFB Stuttgart
Kickoff: Wednesday, March 17 2010, 20:45 CET @ Camp Nou
First leg result: 1-1 (1-0 Cacau 25'; 1-1 Ibrahimovic 52')
Highlights:
Domestic form:
Barcelona:
League position: 2nd
Record: 20W-5D-1L
Last 5: L-W-W-D-W
Top scorer: Messi (22)
Stuttgart:
League position: 9th
Record: 9W-8D-9L
Last 5: L-W-W-D-L
Top scorer: Cacau (8)
Stuttgart's road to the Knockout Stages:
W 2-0 @ Timisoara (Playoffs)
D 0-0 V Timisoara (Playoffs)
D 1-1 V Rangers
D 1-1 @ Unirea
L 1-3 V Sevilla
D 1-1 @ Sevilla
W 2-0 @ Rangers
W 3-1 V Unirea
Probable Starting XI for Stuttgart:
Lehmann - Träsch/Celozzi, Tasci, Delpierre, Molinaro - Kuzmanovic, Khedira, Gebhart, Hleb - Cacau, Pogrebnyak
My observations:
Their form has dipped slightly since the first leg, culminating in a 2-1 loss at Schalke on Friday after letting a 2-0 lead slip against Bremen the week before. Cacau's scoring run ended against Bremen and he has been poor in his last two games. His work rate is still okay but his finishing has let him down.
Stuttgart were given a day and a half off to recover after the Schalke game but according to reports they've been training twice as much as usual since. Gross wants his players in top shape come Wednesday, presumably so they can perform similarly to the way his Basel side did when they earned a point at Camp Nou last year. In short: They want to run twice as much to make up for their shortcomings in other departments. In every other department. Ah, don't they all? Nothing new there, really. Still, beware: These guys might be underdogs but they will play their hearts out. We have to play our game with total concentration. Precise passing, quick thinking, lots of movement, aggressive pressure to recover possession. Back to basics, if you will.
