by Ian S. Palmer
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English Premier League title challengers Arsenal have a huge task in front them this Tuesday, February 23 when they take on reigning Spanish La Liga and European champions Barcelona at the Emirates Stadium in London. This is the first leg of a home-and-away, round-of-16 tie with the second match being held in Spain two weeks later. The Gunners are coming off of a fifth-round English FA Cup clash on Saturday which saw them draw 0-0 against English Championship League leaders Hull City at the Emirates. Barcelona also played Saturday and downed Las Palmas 2-1 away in a league contest.
Arsenal vs Barcelona – Pinnacle SOCCER BETTING LINE:
- Pinnacle currently lists Barcelona as the favorites at -146 with Arsenal +428 a draw at +321
Arsenal vs Barcelona – Head to Head:
- Barcelona has eliminated Arsenal from the Champions League twice already this decade. Arsenal was knocked out by Barcelona in the round of 16 in the 2010/11 campaign after the Gunners won 2-1 at home in 2010/11, but lost 3-1 in Barcelona. The season before, Barcelona were 4-1 winners in the second leg after the teams drew 2-2 in the first meeting in the quarterfinal stage. Barcelona beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Champions League final in 2005/06 in Paris. Arsenal played most of the match with 10 men after goaltender Jens Lehmann was sent off with a red card. Barcelona and Arsenal drew 1-1 in the 1999/2000 group stage with at Barcelona with the Spanish side winning 4-2 in London as well. Overall, the teams have met seven times with Barcelona winning four, losing one and drawing two.
Arsenal currently sits in a tie for second place in the Premier League with 51 points from 15 wins, six draws and five losses. They’ve scored 41 goals and allowed 23 against. Arsenal and Spurs are just two points back of league-leading Leicester City and four in front of fourth-place Manchester City while Manchester United sits 10 points back in fifth place. Arsenal has been beaten just once in their past 11 fixtures in all competitions and has won eight, drawn two and lost one in their past 11 home outings. Barcelona sits on top of the Spanish La Liga with 60 points from 19 victories, three draws and two defeats. They’ve scored 65 goals and allowed 19 against.
Barcelona will be playing without Arda Turan as he’s suspended for the first leg. Injured players include Mikel Arteta, Francis Coquelin, Tomas Rosicky, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere for Arsenal as well as Rafinha of Barcelona. Arsenal finished the group stage as runners up in Group F behind Germany’s Bayern Munich. The Gunners had nine points on three wins and three losses with 12 goals for and 10 against. Barcelona won Group E with 14 points from four victories and a pair of draws. They scored 15 goals and conceded four.
Arsenal hasn’t reached quarter-finals since the 2010 campaign even though they’ve made it to the knockout round for 16 straight seasons. The Gunners have been beaten at home in the first leg of their last three round of 16 series. Overall the side has eight wins against Spanish opposition at home along with three draws and two losses. They’ve also won five out of their past eight series against Spanish sides, but they’ve lost three European cup finals to them in the past.
Barcelona was one of just two clubs to finish the group stage without a loss and they won one on the road and drew the other two. They’ve made the quarter-finals of the tournament eight straight years. Overall, they have eight wins, eight draws and 14 losses on their trips to England. However, they have 13 victories and 10 defeats in two-legged series against English opposition. Arsenal has lost just two of their past 17 fixtures in all competitions with 11 wins. Arsenal has made changes to its Champions League squad by adding Mohamed Elneny and releasing Glen Kamara and Mathieu Debuchy.
Barcelona is on a 32-match unbeaten streak in all competitions with their last loss coming back on October 3. The team has also made squad changes by adding Adrian Ortola, Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan and releasing Juan Camara, David Babunski, Alejandro Grimaldo, Jose Aurelio and Gerard Gumbau.
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