Barcelona gear up to face Borussia Monchengladbach in the final match of the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona and City are pretty much through with the Nou Camp outfit guaranteeing the 1st place but Gladbach will be looking to ensure their to the knockout stages of the Europa League by the virtue of finishing 3rd in their group in good stead.
They ran Barca close in their previous fixture and will be quietly confident of having a go at the Spanish giants who had an intense El Clasico last weekend. With the possibility of causing a huge upset, the German team will want to put up a good account of themselves.
With both the teams employing high press tactics, there will be quite a few interesting battles on the cards.
OSCAR WENDT VS LIONEL MESSI
The Argentine has been in sublime form this season once again and in an otherwise inconsistent season for Barca, has been their sole shining spot. Although he has had his injuries and health issues to contend with, his impact has been immediate whenever he has been on the pitch. Although the match is a dead rubber for the Blaugrana, Enrique has confirmed that Messi will be playing from the start. With already a whopping 19 goals and 7 assists in all competitions this season, he will have to be paid close attention by Wendt. The left-back has been played higher up the pitch but will be prepared to contribute a lot in defence.
LARS STINDL VS ANDRE GOMES
Stindl has looked good for Gladbach this season. In a new role, just behind the two strikers he has flourished to an extent but will want to add a bit of sharpness and sting to his end product. He already has 6 goals and 5 assists in all competition this season and will be hopeful of causing damage to a potentially under-strength Barcelona side. Andre Gomes is likely to be the deep lying midfielder and was moderately impressive against Real in a similar position. It will be interesting how the youngster fares in that role again.
HAZARD VS UMTITI
Thorgan Hazard has developed leaps and bounds and is a regular fixture in the Gladbach side. He has carved out a role up top alongside Raffael and given time, the duo is expected to flourish in the long term. He will have a big test of his credentials against Barca. But he will back himself to perform with the likes of Umtiti and Mascherano looking jittery this season. He has an impressive tally of 7 goals and 4 assists and will look to improve on that.
STATS COURTESY- WHOSCORED.COM
