Barcelona Vs. Milan: Watch Live, Online; Preview, Team News, Prediction For Champions League 1/4 Final 2nd Leg
When and Where: The Champions League quarter-final second-leg kicks-off from the Nou Camp at 2.45 p.m. ET. The game can be viewed in delayed form online, with a subscription to FoxSoccer2Go. The match can also be seen live on the Fox Soccer Channel.
Preview: After a 0-0 score in the first-leg, the return meeting between Barcelona and Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals could well be the game of the European season so far.
Milan will have been the happier side from the encounter at the San Siro just under a week ago, having prevented the revered attack of Barcelona from registering an away goal.
And with Milan only needing a score-draw to progress, the pressure would appear to be on the Champions League favorites.
But while there could be tension, Barcelona are far from strangers to the prospect of needing to get a result at home in the second-leg of a Champions League knockout tie. While Barcelona have been the dominant team in Europe's premier competition in the last three seasons, its away record in the knockout rounds is actually not all that impressive.
Last season Barcelona had to overturn a 2-1 away deficit against Arsenal in the second-leg of their last-16 tie. And against Stuttgart and Arsenal again the previous season, as well as against Lyon in 2009, Barcelona could only secure draws away from home before comfortably getting the job done at the Nou Camp in the return.
Because of this experience and of course as a result of their commitment to always playing the tiki-taka soccer for which they have become famed, don't expect Barcelona's players to start panicking if things are not going their way.
And if Barcelona's players need further reassurance they need only look at their incredible record at home this season.In 24 matches played at their legendary arena, Barcelona has come out on top in 21 of them and has yet to taste defeat.
That record was maintained with Barcelona keeping some pressure on Real Madrid courtesy of a 2-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao at the weekend.
Contrastingly, Milan could only muster a 1-1 draw at Catania on Saturday to allow Juventus to cut their lead atop Serie A to just two points.
Team News: Xavi looks set to play after causing a huge scare by being forced to miss training at the Nou Camp on Monday with a calf problem. But the midfield metronome came through a session on Tuesday to prove his fitness before the vital match.
Defender Carlos Puyol should come back into the center of the defense after being rested against Bilbao on Saturday.
Neither combative midfielder Mark van Bommel or key defender Thiago Silva have recovered in time to be considered for the game. As a result, Massimo Ambrosini and Alessandro Nesta, who both performed admirably in the first-leg will again deputize.
Alexandre Pato is fit again after receiving treatment in the United States and has made the trip to Barcelona. It is likely the Brazilian striker will have to settle for a place on the bench, though, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho continuing up front.
Prediction: Milan are far from the stereotypical Italian catenaccio team and it is unlikely that they will purely sit back and hang on for grim life waiting to either knick a goal or take their chances in extra time or penalties.
At the same time, the experience of the likes of Nesta and Ambrosini could be vital in trying to withstand Barcelona's fluid attacking rhythm led by the remarkable Lionel Messi.
With Milan likely to occupy the center of the field, expansive right-back Dani Alves could be crucial in providing the Catalans with a threat out wide.
In the end, the level of ability throughout the Barcelona side coupled with their experience of these types of predicaments should ensure that Pep Guardiola's men book their place in the semi-finals.
Barcelona 2-0 Milan
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