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| Barcelona |
Barcelona must be on their guard when they welcome UEFA Champions League dark horses Shakhtar Donetsk to Camp Nou.
The Ukrainian outfit are making their first appearance in the last eight of Europe's elite club competition, but tasted victory on a recent visit to the home of the Catalan giants.Shakhtar secured a 3-2 success in their December 2008 Group Stage meeting and also ran Pep Guardiola's side very close in their two other recent meetings.
Their away group date in 2008 ended in a 2-1 success for Barca, but they needed an 87th minute leveller from the mercurial Lionel Messi with the Argentina ace bagging the winner in the fourth minute of added time.
And the 2009 Uefa Super Cup meeting between the winners of the Champions League and Uefa Cup saw Guardiola's men triumph, but only courtesy of a Pedro effort five minutes from the end of extra time.
It is also worth noting that Mircea Lucescu's men topped their group this season ahead of Arsenal, who Barca saw off in their last-16 meeting, and Braga, who ended Liverpool's Europa League ambitions this term.
The Pitmen may be making their first foray into the knockout phase of the Champions League, but they brushed aside the challenge of Roma in the last round, triumphing 6-2 over two legs against the Serie A side.
However, Barcelona remain a fearsome force, particularly on home turf, and Guardiola has a galaxy of stars on whom he can call in a side which is widely regarded as one of the finest ever assembled.
The Camp Nou supporters have watched their side secure eight successive victories in European competition, including four so far this season, with their last defeat coming at the hands of Rubin Kazan in October 2009.
Guardiola could have experienced defender Carles Puyol back in action, with the Barca skipper having made his return to training after suffering a knee injury in January.
Striker Pedro has not featured since the middle of March when he sustained a groin injury in the 1-1 draw with Sevilla, while Maxwell missed the recent trip to Villarreal with a sore thigh.
Eric Abidal underwent surgery to remove a tumour from his liver earlier this month and is continuing his recuperation away from the squad.
Lucescu saw Eduardo and Dmytro Chygrynskiy suffer ankle injuries in their 4-0 victory over FC Volyn Lutsk on 20th March and the duo missed Friday's 3-1 victory away to FC Illychivets Mariupil.
Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho made a welcome return to the starting XI on Friday after spending a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a broken leg sustained back in September.
Sources: http://www.skysports.com
