Barcelona needed two goals in the final ten minutes on Match Day 2 to beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in the Nou Camp and move onto four points in the Group. Back to back wins over BATE Borisov will be enough for Barcelona to move into the Second Round, but they have failed to win their last 2 away games in the Champions League which have ended a 4 game winning run on their travels.
Barcelona came from behind to thump Rayo Vallecano 5-2 in the La Liga on 17 October, with Neymar scoring four goals. The Catalans are on top of the Group E after their hard-fought win over Leverkusen on matchday two and draw 1-1 against Roma in the fist round.
Barcelona will be out to secure their first away win in Europe this season when they travel to Belarus to take on BATE Borisov
BATE Borisov secured their first points in the Champions League campaign with a stunning 3-2 home win over Roma on matchday two, but a win over Barcelona would be a far bigger result for the Belarus Champions as they try to challenge for a Second Round in the Champions League for the first time. They were 3-0 up against Roma inside the first half hour but now face the European Champions in consecutive games and BATE Borisov have struggled for consistency at this level.
The win over Roma means BATE Borisov are actually third in the Group going into this game and only a point behind Barcelona as they bounced back from a defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Match Day 1. The side has to be applauded for their win over Roma, but BATE Borisov have won their opening home game of the Group Stage before losing their next two games, including last season when they followed a win over Athletic Bilbao with defeats to Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto. The Belarusian champions had lost their opening match 4-1 to Bayer Leverkusen.
Losing a player of the magnitude of Lionel Messi would hurt any team in world football including the defending European Champions Barcelona, but the Catalan giants have tried not to let that loss bring them down. It has been difficult for them at times, but the likes of Neymar and Luis Suarez can really step up now as they look to put Barcelona in a commanding position in the Champions League Group Stage.
Team News
Lionel Messi (knee) remains the most high-profile missing person for Barcelona as he continues his fight back to fitness. Rafinha (knee) will also definitely be watching from the sidelines while Andres Iniesta is a major doubt having not played for the European champions since matchday two of European football this campaign.
BATE’s main injury concern is Vitali Rodionov, whose knee injury is expected to keep him out of action until November.
Head to Head
Aleksandr Yermakovich’s side last faced defending European champions Barcelona in the group stage of the 2011/12 Champions League, losing both fixtures with an aggregate score of 9-0. Belarus played their home fixture in Minsk where Lionel Messi (2), Pedro Rodríguez and David Villa scored and Aleksandr Volodko contributed an own goal in a 5-0 Barcelona triumph. Back at Camp Nou, Sergi Roberto hit his first UEFA Champions League goal and Pedro (2) and Martín Montoya also scored as Barça prevailed 4-0.
Match facts
BATE Borisov and Barcelona’s only previous meeting was in the 2011/12 Champions League group stages. The Catalans won 5-0 in Belarus and 4-0 at the Camp Nou.
BATE Borisov have lost nine of their 10 games against Spanish clubs in European competition. The only exception was their victory against Athletic Bilbao at home in last season’s Champions League group stages (2-1).
BATE Borisov have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 20 Champions League games. Their only shut-out in the competition came in December 2008 away from home against Juventus (0-0).
None of BATE’s last 16 Champions League games has ended in a draw (W4 L12).
BATE have never progressed past the group stages of the Champions League in four previous attempts.
All four of BATE’s goals in the Champions League this season have been scored in the opening 30 minutes.
Barcelona has won 12 of their 15 Champions League games since last season (D1 L2). They’ve also never failed to score in those 15 games.
Barcelona has won the Champions League in four of the last 10 seasons. No other team has won it more than once in the same period.
Article Source: http://www.sofascore.com/news/bate-borisov-vs-barcelona-match-preview-live-stream-information/
