Barcelona prepared to face Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday, ahead of the second group stage matches in the Champions League.
Ernesto Valverde’s men began their Group B campaign with a 4-0 victory over Dutch champions PSV – with Leo Messi scoring the 48th hat-trick of his remarkable career.
The Argentinean has scored 20 goals in 28 matches against English sides in European football – so far.
However, Barcelona’s season has suffered a hiccup domestically – thay have failed to win in their previous three La Liga matches, with two draws (Girona and Athletic Bilbao) and a surprise defeat against Leganes.
Barcelona last visited England in February this year, drawing 1-1 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the last 16 of the 2017-18 Champions League.
“We always expect the best version of our opponents and you get ready to face the best possible Tottenham team. We know they have very important players sidelined but we too (have players injured). But we all know the quality they have, the level they have showed in the last few years, and the strength they have in attack but also in defence. We expect what we thought after the draw, that it will be a tough match, a difficult match, but also a very attractive match at an incredible venue. We all want to have a great game.”
The ‘Blaugranas’ beat Chelsea 3-0 in the return to win the tie 4-1 on aggregate, but for the third straight year failed to get further than the quarter-finals.
Going deep into Europe’s elite club competition is a big priority for Valverde’s team this year.
Wednesday’s game against Spurs will also be a special match for Barcelona as they are returning to Wembley Stadium, a venue where they lifted their first and fourth Champions League titles in 1992 and 2011 against Sampdoria and Manchester United respectively.
Spurs were four minutes away from recording an impressive win in their opening Group B fixture at Inter Milan a fortnight ago, but conceded twice late on and lost the game 2-1. SNTV
