Leverkusen out to avoid Barça repeat

Bayer 04 Leverkusen travel to face Group E rivals FC Barcelona on matchday two hoping to make amends for the record defeat they suffered on their last visit.

Previous meetings
• Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a UEFA Champions League game when Barcelona crushed Leverkusen 7-1 at Camp Nou in the 2011/12 round of 16. Karim Bellarabi struck Leverkusen's goal in stoppage time.

• Barcelona had already won the first leg in Germany 3-1, with Messi notching their third goal.

• The lineups for that meeting in Barcelona on 7 March 2012 were:
Barcelona: Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Adriano (Muniesa 63), Fàbregas, Busquets, Xavi (Keita 54), Pedro, Messi, Iniesta (Tello 53).
Leverkusen: Leno, Castro, Toprak, Schwaab, Kadlec, Renato Augusto (Oczipka 67), Rolfes, Reinartz, Bender (Schürrle 55), Derdiyok (Bellarabi 55), Kiessling.

• Overall Barcelona have won the clubs' last five encounters, including home (2-0) and away (2-1) victories in the 2002/03 second group stage.

• In 2001/02, Luis Enrique, now Barcelona coach, scored in both matches as the teams traded 2-1 home wins in the first group stage.

• Leverkusen got the better of Barcelona in the 1988 UEFA Cup quarter-finals as Tita's solitary strike at Camp Nou secured a 1-0 aggregate triumph for a side who went on to beat Barça's city rivals RCD Espanyol in the final.

Match background

Barcelona
• Barcelona are targeting their first victory in Group E after a 1-1 draw at AS Roma on matchday one.

• The Blaugrana won all six home games in last season's UEFA Champions League, including a 3-0 semi-final victory over FC Bayern München.

• They are unbeaten at home in the competition since losing 3-0 to Bayern in May 2013; that semi-final second leg marked the sole reverse in their last 33 UEFA Champions League home matches, of which 26 have been victories.

• The Camp Nou outfit have an overall home record of W20 D1 L7 against Bundesliga opposition.

Leverkusen
• The Bundesliga side made a winning start to their Group E campaign as they thrashed FC BATE Borisov 4-1 at the BayArena on matchday one.

• Roger Schmidt's Leverkusen exited the UEFA Champions League on Spanish soil last term, beaten 3-2 in a shootout by Club Atlético de Madrid after a 1-0 second-leg loss. Hakan Çalhanoğlu had scored their first-leg winner but along with Ömer Toprak and Stefan Kiessling failed to convert his penalty.

• Leverkusen's last victory in Spain was a 1-0 success at Real Sociedad de Fútbol in the 2013/14 group stage, Toprak's goal securing their place in the last 16.

• The German team's overall record in Spain is W3 D2 L10.

Coach and player links
• Luis Enrique registered for Barcelona in a 2-0 first-leg home victory over Borussia Dortmund in the 1997/98 UEFA Super Cup (aggregate 3-1). He also found the target in a 1-1 draw at Hertha BSC Berlin in the 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Including his appearances against Leverkusen in 2001/02, Luis Enrique's record as a player against German clubs was W2 D2 L2, with four goals scored.

• Charles Aránguiz scored for Chile in the 2-0 group stage triumph that eliminated the Spain of Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Andrés Iniesta from the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

• Christoph Kramer was in Germany's 2014 World Cup final-winning side against the Argentina of Messi and Javier Mascherano.

• Admir Mehmedi lost against Messi and Mascherano when Argentina beat Switzerland 1-0 in the round of 16 at Brazil 2014.

• Mehmedi had earlier netted past Marc-André ter Stegen in Switzerland's 5-3 friendly win against Germany in May 2012 and also featured in a 1-0 Switzerland victory over Brazil in August 2013, when Dani Alves scored an own goal.

• Javier Hernández was in the Manchester United FC team beaten 3-1 by Barcelona in the 2011 UEFA Champions League final. He hit nine goals on loan at Real Madrid CF last term.

• As an FC Schalke 04 player (2007–11), Ivan Rakitić faced Leverkusen six times (W1, D2, L3).

• With VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach (2009–14), Marc-André ter Stegen took on Leverkusen six times too, and also won just once (W1, D3, L2).

• Players who have played together:
Ter Stegen & Kramer, Bellarabi, Lars Bender (Germany)
Claudio Bravo & Aránguiz (Chile)
Rakitić & Dario Krešić, Tin Jedvaj (Croatia)

Match facts

Barcelona
• Saturday's 2-1 win against Las Palmas was marred by a knee ligament injury to Messi, with the Argentinian expected to be sidelined for seven to eight weeks.

• Barcelona's 4-1 defeat at RC Celta de Vigo on 23 September was their first three-goal Liga reverse since they lost by the same scoreline to Real Madrid in May 2008.

• Ter Stegen has conceded 16 goals in seven appearances this season – the same as he let in during 21 outings last term.

• Barcelona have conceded four goals on three occasions in 2015/16: against Celta, Athletic Club in the Spanish Super Cup and Sevilla FC in the UEFA Super Cup.

• Alves (out since 23 August, hamstring) returned to action in the 4-1 triumph over Levante UD on 20 September.

• Messi scored twice against Levante and missed a penalty – he also had a spot kick saved by Athletic keeper Gorka Iraizoz on the opening weekend of the season.

• Douglas is available for selection after two months out with a hamstring injury.

• Bravo (calf) is still sidelined, while Rafinha (knee), injured on matchday one, was ruled out for six months after undergoing surgery on 22 September.

Leverkusen
• Leverkusen were 3-0 winners at SV Werder Bremen on Saturday, their biggest Bundesliga victory of the season. Kevin Kampl scored his first league goal since 26 October 2014 and his first for Leverkusen, as did Admir Mehmedi.

• Hernández scored the only goal, his first in the Bundesliga, against 1. FSV Mainz 05 on 23 September as the Werkself ended a run of three consecutive domestic defeats.

• Aránguiz tore his Achilles tendon in training on 20 August, while Ömer Toprak suffered a thigh injury on 1 August. Jedvaj (thigh) has been out since 17 July. Roberto Hilbert has missed the last three games with a knee problem.