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Leverkusen bid to end losing streak against Barça

Bayer 04 Leverkusen will hope for a change of luck against FC Barcelona when they host the reigning champions in their final Group E fixture, a game they must win.

Javier Hernández comes under pressure from Javier Mascherano during the September encounter in Barcelona
Javier Hernández comes under pressure from Javier Mascherano during the September encounter in Barcelona ©AFP/Getty Images

Bayer 04 Leverkusen will hope for a change of luck against FC Barcelona when they host the reigning champions in their must-win final Group E fixture.

• Leverkusen are on a six-match losing streak against the Blaugrana, most recently the 2-1 reverse at the Camp Nou on matchday two this season, but have to beat them and hope that second-placed AS Roma drop points against FC BATE Borisov in order to leapfrog the Italian side and snatch qualification for the round of 16.

• Barcelona have no such anxieties having secured their 12th successive participation in the knockout stage – and first place in the group – with a 6-1 defeat of Roma last time out.

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. Alexis Sánchez, with two goals, and Messi were the Spanish side's scorers with Michal Kadlec on target for Leverkusen.

• The lineups at the BayArena on 14 February 2012 were:
Leverkusen: Leno, Ćorluka (Da Costa 90+1), Schwaab, Friedrich, Kadlec, Reinartz, Renato Augusto, Bender, Rolfes (Kiessling 77), Castro, Schürrle (Bellarabi 90).
Barcelona: Valdés, Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Abidal, Busquets, Fàbregas, Iniesta (Thiago Alcántara 61), Sánchez (Cuenca 86), Messi, Adriano (Pedro 70).

• Overall Barcelona have won the clubs' last six encounters, including away (2-1) and home (2-0) 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. Tita's solitary strike at the 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

Leverkusen
• Leverkusen are looking to reach the last 16 for the third year running but have not won in Group E since a 4-1 home success against FC BATE Borisov on matchday one.

• Including their 3-0 play-off win over SS Lazio, Leverkusen have scored 11 goals in three home games (W2 D1) in this season's UEFA Champions League.

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

• The German team's overall home record against clubs from Spain is W7 D3 L5.

Barcelona
• Barcelona earned their first win in this season's competition when coming from behind to beat Leverkusen 2-1 at Camp Nou on matchday two.

• They are looking to end the group stage undefeated for the first time since the 2011/12 campaign.

• They lost 3-2 at FC Bayern München on their last visit to Germany in last season's UEFA Champions League semi-finals, albeit having already triumphed 3-0 in the first leg at home. Luis Enrique's men have not lost in the competition since then.

Coach and player links
• Luis Enrique scored 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 second 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 Spain's 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. He also featured in a 1-0 Switzerland victory over Brazil in August 2013, when Dani Alves scored an own goal.

• Javier Hernández opened the scoring and Messi hit an 89th-minute equaliser when the former's Mexico side were held 2-2 by Argentina in a friendly in Arlington, Texas in September.

• Hernández was in the Manchester United FC team beaten 3-1 by Barcelona in the 2011 UEFA Champions League final. He scored 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

Leverkusen
• Kevin Kampl and Wendell are both a booking away from a ban.

• Hernández has scored 11 goals in his last ten Leverkusen appearances, with a 2-1 loss at Hertha BSC Berlin on 5 December their third defeat in five Bundesliga games.

• Roberto Hilbert made his first Leverkusen appearance since sustaining a knee injury on 8 October in the defeat in Berlin.

• Bender, who has not played since 28 October, underwent right ankle surgery on 1 December. He is expected to be out until early 2016.

• Jedvaj (out since 17 July, thigh) made his comeback as a substitute in the 0-0 draw at Hamburger SV on 17 October only to sustain another thigh injury in training five days later that is expected to sideline him for the rest of the year.

• Aránguiz tore his Achilles tendon in training on 20 August.

Barcelona
• Daniel Alves serves a one-game ban; Gerard Piqué is a booking away from a suspension.

• Barcelona are 12 games unbeaten – ten wins – since the 2-1 reverse at Sevilla FC on 3 October.

• The Camp Nou outfit have scored 21 goals in their last five matches in all competitions.

• The Liga leaders followed up their 6-1 defeat of Roma with a 4-0 triumph over Real Sociedad de Fútbol on 28 November. A much-changed side then beat third-tier CF Villanovense 6-1 at home in the second leg of their Copa del Rey round of 32 tie, Sandro Ramírez scoring his first professional hat-trick.

• Munir El Haddadi was on target twice against Villanovense – his first club goals of the season.

• Luis Suárez opened the scoring at Valencia on 5 December, but Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw, ending a run of seven straight wins in all competitions.

• Neymar and Suárez have scored 24 of Barcelona's last 26 Liga goals.

• The Azulgrana have kept a clean sheet in seven of their last 11 fixtures.

• Barcelona have conceded four goals on three occasions in 2015/16: against RC Celta de Vigo on 23 September, Athletic Club in the Spanish Super Cup and Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup.

• Douglas (out since 28 October, foot) and Rafinha (16 September, knee) are still out, while Jérémy Mathieu (discomfort) and Sergi Roberto (ankle) are doubtful.

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