Vrba wants Plzeň to at least match Barcelona

Pavel Vrba would like to see an improvement on FC Viktoria Plzeň's 2-0 matchday three defeat at Camp Nou when FC Barcelona come to Prague, hoping for an appropriate result to mark coach Josep Guardiola's 200th game in charge.

Plzeň
Coach Pavel Vrba
What would be a good result for us? We want to get at least a point. We have a good home record. We want to win at home, although we are aware that in this case it will be extremely hard. However, we want to show more than we did in Barcelona where we did not manage a single attempt on goal.

We must play aggressively, although we cannot play open football against them. I would be happy if we reproduced some of the good moments from our recent league matches. We want to please a full house in Prague. It will be a very special night for all of us to host such a great team. I've showed the players our game in Barcelona – the things we did well, and the things we could have done better.

We know the [Matchday 5] game in Borisov will be crucial for our final position but we want to go into that match in the best possible situation. My players said before the group stage that they wanted to enjoy the special taste of the Champions League. I would add that we want to enjoy it but at the same time we want to play decently against all these teams.

Weekend result
Friday: Plzeň 5-0 FC Hradec Králové (Čišovský 11, Bakoš 60 79, Petržela 65, Fukal og 71)
Pavlík; Rajtoral (Řezník 85), Čišovský, Bystroň, Limberský; Petržela, Horváth, Jiráček, Kolář (Darida 80); Ďuriš (Fillo 61), Bakoš

• With on-loan Václav Pilař ineligible against his parent club, Vrba's side claimed only their third win in their last seven outings in all competitions. Marek Bakoš and Milan Petržela each scored for the third successive league game, the latter with a stunning solo effort that began inside his own half.

Team news
Marek Čech has not played since injuring his knee in Barcelona. The first choice before suffering ligament damage at Rosenborg BK on 27 July, Roman Pavlík has returned between the posts.

Barcelona
Coach Josep Guardiola
A win would mean a place in the round of 16 and we would have nothing to worry about until February. It would also mean the pressure would be off when we visit Milan [on matchday five] so we could give some other players a chance to impress and focus for a while on the league and the Copa del Rey.

[Plzeň] are a strong, fast team; they defended very well against us [on matchday three]. It is easier once you have played against each other, but our most important task for tomorrow is to adapt our tactics to how Plzeň defend.

I know it will be my 200th match in charge of this great team. I did not expect to be Barcelona coach for such a long time. Not everything has been perfect during these four years, but we have won lots of trophies together, and that speaks for itself. I am proud of the players I have and I think we have achieved good results together. They constantly improve and they push me forward as well. They have made me a better coach.

Weekend result
Saturday: Barcelona 5-0 RCD Mallorca (Messi 13pen 21 30, Cuenca 50, Alves 90+2)
Valdés; Alves, Mascherano, Abidal (Piqué 46), Adriano; Cuenca, Thiago, Busquets (Puyol 59), Keita; Messi, Villa (Deulofeu 64)

• Lionel Messi's third hat-trick of the campaign − his 13th for Barcelona − and Isaac Cuenca's first goal for the club helped Guardiola's side to their seventh win in eight fixtures. Barcelona are 22 games unbeaten in all competitions, since a 2-1 loss at Real Sociedad de Fútbol on 30 April.

Team news
Pedro Rodríguez (ankle) and Ibrahim Afellay (knee) are unavailable, Xavi Hernández trained today despite has minor calf problems. Alexis Sánchez came to Prague with the team, having not played since tearing his hamstring in September, but he is unlikely to feature.

"We will definitely not risk the players who are not fully fit," explained Guardiola. "We have other players who are ready, like [Seydou] Keita, Thiago [Alcántara], Adriano and Maxwell."

Match fact
Prior to this season Plzeň had only played two European home games, against FC Bayern München (0-1) in the 1971/72 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round and Beşiktaş JK (1-1) in last season's UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.