Blinking and pinching would not help. This was to be a nightmare Barcelona players and fans alike would never wake from. Barcelona had been defeated by Rubin Kazan. The relatively unknown Russian opposition took on the reigning European Champions on Barcelona’s home turf. Little did Barcelona know that this formality of a match was soon to evolve into the greatest upset so far in the 2009-10 footballing calendar.

Talks of a crisis were seemingly quashed as Barcelona thumped Zaragoza 6-1 only for the talks to be reignited with a woeful display over Osasuna in the following league fixture. Critisism has been flying from all angles with Guardiola’s men being blasted left right and centre by the relentless Spanish media.

For Barcelona, it stops now.

Snowing, freezing conditions await Barcelona in Kazan as Rubin are set to play host to Barcelona at the Centralny (Central Stadium), a stadium that of late has become somewhat of a fortress for Kazan with the current Russian table-toppers losing only 4 of their 14 home matches with 9 being won, often with a 2 or more goal cushion.
Barcelona star winger and key-man Lionel Messi has stated that the conditions in Kazan are by far the coldest he’s ever played in, Messi is not the first to mention the weather, as players, coaches and even pundits are announcing the impact in which the snow will have, Barcelona sponsors Nike have even gone as far as creating a special suit for the players to help them cope with the conditions, as well as necessary precautions being taken to guarantee the players wellbeing and adaptation, Pep Guardiola has also stated that the cold weather won’t effect his team and that Barcelona will simply play the game in a faster manner suggesting that fans are set for a fast-paced, high intencity encounter.

Popular sports betting site Bet365 have the Blaugrana in at 4/9 with Rubin 13/2, as well as paper implying that Barcelona should well ‘demolish’ Kazan, however the vibe around the Barcelona camp suggests quite the opposite. A nervous air is lingering from within the players and coaches, they are all well aware of the protocol for this match, a win proves that the fatal blow Rubin dealt them in the Camp Nou was a fluke, whilst a loss would unleash a ferocious beast that is insults, criticism and doubt.

Team News

It’s all good news for Barcelona, Dani Alves has been named in the squad and Frenchman Thierry Henry was declared fit to play for the Osasuna game, only to be rested, meaning he will surely be given a start, Barcelona should – minus Eto’o – line up with last years ‘Best XI’. For Rubin, Sergei Semak has been out since he picked up a knock in the Camp Nou and is not expected to partake.

Predicted Starting XI, Rubin Kazan: Ryzhikov – Popov – Sharonov – Cesar Navas – Ansaldi – Ryazantsev – Christian Noboa – Murawski – Karadeniz – Bukharov – Dominguez

Predicted Starting XI, Barcelona: Valdes – Alves – Puyol – Pique – Abidal – Xavi – Keita – Iniesta – Messi – Ibrahimovic – Henry

Key Players

Alejandro Dominguez

One of the names many Cules will recall as they remember that dreadful encounter in the Camp Nou, Dominguez’s name was exclaimed from the commentary box many times as he provided a constant threat up front as well as offering constant support to the attackers and finished up with an assist for the second goal. Should Rubin repeat that spectacular result, they will need everyone playing their positions to the best of their abilities, strikers win you matches, so should Kazan do it, Dominguez could well be the executor.

Thierry Henry

Quite a farfetched call some may think, however the Frenchman was rested against Osasuna making him one of the fittest players in a fatigue plagued Barcelona team. The Rubin defence will be firm again and clamp down hard on Messi, Ibrahimovic, Xavi and Iniesta, Henry could well be forgotten and the man ranked number 1 in the world by Castrol could be out to prove why he still deserves a start.

Prediction

If Barcelona fans are not to busy destroying their nail-beds they will see a structured and tough Kazan defence go all out against Barcelona. Guardiola’s men need a plan B when teams decide to ‘stop the Blaugrana from playing’ and hopefully this plan is to be put into action tonight. Rubin will have the advantage of being used to the conditions and have their home fans behind them, although Barcelona have their own advantages including their obviously higher quality side. When both these factors come into play, you get a less than satisfactory result, a draw may well be on the cards, however you would never back against Barcelona, not the most entertaining encounter, but we expect 3 points to be handed out.

Rubin Kazan 0 – 1 Barcelona

Leo10.