Spanish giants Barcelona, also the defending European champions, are in a league of their own. The Catalan giants are yet to lose any group game in the UEFA Champions League this season, and it remains to be seen whether Bayer Leverkusen do get to break that winning run on Wednesday, 9 December.
The German side host Barca at the BayArena on Wednesday, 9 December, in the final Group E game of the Champions League this season. Luis Enrique's side have easily earned a place in the round-of-16 of the tournament with four wins from five games, but who will be the other team from the group joining them to the next round?
Either Leverkusen or Italian side Roma will finish as the second-best team after tonight's group games. Both have five points, but on-paper, Roma have a better chance of making it to the next round, as they face Bate, in the other game of the night.
Getting past Barcelona will nevertheless be a herculean task for Bayer Leverkusen, but Roger Schmidt believes nothing is impossible in football. "It doesn't matter (that Barcelona are already through). Barca always want to win and I expect them to field their best players.
"But we are looking forward to the game and want to compete with them in our own stadium. We have already shown that we are capable of putting in special performances in Europe," the Leverkusen manager said.
Enrique's side come into this game against the backdrop of a shock 1-1 draw against Valencia in the La Liga last weekend; their seven-match winning streak also ended in the process. Therefore, for tonight's game, the Spanish coach is concerned in nothing but giving a solid display.
"We have talked about Leverkusen's pressing game, which could give us problems. But we have changed a couple of things since that first match [in September, when Barca won 2-1 against the German sid]," Enrique explained.
Leverkusen vs Barcelona is scheduled to kick-off at the BayArena at 8:45 pm CET (1:15 am IST, 7:45 pm GMT, 2:45 pm ET).
Possible starting XI
Bayer Leverkusen: Leno; Hilbert, Tah, Toprak, Wendell; Kramer, Kampl; Bellarabi, Mehmedi; Kiessling, Hernández.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Adriano, Bartra, Vermaelen, Alba; Mascherano, Samper, Rakitić; Messi, Munir, Sandro.
Where to watch the game
Viewers in India can catch the game on Ten Cricket, while the streaming option of the game is also available on tensports.com.
UK viewers can catch the game on BT Sport Extra, while the online live stream option is onBT Sport Live. The BT Sport app will also show the match Live.
US viewers can catch the game on Fox Sports 1 USA and Fox Deportes. The option of live streaming is also available on FoxSoccer2Go and Fox Sports Go. The radio commentary is available on ESPN Deportes.
People in Spain can catch the game on beIN Sports Spain, and also stream it live on beIN Sports Connect Espana. People in Germany can tune into Sky Sport 2/HD and Sky Sport 4/HD. The live streaming is also available on Sky Go Deutschland.
Radio Barca will also broadcast the game.
