Carles Puyol admits Barcelona could struggle if they underestimate
in-form Stuttgart in the first leg of their Champions League
last-16 tie.
Barca make the trip to Germany having bounced back from their
first league defeat of the season against Atletico Madrid by
thumping Racing Santander 4-0 on Saturday night.
That was the Catalan giants' sixth victory in seven league
games, but on Tuesday night they will come up against a Stuttgart
who are in just as good form.
Stuttgart may still be struggling down in ninth place in the
Bundesliga but they too have won six of their last seven and at the
weekend thrashed Cologne 5-1 away from home, with Cacau netting
four of his side's goals.
When the draw was made back in December, Stuttgart were in
the midst of a 10-match winless run in all competitions, but it is
a different story now and a wary Puyol said: "They're playing
better now and they are a dangerous team.
"If we don't go there focused, we could really have a bad
time," added the Barca captainl, who scored one of his side's goals
as they beat Stuttgart 2-0 away during the group stages of the
2007/08 Champions League.
Barca have struggled badly with absentees recently and the
Champions League holders will again be without Seydou Keita and
Eric Abidal for the game.
Key duo Xavi and Dani Alves have at least made the trip to
Germany, but neither has yet been given the all-clear to return to
action following injuries.
Full-back Alves has been absent for a month due to a calf
problem while Xavi picked up a thigh injury during the defeat by
Atletico that had been expected to keep the Spain international out
for around two weeks.
Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was a late withdrawal ahead
of Saturday's win over Racing with an ankle problem, has also been
included in a 20-man travelling squad in the hope he will be fit to
feature.
Stuttgart coach Christian Gross is likely to be without
left-back Arthur Boka for both meetings against Barca after he
suffered a dislocated shoulder in training prior to the Cologne
match that could keep him sidelined for a month.
That was one of the few negatives on what was a memorable
weekend for the Bundesliga outfit, which saw striker Cacau make a
stunning return from his four-week injury lay-off.
"I was really looking forward to this game after my long
break," said Cacau. "And the way the game went makes it
particularly beautiful."
Looking ahead to the clash, the Brazilian-born Germany
international told Barca TV: "We've got nothing to lose. Barca are
favourites and we maybe have a 20 or 30% chance of getting through,
but we will be trying to make the most of our opportunities.
"We have to get a good result at home, because when Barca
play at home it is very difficult to win. I hope they may be over
confident and not commit themselves completely."
