* Barcelona were unbeaten in their first five Champions League meetings with Arsenal, drawing two and winning three - including the 2006 final and last season's quarter-final second leg, when a 4-1 win secured a 6-3 aggregate victory.
* This season they won each of their three home fixtures in Group D, beating Panathinaikos (5-1), Copenhagen (2-0) and Rubin Kazan (2-0), topping their section for the fourth consecutive year and qualifying from the initial group stage for the ninth successive campaign in which they've taken part.
* Barcelona have won 11 ties in Uefa competitions after losing the first leg away from home – but they've lost the other 12, including last season's Champions League semi-final, when a 1-0 victory over Inter at the Nou Camp wasn't good enough to overturn a 3-1 first-leg defeat in Milan.
* On Saturday Barcelona's 1-0 home win over Zaragoza in La Liga not only maintained their seven-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the table, it also extended their unbeaten home run in all competitions to 20 matches.
* Pep Guardiola's side are without first-choice centre-backs Carles Puyol (injured) and Gerard Pique (suspended) for the Arsenal clash, but in Lionel Messi they boast a player with 46 goals from 44 games for club and country so far this season. The Argentine also netted all four Barca goals when Arsenal were the visitors last season.
* Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League in each of the last 13 seasons. This is the 11th successive time they have progressed beyond the initial group stage, and in four of the last five campaigns they've reached at least the quarter-finals.
* The Gunners have won the first leg at home on 15 occasions in Uefa competitions, going on to win the tie on aggregate no fewer than 14 times. Their one defeat - in the 2000-01 Champions League quarter-finals - was against La Liga opposition, a 2-1 home win over Valencia being followed by a 1-0 defeat in Spain and elimination on away goals.
* Arsenal were joint-top scorers in this season's Champions League group stage with 18 goals - the same number as their arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
* Arsenal's first leg victory over Barca was their 99th win in their 200th match in Uefa competitions, and Andrey Arshavin's winner their 197th Champions League goal.
* Unbeaten in their last four away games in all competitions, Arsenal stretched their unbeaten Premier League run to 11 matches (seven wins, four draws) at the weekend with a 0-0 home draw against Sunderland, maintaining their record of not conceding in the opening 15 minutes of any Premier League game this season.
LAST MEETING
February 16, 2011: Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona
The Gunners earned a stunning first ever victory over Barca, showing resilience and verve at the Emirates to bounce back from the visitors' mesmeric passing game and David Villa’s first-half goal which looked for a long time to have settled the issue.
Wojciech Szczesny pulled off some impressive saves to ensure a comeback remained within the realms of possibility, before late goals from Robin van Persie (78th minute) and substitute Andrey Arshavin (83rd) duly secured a valuable first-leg lead.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Barcelona: Valdes; Dani Alves, Milito, Abidal, Maxwell; Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Iniesta; Villa, Messi, Pedro.
Arsenal: Szczesny; Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy; Diaby, Wilshere; Nasri, Fabregas, Arshavin; Bendtner.
Prediction
While both sides have key players missing, Camp Nou is a difficult place to grind out a win - and Arsenal are sure to find that out.
Barca's makeshift backline may be open to attack, but with the hosts sure to dominate possession on home soil, the Gunners won't be able to play football the way they normally do, and coping the wave upon wave of Blaugrana attacks should prove too much for the visitors.
Barca's makeshift backline may be open to attack, but with the hosts sure to dominate possession on home soil, the Gunners won't be able to play football the way they normally do, and coping the wave upon wave of Blaugrana attacks should prove too much for the visitors.
Barcelona 3-1 Arsenal 
