Missing Messi, Barcelona Vs PSG, Leg 2 QF Champions League 2013

Barcelona hopes to recover Lionel
Messi from injury with its
Champions League quarterfinal
against Paris Saint-Germain
poised 2-2, but Cesc Fabregas'
first career hat trick over the
weekend showed they have a Plan
B just in case.
If Messi can't heal a right
hamstring he pulled during the
last week's first leg in Paris,
Barcelona may opt to use
Fabregas in the position of "false
nine" that has proven to be
successful with the Spanish
national team.
Fabregas filled in perfectly for the
absent Argentine in the 5-0 rout of
Mallorca, with forward Alexis
Sanchez also making his claim to
start against PSG with a brace and
two assists for the former Arsenal
midfielder.
Also in the last eight, newly
crowned German champion Bayern
Munich will take its 2-0 advantage
to Juventus, after nine-time
champion Real Madrid visits
Galatasaray and Malaga is at
Borussia Dortmund.
"When you don't have a player like
Messi, it's obvious that you have a
problem," Barcelona assistant
coach Jordi Roura said. "(But) the
squad has shown that it has
enormous quality."
Barcelona can rely on its strong
home record to reach its sixth
straight semifinal. The Catalan
side hasn't lost at Camp Nou in
European competition since Oct.
20, 2009, when it fell 2-1 to Rubin
Kazan, and PSG must win or get a
draw of three goals or more to
move on.
PSG proved it can unsettle
Barcelona from its gutsy first-leg
performance steered by striker
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who canceled
out Messi's opener before setting
up Blaise Matuidi's last-gasp
equalizer.
Ibrahimovic's big body up front
will again be PSG's main threat
against a defence that has been
hit by injuries. Center backs Carles
Puyol and Javier Mascherano are
both out, leaving coach Tito
Vilanova with the option of either
little used Marc Bartra or a
recycled defensive midfielder to
pair with Gerard Pique.
Barcelona got a boost Saturday by
the return of Eric Abidal as a late
substitute a year after he
underwent a liver transplant, but it
is unlikely he is in condition to
play against PSG.
PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti also has
health worries. Defender Thiago
Silva has a knee injury and sat out
Saturday's 2-0 victory against
Rennes. Thiago Motta and Alex are
also doubts.
"Everyone knows it will be difficult,
I don't know how much chance we
have to progress," Ancelotti said.
"We have to be tough. We're not
going there to defend, we can't
afford to. We have to be brave,
because to get to the semifinals
we have to win."
Bayern curtailed Saturday's
Bundesliga title celebrations to
remain focused on its upcoming
trip to Juventus.
Jupp Heynckes' side clinched the
championship with a record six
games to spare by beating
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0, but there
were none of the traditional "beer
showers" that usually accompany
German title celebrations.
"We're not at the finish line yet,"
said Bayern captain Philipp Lahm.
"There's a long way to go because
we still have big targets."
Juventus was dominated for most
of last Tuesday's first leg, and was
lucky to escape Munich only 2-0
down.
Mirko Vucinic scored two goals as
Juventus beat bottom club
Pescara 2-1 on Saturday to
maintain its march to a second
successive Serie A title.
"We really want to have a great
game so this dream can continue,
even though we know it will be
very difficult," Vucinic said. "But
believing in dreams doesn't cost
anything, we will do everything to
try and turn the result around. We
have to treat the game as if it was
a war."
Juventus' task is made more
difficult by personnel problems.
Midfielder Arturo Vidal and
defender Stephan Lichtsteiner, who
both started in Munich, are
suspended, and striker Sebastian
Giovinco is injured.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who
was criticized after the first leg,
was benched Saturday with the flu
but will almost certainly be back.
Madrid put one foot into the
semifinals with a 3-0 victory over
Galatasaray at the Santiago
Bernabeu from goals by the
scoring trio of Cristiano Ronaldo,
Karim Benzema and Gonzalo
Higuain.
Ronaldo went on at halftime to
score one goal and set up another
in Madrid's 5-1 rout of Levante on
Saturday.
"The series isn't over, although 3-0
is a good advantage," Ronaldo
said. "If we go with the ambition
to score a goal, we will go through
fine."
Malaga struggled to hold on for a
0-0 draw against the sprightly
Dortmund in their first meeting
thanks to Willy Caballero's sound
goalkeeping and the German side's
lack of finishing touch.
Malaga and Dortmund both rested
several of their first-choice players
over the weekend.
Malaga manager Manuel Pellegrini
went home to Chile after
Saturday's 4-2 loss at Real
Sociedad to attend his father's
funeral.