Mercedes-Benz Arena
Past Meetings (UEFA.com)
• Barcelona recorded home and away wins against Stuttgart when the clubs met in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2007/08.
• The Spanish side prevailed 2-0 in the first encounter in Germany on 2 October 2007, Carles Puyol (53) and Lionel Messi (67) the scorers.
• Stuttgart will hope for more than they managed against Barcelona's Liga rivals Sevilla FC in the group stage. They lost 3-1 to the Andalusian club at home on 20 October before earning a 1-1 draw in Spain on 4 November through Zdravko Kuzmanović's 79th-minute equaliser.
• Stuttgart also travelled to Sevilla in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage, losing 2-0.
• They have won just one of eleven previous meetings with Spanish sides – a 1-0 home success against Real Sociedad de Fútbol in the first leg of the 1988/89 UEFA Cup quarter-final. It was their first encounter with Liga opposition and they eventually advanced on penalties after losing the return by the same scoreline.
• Barcelona's last six trips to Germany have yielded four wins and two draws. Their most recent visit was for last term's quarter-final second leg against FC Bayern München, where a 1-1 draw completed a 5-1 aggregate triumph.
• Barcelona beat German opposition in Fortuna Düsseldorf to win the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1979.
• Barcelona have won four and drawn five away games in the UEFA Champions League since suffering their last defeat on the road, in the 2007/08 semi-final at Manchester United FC.
Puyol wary of Stuttgart threat
Barcelona captain Carles Puyol admits his side could be in for a bad night if they underestimate the threat posed by 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 they will now come up against a Stuttgart side 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 ten-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 Puyol, 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.
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 to Atletico that had been expected to keep the Spain international out for around 15 days.
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.''
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