Rijkaard retains faith in Barça

Permutations
A failure to win any of their three games since the 5-0 destruction of Levski at Camp Nou on Matchday 1 has put Barcelona's berth in the knockout rounds in jeopardy. A draw or defeat in the Bulgarian capital would dump them out of contention should Werder Bremen overcome Chelsea FC in the section's other match. However, all the permutations leave Rijkaard unmoved. His focus is only on the 90 minutes at the Vasil Levski National Stadium and he has no fears about the outcome.

Rijkaard unfazed
"I'm not thinking that we could be eliminated," he said. "I'm concentrating only on this game on Wednesday night and I'm sure we will win." The Dutchman will not even bother to find out the state of play in the game in Germany which could have a big bearing on Barça's destiny: "I won't pay attention to it. I'm always saying that you know how a game will start but not how it will finish, so I won't worry about it."

Key duo out
The Primera División leaders are without two of their most potent weapons, Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o, for a tie they must win. But a side containing Ronaldinho, Deco and Eidur Gudjohnsen, who scored twice at the weekend as the Catalan club triumphed 4-1 at RCD Mallorca, ought, on the face of it, to be too strong for UEFA Champions League debutants still looking to put their first points on the board.

'Pleased and proud'
Levski coach Stanimir Stoilov says that regardless of the results in their last two fixtures, his team have much to be satisfied with. "I am pleased and proud with our European performances over the last two seasons," he said. "Of course, the results are not good but, after all, we have played against Barcelona, Chelsea and Werder Bremen. We made a big step forward in reaching the Champions League group stage and now we have much more experience. Next season, if we manage to reach this stage again, we will do much better."

Petkov returns
His charges have a four-point advantage in the Bulgarian top flight after beating PFC Lokomotiv Sofia 3-0 on Saturday, and have goalkeeper Georgi Petkov back after he sat out the 3-0 defeat by Bremen on Matchday 4. Star striker Valeri Domovchiyski is also in contention after recovering from a groin injury, while the versatile Stanislav Angelov could replace Dimitar Telkiyski as the midfielder nurses a slight muscle strain.

Probable teams
Levski: Georgi Petkov; Zhivko Milanov, Elin Topuzakov, Igor Tomašić, Lucio Wagner; Richard Eromoigbe, Daniel Borimirov, Stanislav Angelov; Cédric Bardon, Valeri Domovchiyski, Hristo Yovov.

Barcelona: Víctor Valdés; Oleguer Presas, Rafael Márquez, Carles Puyol, Giovanni van Bronckhorst; Thiago Motta, Ronaldinho, Deco, Andrés Iniesta; Eidur Gudjohnsen, Ludovic Giuly.