Leverkusen bid to end losing streak against Barça

Bayer 04 Leverkusen will hope for a change of luck against FC Barcelona when they host the reigning champions in their must-win final Group E fixture.

• Leverkusen are on a six-match losing streak against the Blaugrana, most recently the 2-1 reverse at the Camp Nou on matchday two this season, but have to beat them and hope that second-placed AS Roma drop points against FC BATE Borisov in order to leapfrog the Italian side and snatch qualification for the round of 16.

• Barcelona have no such anxieties having secured their 12th successive participation in the knockout stage – and first place in the group – with a 6-1 defeat of Roma last time out.

Previous meetings
• Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a UEFA Champions League game when Barcelona crushed Leverkusen 7-1 at Camp Nou in the 2011/12 round of 16. Karim Bellarabi struck Leverkusen's goal in stoppage time.

• Barcelona had already won the first leg in Germany 3-1. Alexis Sánchez, with two goals, and Messi were the Spanish side's scorers with Michal Kadlec on target for Leverkusen.

• The lineups at the BayArena on 14 February 2012 were:
Leverkusen: Leno, Ćorluka (Da Costa 90+1), Schwaab, Friedrich, Kadlec, Reinartz, Renato Augusto, Bender, Rolfes (Kiessling 77), Castro, Schürrle (Bellarabi 90).
Barcelona: Valdés, Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Abidal, Busquets, Fàbregas, Iniesta (Thiago Alcántara 61), Sánchez (Cuenca 86), Messi, Adriano (Pedro 70).

• Overall Barcelona have won the clubs' last six encounters, including away (2-1) and home (2-0) victories in the 2002/03 second group stage.

• In 2001/02, Luis Enrique, now Barcelona coach, scored in both matches as the teams traded 2-1 home wins in the first group stage.

• Leverkusen got the better of Barcelona in the 1988 UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Tita's solitary strike at the Camp Nou secured a 1-0 aggregate triumph for a side who went on to beat Barça's city rivals RCD Espanyol in the final.

Match background

Leverkusen
• Leverkusen are looking to reach the last 16 for the third year running but have not won in Group E since a 4-1 home success against FC BATE Borisov on matchday one.

• Including their 3-0 play-off win over SS Lazio, Leverkusen have scored 11 goals in three home games (W2 D1) in this season's UEFA Champions League.

• Roger Schmidt's men exited the UEFA Champions League against Spanish opposition last term, beaten 3-2 in a shootout by Club Atlético de Madrid after a 1-0 second-leg loss at the Vicente Calderón. Hakan Çalhanoğlu had scored their first-leg winner but, along with Ömer Toprak and Stefan Kiessling, failed to convert his penalty in Madrid.

• The German team's overall home record against clubs from Spain is W7 D3 L5.

Barcelona
• Barcelona earned their first win in this season's competition when coming from behind to beat Leverkusen 2-1 at Camp Nou on matchday two.

• They are looking to end the group stage undefeated for the first time since the 2011/12 campaign.

• They lost 3-2 at FC Bayern München on their last visit to Germany in last season's UEFA Champions League semi-finals, albeit having already triumphed 3-0 in the first leg at home. Luis Enrique's men have not lost in the competition since then.

Coach and player links
• Luis Enrique scored for Barcelona in a 2-0 first-leg home victory over Borussia Dortmund in the 1997/98 UEFA Super Cup (aggregate 3-1). He also found the target in a 1-1 draw at Hertha BSC Berlin in the 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League second group stage.

• Including his appearances against Leverkusen in 2001/02, Luis Enrique's record as a player against German clubs was W2 D2 L2, with four goals scored.

• Charles Aránguiz scored for Chile in the 2-0 group stage triumph that eliminated Spain's Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Andrés Iniesta from the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

• Christoph Kramer was in Germany's 2014 World Cup final-winning side against the Argentina of Messi and Javier Mascherano.

• Admir Mehmedi lost against Messi and Mascherano when Argentina beat Switzerland 1-0 in the round of 16 at Brazil 2014.

• Mehmedi had earlier netted past Marc-André ter Stegen in Switzerland's 5-3 friendly win against Germany in May 2012. He also featured in a 1-0 Switzerland victory over Brazil in August 2013, when Dani Alves scored an own goal.

• Javier Hernández opened the scoring and Messi hit an 89th-minute equaliser when the former's Mexico side were held 2-2 by Argentina in a friendly in Arlington, Texas in September.

• Hernández was in the Manchester United FC team beaten 3-1 by Barcelona in the 2011 UEFA Champions League final. He scored nine goals on loan at Real Madrid CF last term.

• As an FC Schalke 04 player (2007–11), Ivan Rakitić faced Leverkusen six times (W1, D2, L3).

• With VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach (2009–14), Marc-André ter Stegen took on Leverkusen six times too, and also won just once (W1, D3, L2).

• Players who have played together:
Ter Stegen & Kramer, Bellarabi, Lars Bender (Germany)
Claudio Bravo & Aránguiz (Chile)
Rakitić & Dario Krešić, Tin Jedvaj (Croatia)

Match facts

Leverkusen
• Kevin Kampl and Wendell are both a booking away from a ban.

• Hernández has scored 11 goals in his last ten Leverkusen appearances, with a 2-1 loss at Hertha BSC Berlin on 5 December their third defeat in five Bundesliga games.

• Roberto Hilbert made his first Leverkusen appearance since sustaining a knee injury on 8 October in the defeat in Berlin.

• Bender, who has not played since 28 October, underwent right ankle surgery on 1 December. He is expected to be out until early 2016.

• Jedvaj (out since 17 July, thigh) made his comeback as a substitute in the 0-0 draw at Hamburger SV on 17 October only to sustain another thigh injury in training five days later that is expected to sideline him for the rest of the year.

• Aránguiz tore his Achilles tendon in training on 20 August.

Barcelona
• Daniel Alves serves a one-game ban; Gerard Piqué is a booking away from a suspension.

• Barcelona are 12 games unbeaten – ten wins – since the 2-1 reverse at Sevilla FC on 3 October.

• The Camp Nou outfit have scored 21 goals in their last five matches in all competitions.

• The Liga leaders followed up their 6-1 defeat of Roma with a 4-0 triumph over Real Sociedad de Fútbol on 28 November. A much-changed side then beat third-tier CF Villanovense 6-1 at home in the second leg of their Copa del Rey round of 32 tie, Sandro Ramírez scoring his first professional hat-trick.

• Munir El Haddadi was on target twice against Villanovense – his first club goals of the season.

• Luis Suárez opened the scoring at Valencia on 5 December, but Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw, ending a run of seven straight wins in all competitions.

• Neymar and Suárez have scored 24 of Barcelona's last 26 Liga goals.

• The Azulgrana have kept a clean sheet in seven of their last 11 fixtures.

• Barcelona have conceded four goals on three occasions in 2015/16: against RC Celta de Vigo on 23 September, Athletic Club in the Spanish Super Cup and Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup.

• Douglas (out since 28 October, foot) and Rafinha (16 September, knee) are still out, while Jérémy Mathieu (discomfort) and Sergi Roberto (ankle) are doubtful.