Leverkusen must beat Barcelona to have a glimmer of hope
LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) - To rescue a sinking season, Bayer Leverkusen has a daunting task ahead.
Leverkusen must beat Barcelona to advance in the Champions League and even that accomplishment may not be enough.
The German side is on a six-match losing streak to Barcelona but even if it manages to win at home, it also must hope for Roma not to beat BATE Borisov.
Barcelona has already made sure of winning Group E, but the three other teams all still have a chance.
Roma leads Leverkusen on head-to-head and will go through to the knockout stage with a victory at home. A draw in Leverkusen would leave the German side in third and in the Europa League. BATE must win to stay in Europe and must hope Leverkusen does not win to have a chance of advancing.
Leverkusen went into the season with high hopes. But Roger Schmidt's side has been a disappointment and is only ninth in the Bundesliga, 19 points behind leader Bayern Munich. In the Champions League, its only win came on opening day against BATE, 4-1.
The stars of the last season, midfielders Hakan Calhanoglu and Karim Bellarabi, have not been able to reproduce that form.
"Hakan played a great season but he has been average now," Leverkusen director Rudi Voeller said.
Bellarabi has been a shadow of the player who became a Germany international last season.
Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez has been one bright spot on a fading side. The Mexican has seven goals in the Bundesliga and will be Leverkusen's top hope against Barcelona.
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BIGGER FISH
With first place in the group already secured, Barcelona will likely have other goals in mind than simply keeping up its intimidating form in Europe.
The defending champions travel to Germany without Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique, who are being rested by coach Luis Enrique. Dani Alves is suspended for the match, while Jeremy Mathieu and Sergi Roberto are recovering from injuries. Luis Enrique has taken four reserve team players in their place.
Barcelona will likely prioritize having a well-rested team to face Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish league on Saturday, especially after its lead was trimmed following a draw at Valencia last weekend. Barcelona will then be heading to the Club World Cup.
If Luis Suarez does play, he will be looking to extend his impressive scoring streak. The Uruguay striker has scored 12 goals in his last eight games in all competitions and leads the team with 19 goals this season
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UNDERDOG STILL IN THE FIGHT
Simply still having a chance to advance is something of a success for BATE, which is financially outgunned by its more illustrious opponents in Group E.
Beating Roma 3-2 at home in September was a shock result for the Belarusian champion, which took full advantage of passionate home support and a slow start by the Italian team.
Repeating the feat in Rome will be a much trickier task since BATE has never won in Italy and has failed to win any of its five away Champions League games this season, including the qualifying rounds.
BATE will be well rested for the Roma game but may be lacking in match fitness, since the Belarusian league's calendar-year system means it has not had any domestic action for more than a month.