With a place in the knock out stages assured, Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard is planning to rotate his squad for the visit of Werder Bremen.
Barca come into the game on the back of their confidence-boosting victory over Real Madrid at the weekend. Nonetheless, Rijkaard has already moved on to tonight’s fixture.
“The match at the weekend is history,” he said. “We are now working hard and preparing to give our fans something new to shout about.
“The good thing is that we have another game and a new opportunity for some players who have not had many chances this season. When you have such a strong squad where all the players deserve to play, it is always difficult to choose.
“For sporting reasons, the players that have not played at the Bernabeu find it hard and they will have to be ready psychologically. I have spoken to some of them and have been sincere. That is only logical in football.”
Rijkaard is expecting a tough test from Bremen.
“They’ve had some very good results against Spanish teams in the past and in their last Bundesliga match they scored six goals,” said the coach.
“You can never underestimate any team in Europe because the level is so high.”
Visiting coach Thomas Schaaf is confident his players will not be overawed by their hosts.
“It doesn’t matter whether they play their first team or their second team, because either way it will be very strong,” said Schaaf.
“We are proud to be here, and although we have great respect for Barcelona, we will not be intimidated. We also won on Saturday and we are going to play this game in the same way.
“It would be a mistake for us to focus on defending because our quality is taking control in the midfield and playing attacking football. That is what we plan to do against Barca and we will not worry too much about them.”
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