FC Barcelona Vs. Shakhtar Donetsk, 2011 UEFA Champions League: Barcelona Cruise To 5-1 Win

Barcelona and Spain striker David Villa isn’t exactly in the midst of a purple patch as his side prepares to entertain Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash. Villa hasn’t found the net for Barcelona since late February, although he does have 17 La Liga goals to his name already this season. The World Cup winner isn’t particularly happy with his recent performances, which have seen him look remarkably wasteful inside the penalty area, but at the same time he’s not too concerned about his unwelcome little streak:

I think we can probably count on a goal arriving at some point. Shakhtar are too fond of attacking not to give the home side some space, and giving Barcelona space means goals ahoy at the Camp Nou. Don’t be surprised if that streak of Villa’s is history by the time the match is over.

Giving Shakhtar even a glimmer of a chance seems to be well beyond most pundits, but it’s worth pointing out that the Ukrainian champions finished at the top of Group H ahead of and absolutely annihilated Roma in the Round of Sixteen by an aggregate score of 6-2. They’ve also had some previous success against Barcelona in European competition, suffering a close 2-1 loss at home to Pep Guardiola’s side in the 2008/09 group stages before pulling off a 3-2 victory in Barcelona after the eventual Champions had already secured first place in Group C.

They’re not a bad team, in other words - you really can’t be a bad side to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League unless you are this year’s incarnation of Inter Milan - and Barcelona will have to tread very carefully here. Shakhtar are packed to the teeth with exciting attacking players (six young Brazilians complement the Ukrainian core) - while they’re probably not at Arsenal’s overall level on the attack, they’re not far off, and they’re also more or less healthy.