AP, Manchester :
Arsenal and Barcelona resume their decade-long rivalry in the Champions League this week.
It’s been a one-sided tale.
It started in 2006 when Barcelona came from behind against 10 men to score two late goals and win 2-1 in the final in Paris. Arsenal hasn’t reached the title match since.
Barcelona won 6-3 over two legs in the 2010 quarterfinals, and 4-3 on aggregate in the last 16 in 2011.
There’s rarely a dull moment when these two entertaining and attack-minded teams meet, with those five matchups averaging almost four goals a game. And this year could be no different considering the scintillating way Barca is playing.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have scored a combined 91 goals this season, helping the Catalan team establish a club-record 32 matches without a loss heading to London.
No team has successfully defended the Champions League trophy but Barca is in prime shape to do so, even though coach Luis Enrique knows the potential of Arsenal heading into the first leg at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
“We are talking about a game that lasts 180 minutes,” Enrique said. “It will be complicated, because it’s a rival that can cause us problems.”
Arsenal has exited at the last-16 stage for the past five years and has never won the tournament.
Here’s a look at the other three matches this week:
There will be some familiar faces for Juventus and Bayern Munich when two giants of European football meet on Tuesday.
Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic scored 39 goals in 74 appearances for Bayern from 2012-2014, winning two Bundesliga titles and scoring in the Champions League final win against Borussia Dortmund in 2013.
