Everything on... Barcelona

You have to go back to the European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final in 1982 for our last competitive meeting with Barcelona, although we have faced them as recently as this summer as part of our successful International Champions Cup campaign.

We were 2-0 down heading into the latter stages of that game in Pasadena but two goals in three minutes from Heung-Min Son and Georges-Kévin Nkoudou took the contest to penalties, Barça eventually prevailing 5-3 on spot-kicks.

Here’s everything you need to know about our opponents in Wednesday’s mouth-watering UEFA Champions League Group B clash…

Team news

Centre-back Samuel Umtiti will serve a one-game suspension after being sent off in Barcelona's 4-0 win over PSV Eindhoven on matchday one while Sergi Roberto, who can play at right-back or in midfield, is out after injuring his right leg in Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with Athletic Bilbao.

One to watch

Lionel Messi – who else? The Argentinian genius set two records in the win over PSV a fortnight ago, scoring his eighth Champions League hat-trick and taking his group stage tally to an unsurpassed 63 goals.

Messi’s CV is as impressive as anyone’s in the history of the game. At the age of 31, he has already won four Champions Leagues, nine Liga titles and six Copa del Reys while, on a personal level, he has scored more than 600 goals for club and country and scooped the Ballon d’Or a record five times.

Even in a side containing Luis Suárez, Ousmane Dembélé, Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Rakitić, Messi remains the talisman for Ernesto Valverde’s side.

Last four meetings

28 July, 2018 – Barcelona 2-2 Spurs (5-3 on penalties) – International Champions Cup
24 July, 2009 – Spurs 1-1 Barcelona – Wembley Cup
21 April, 1982 – Barcelona 1-0 Spurs – European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final second leg
7 April, 1982 – Spurs 1-1 Barcelona – European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final first leg

Previous clash

Barcelona were quick out of the blocks in our second International Champions Cup match of the summer and surged into a 2-0 lead inside half an hour thanks to Munir El Haddadi’s close-range header and a thumping 20-yard strike from Arthur.

Son started our comeback by turning in a rebound in the 73rd minute after Barcelona had blocked Christian Eriksen’s shot and we restored parity two minutes later when Nkoudou pounced following a goalmouth scramble.

The contest was eventually settled by penalties with Barça scoring all five of their spot-kicks. Son, Ben Davies and Dávinson Sánchez found the net for us but Anthony Georgiou was denied by Jasper Cillessen.

Barcelona’s form

Valverde’s side made an impressive start to the season, beating Sevilla 2-1 in the Spanish Super Cup, winning their first four Liga games and beginning their Champions League campaign by beating PSV 4-0.

Their form has stuttered since then, however, with home draws against Girona and Athletic Bilbao sandwiching their only defeat of the season to date, a shock 2-1 reverse at lowly Leganés. Despite those recent setbacks, they remain level with Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Played for both

We brought central midfielder Paulinho to the Premier League from Corinthians in July, 2013, and the Brazilian international quickly made an impact with a goal on his first European outing at Dinamo Tbilisi and a sublime back-heeled winner at Cardiff City.

His early promise never truly materialised though and he left for Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande after two seasons. However, that switch was the start of Paulinho’s renaissance and two years later he was snapped up by Barcelona.

His displays at the Nou Camp drew plenty of acclaim and he finished his sole campaign in Spain with nine league goals and a Liga winner’s medal. Though still a Barcelona player, Paulinho returned to Guangzhou on a season-long loan this summer.

What they’re saying

Barcelona coach Valverde believes his side can respond in a positive way after dropping points recently in La Liga: “Even when you win everything, there are some discerning voices,” he said at his pre-match press conference at Wembley on Tuesday. “Everyone here knows the demands on us and we know that we have to live with that.”

On the challenge of facing us, he added: “We know that they have injuries, but we expect the best from them and we are aware of their strength in attack and defence.

“When the draw came out, we expected tough games and we know this one is going to be very hard and difficult for us.”