It has caused a lot of emotional feeling amongst the players and the fans at Barcelona. Midfielder Sergio Busquets has said that the perfect way to send off Guardiola is to win the Copa del Rey for him this season. This Copa del Rey match will also be the final one for Guardiola as the Barcelona manager before he will relinquish his position, which will be taken by his assistant Tito. Barcelona will be up against Athletic Bilbao in the final of the competition. Barcelona striker Lionel Messi recently completed the record of having scored the most goals in one single season after scoring his 72nd of the season against Espanyol.

“The most important thing is the team. We have to do everything we can so that Leo Messi finishes the season as top goalscorer. He’s broken all the records, he’s the best in the world. Also, the game we have left [cup final] is very important, I hope Pep can leave the club with the cup title,” Busquets said ahead of the Espanyol match. Lionel Messi is in a race with Cristiano Ronaldo for the top goal scorer of the award, which he is leading by six goals.

Sergio Busquets Video Rating: 2 / 5

Sergio Busquets Video Rating: 4 / 5

Barcelona come from the first leg with a healthy 3-1 lead, but Sergio Busquets is of the opinion that Bayern Leverkusen will put them back into the contention with an away goal. Hence, he is extremely cautious with regard to the mentality of approaching the match. Barcelona have been the favourites to win the Champions league this season, and so far, they are yet to display that potential in the domestic form. Hence, there is every reason Bayern Leverkusen can feel confident upon seeing the domestic form of Barcelona.

The goal scored by Lionel Messi in the second half meant that Barcelona now have a 3-1 lead instead of a 2-1 lead. Sergio Busquets is extremely thankful for the goal scored by Lionel Messi because the game would have been extremely nervous had it been a 2-1 game. Still, he is not taking Bayern Leverkusen lightly. Bayern Leverkusen, though, have been extremely poor this season in the domestic front. One of the main reasons for their league position is the domestic form, as their away form has been extremely poor.

“I don’t believe they will sit back and settle for 30% ball possession [as they did in the first leg]; they will try to get the ball and attack. Leverkusen need goals. We need to turn that into our advantage, make use of the space and hit them on the counterattack,” Barcelona defender Sergio Busquets said in the pre-match press conference ahead of the last 16 tie with Bayern Leverkusen. Barcelona have the opportunity to enter into the quarter-finals even with a 0-0 draw.

Sergio Busquets Video clip Score: five / 5

The Spanish midfielder has missed the last two matches for Barcelona. Unfortunately, it has been in these last two matches in which Barcelona seem to have lost their opportunity to win the league on the fourth consecutive occasion. As a result of the 3-2 loss at the hands of Osasuna during the weekend, Real Madrid have built up a 10 point advantage in the league. Hence, Barcelona will be shifting their focus towards the European competition.

The presence of Sergio Busquets is a major boost for Barcelona and the manager Guardiola given that he not only provides the option of safety, but also the ability to play from the back. It is extremely crucial to the way Barcelona play. It is an option that cannot be provided by the likes of Mascherano. Hence, the return of Sergio Busquets to full training has been viewed with a lot of joy amongst other Barcelona at camp. Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack will not be part of the Bayern Leverkusen team due to an injury.

Barcelona manager Guardiola rested Xavi and Iniesta in the 3-2 defeat at the hands of Osasuna during the weekend. They are expected to be back for the match. Barcelona will be looking for an away goal in the match in order to secure an early advantage against Bayern Leverkusen. Even though Bayern Leverkusen did well to get a draw against Chelsea in the group stages this season, facing Barcelona will be a totally different proposition. Some of the high profile players who will be unavailable for this match include Ibrahim Afellay and Andreu Fontas.

Busquets has missed the Catalan giants’ last two games through a knee injury but has seemingly made a substantial enough recovery to convince Pep Guardiola to at the very least consider him for the last 16 clash with the Germans.

Barca have been in something of an injury crisis in recent weeks with Andreu Fontas, Ibrahim Affellay and David Villa  all ruled out long term and Andres Iniesta having recently picked up another leg injury. As a result of this recent string of bad luck for the Catalans they have been forced to include five players from their ‘B’ Squad for the Champions League clash.

The return of Busquets to the side will be a welcome boost to Guardiola and given the difficulties they have had it is understandable they are keen to see players return as quickly as possible.

Barca dropped points at Osasuna at the weekend and have struggled, relatively speaking, since their return from the Club World Cup, dropping points in five games this year already. They now find themselves a long way adrift of rivals Real in the league and in a slight dip in form going into the Champions League knock out stages. The online football betting markets still suggest that Barca will win a trophy this season, but it’s looking more and more likely to be the Copa Del Rey or Champions League rather than La Liga.

Busquets will no doubt be making a welcome return to the Barca squad and even if he is not judged fit enough to start against Leverkusen his return, whenever it may come, will boost Barca’s squad giving them that extra bit of fire they were missing in their defeat to Osasuna. According to betfair online, if the European clash comes to soon for Busquets his next opportunity to pull on the blue and red shirt will be at the weekend against Valencia.

Sergio Busquets Movie Score: 4 / five

Sergio Busquets Video Rating: 5 / five

In many ways, he has been the unsung heroes for both Barcelona and Spain in recent seasons. Now, praises finally arriving in the form of his fellow teammate Xavi Hernandez. Xavi Hernandez is coming to the end of his career, but is still putting impressive performances, which have obviously led to him being nominated for the Ballon d’Or award. However, Xavi Hernandez believes that media should give more credit to Sergio Busquets. The defensive midfielder – according to Xavi Hernandez– is crucial to the way Barcelona play because he not only intercepts the attack of the opponent, but also coordinates the attack of Barcelona as well.

“Without Busquets we could never had achieved what we have achieved. He is an extraordinary player who is never wrong. The key was the possession of the ball. The coach worked out the tactics wonderfully; we just had put it into practice. We had the possession and the philosophy of Barcelona was clearly presented: football players raised in the club who play great football,” Xavi told the media. Barcelona’s way of playing is something that many clubs have tried to replicate, but without a player like Sergio Busquets, they have been unable to do so.