Guardiola keen on avoiding defeat

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola will hope history does not repeat itself when his side take on Rubin Kazan in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Guardiola was in the only Barca team to suffer a home defeat to Russian opposition when CSKA Moscow triumphed in the Nou Camp in the 1992/93 season.

Barcelona were the defending champions but lost 3-2 at home in the second round to miss out on the group stages.

A repeat result looks highly unlikely with Barcelona top of Group F after beating Dynamo Kiev 2-0 at home and drawing 0-0 at Inter Milan.

Rubin also recorded a creditable draw against Inter but have plenty of work to do after losing 3-1 in Kiev.

In fact, Rubin have played just two away ties in European competition proper and lost them both, against Kiev this season and to Rapid Vienna in the first round of the UEFA Cup in 2006.

However, after being held to a 0-0 draw with Valencia on Saturday which saw their lead at the top of La Liga reduced to just one point, defender Seydou Keita insisted Barca would not be taking their Russian opponents lightly.

“It won’t be an easy game,” he said. “They will come to the Nou Camp to defend like they all do and we’ll have to go out strong to create chances and score.”

Keita also backed Lionel Messi to produce his best form after the Argentina star and his team-mates failed to find the net for the first time in the league this season at the Mestalla on Saturday.

“It’s only normal for players to have their off days, the whole team was missing something, but I’m sure he’ll be one of our most important players,” Keita added.

Keita did not train on Sunday due to a minor injury but is confident he will be fit to face Rubin.

“I took a knock but it was nothing important,” the 29-year-old added on www.fcbarcelona.com.

Rubin comfortably won the Russian Premier League last season and are currently involved in a tense battle to retain their title.

With just five games of the season remaining, Kurban Berdyev’s side are one point ahead of Spartak Moscow, with 2008 UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg three points further adrift.

They enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 win over FC Khimki on Saturday and, despite their lack of European experience, can boast at least one player who knows all about playing in La Liga.

Defender Cesar Navas began his career in Real Madrid’s B team and later played for Malaga, Gimnastic Tarragona and Racing Santander.

In fact, one of his last appearances for Racing before joining Rubin came in a 2-1 home loss to Barcelona in February.

Rubin captain Sergei Semak, who was rested on Saturday, has even less pleasant memories of past meetings with Barcelona players.

Semak’s Russia side lost twice to a Spain side featuring Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol and Xavi at Euro 2008, losing 4-1 in their opening group game and then 3-0 in the semi-final, where Xavi scored the first goal.