* Barcelona chasing honours on three fronts
* Guardiola has almost full squad available
* Bayern recover Altintop but lose Lucio
By Mark Elkington
MADRID, April 7 - Barcelona might like to think
that a Bayern Munich side smarting from a 5-1 humiliation at the
weekend will pose no threat to their Champions League ambitions.
Coach Pep Guardiola, however, believes such a result is
dangerous as his team prepare to meet the German champions in
the first leg of their quarter-final at the Nou Camp on Tuesday.
"League form has nothing to do with the Champions League,
but in my opinion it is the worst possible result for us,"
Guardiola said.
"Bayern have won the European Cup four times and have won
their domestic league many times, and it is now sure they will
arrive with even greater motivation," he told reporters.
The Primera Liga leaders resumed their push for honours on
three fronts with a gritty 1-0 win at Real Valladolid on
Saturday, when Guardiola got away with resting Thierry Henry,
and using Lionel Messi and Daniel Alves as substitutes.
The Catalans, who have already reached the King's Cup final,
maintained a six-point lead over chasing Real Madrid with nine
games left.
"After the break for internationals the win over Valladolid
was vital to get our competitive edge back," Guardiola said.
"The players gave their all and the shouts of happiness you
could hear from the dressing room afterwards show how important
we felt the three points were."
Guardiola has a doubt over the fitness of midfielder Yaya
Toure who is due to return after a thigh muscle tear but captain
Carles Puyol and midfielder Andres Iniesta are fit again after
injury layoffs.
GREATER COMMITMENT
Bayern coach Juergen Klinsmann has recovered Hamit Altintop
from injury while striker Luca Toni played for the first time in
the 5-1 defeat at VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday after more than four
weeks out with a heel injury.
But the Germans, who defend an undefeated run in the
Champions League this season, will be without striker Miroslav
Klose, out for several more weeks after surgery, and central
defender Lucio, who sustained a thigh injury on Saturday.
"We are not afraid of Barcelona," said Klinsmann. "The
players know that the whole world will be watching and they will
want to show what they can do."
But he demanded greater commitment following the defeat
against Wolfsburg.
"The players must know that there will be consequences at
some point," he told the club website (www.fcbayern.de).
He said he wanted to see "greater sacrifice and
determination."
Probable teams:
Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 20-Daniel Alves, 4-Rafael
Marquez, 3-Gerard Pique, 5-Carles Puyol; 6-Xavi, 15-Seydou
Keita, 8-Andres Iniesta; 10-Lionel Messi, 9-Samuel Eto'o,
14-Thierry Henry
Bayern Munich: 1-Michael Rensing; 23-Massimo Oddo, 6-Martin
Demichelis, 5-Daniel van Buyten, 21-Philipp Lahm; 31-Bastian
Schweinsteiger, 15-Ze Roberto, 17-Mark van Bommel, 7-Franck
Ribery; 9-Luca Toni, 11-Lukas Podolski
Referee: Howard Webb (England)
(Additional reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Rex
Gowar. To query or comment on this story email
sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)