BARCELONA, Spain — Winning by a three-goal margin may be too much even for Barcelona. Three weeks after losing to AC Milan 2-0 in the first leg of the last 16 of the Champions League, Barcelona will have plenty of work to do Tuesday at the Camp Nou. “I'm fairly optimistic despite the 2-0 from the away leg,” Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said. “We have to attack and score early.” Besides the loss to Milan, Barcelona also lost twice to Real Madrid, once in the Copa del Rey and again in the Spanish league. The team will be coached by assistant Jordi Roura. He is standing in for Tito Vilanova, who is undergoing throat cancer treatment in New York. In anticipation of Tuesday's match, Roura has rested Lionel Messi and five of his Spain internationals, although the Argentina forward came on late to score in Barcelona's 2-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna Saturday. Messi has scored in a record 17 consecutive matches and has 51 in this campaign. “I have absolute confidence that we can do it,” Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta said. “We have an adverse result, it's not good, obviously, but our mentality and our conviction needs to be that we can turn it around.” Milan forward Giampaolo Pazzini will be out with a leg injury he picked up in Friday's 2-0 win at Genoa. Pazzini has scored 14 goals in 29 games in 2013. With Mario Balotelli ineligible after transferring from Manchester City last month, 20-year-old Stephan El Shaarawy, who has scored a team-high 16 goals in Serie A this season, will be expected to lead the attack. “It will be difficult but not impossible,” Iniesta said. “We have to play this match as it if was a final. That's what our mentality needs to be from the first minute to the last.” Schalke, meanwhile, has already won the game most of its fans consider the highlight of the season, so a place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League would only be a bonus. The German side takes the away-goal advantage into its home leg against Galatasaray after a 1-1 draw in Istanbul, meaning a win or a 0-0 draw would seal its place in the last eight. Schalke goes into Tuesday's match bolstered by a 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, but weakened by the absence of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the striker who injured his left knee in the Ruhr derby Saturday and will miss several weeks. Schalke's third straight Bundesliga victory was also its second this season over Dortmund, the detested neighbor, and it sent the fans into ecstasy. Ribery ruled out Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has been ruled out of its Champions League round of 16 second leg at home to Arsenal Wednesday after picking up an ankle injury in the league Saturday, the club said in a statement. The France international pulled ligaments in his left ankle during Bayern's 3-2 league win against Fortuna Dusseldorf. He will be joined on the sidelines by suspended midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and defender Jerome Boateng. — Agencies
