Pep prepared for Utd test

Guardiola: Taking nothing for granted

Pep Guardiola admits Manchester United pose a different kind of threat to Barcelona in Europe this season than they did in 2009.

Two years ago, the Catalan giants saw off the Red Devils in the final of the UEFA Champions League.

United are hoping they will get the opportunity to exact revenge this season, with their paths seemingly set to cross Barca’s once more.

Guardiola’s men booked their place in the 2011 final by wrapping up a 3-1 aggregate victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday and are now waiting to discover who their opponents will be.

United are strong favourites to join them at the Wembley showpiece, as they hold a 2-0 lead from the first leg of their semi-final showdown with Schalke, and Barca’s boss knows Sir Alex Ferguson’s side will need to be treated with respect should they avoid any untimely slip-ups.

“We will wait and see who will be our opponent and we’ll prepare accordingly,” Guardiola said following Barca’s 1-1 draw with Real in midweek.

“But if it’s Manchester United then it will be a different game to the final in 2009 – they are a different team with different strikers.”

Weaknesses

Barca survived a nervous opening in Roma back in 2009 to see off United 2-0, but Guardiola accepts that a repeat of that match up will need to be handled slightly differently.

“A match is decided by many uncontrollable things,” he said.

“We were lucky in the beginning of that game and we were a bit better than them after that, but if we meet again it will be a different match.

“We will have to try and find their weaknesses, have the ball and attack.”