Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola is wary of the curse of the last 16 in the UEFA Champions League.
First knockout round labelled 'one of the most difficult ties'
Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola is wary of the curse of the last 16 in the UEFA Champions League ahead of Tuesday's first leg at Stuttgart.
The first knockout round of the European Cup has proved a graveyard for defending champions in recent years, with Liverpool, Barca and AC Milan all suffering defeats.
Having won the competition at the end of last season after a stunning victory over 2008 winners Manchester United, Guardiola is cautious about a repeat.
Barcelona have been installed as strong favourites to defeat Stuttgart, who sit ninth in the Bundesliga, but their manager does not want his side to become over-confident.
Guardiola said: "If you analyse the results you will see that in the last few years a number of champions such as Liverpool and AC Milan have gone out at this stage in the following year.
"It's one of the most difficult ties in the competition. Only Manchester United have survived in the last few years."
He added: "It's important to start well. If you lose the ball the Germans will murder you on the counter-attack."
