Barcelona will look to strengthen their position at the top of the table in Group H of the Champions League when they host Shakhtar Donetsk.
Barcelona are all set to square up against Shakhtar Donetsk on Matchday three of the UEFA Champions League. The Catalan giants have won their first two games of the season and will look to make it three in a row. Meanwhile, the visitors will aim to cause an upset and keep their dreams of a knockout alive.
The Catalan giants have been in red-hot form in the 2023/24 season. Xavi’s men have been unbeaten so far. They might have played a few draws of late, but their overall game has been quite solid.
Barcelona smashed Royal Antwerp 5-0 in the opening fixture of their Champions League campaign and then followed it up with a hard-fought 1-0 win over FC Porto. They will now look to make it three in a row.
Meanwhile, the visitors have also had a decent start to the new season. They are currently third in their domestic league with 21 points out of ten games. But, things have not been that great for them in the Champions League.
They lost their opening fixture against FC Porto. The Portuguese club were never really troubled as they ended up winning 3-1. Shakhtar managed to restore some damage by defeating Royal Antwerp 3-2.
Now they will square up against a star-studded Barcelona team and getting a positive result seems to be an uphill task. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Barcelona
We are a family. ❤️🔥
See you culers for #BarçaShaktar! 🎟️⬇️
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 24, 2023
The home team will be without the services of Sergi Roberto, Jules Kounde, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri for this fixture. Meanwhile, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski will have to race against time to get into the squad.
17-year-old Marc Guiu, who scored the winner in their last outing could be named in the UEFA Champions League squad for the first time. Despite quite a few star players being unavailable, the Catalan giants have been doing well, and they will look to continue in a similar fashion.
Xavi will continue with the 4-3-3, where Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be in goal. Joao Cancelo and Alejandro Balde will continue as the full-backs. In the heart of the defence, Ronald Araujo could pair up with Inigo Martinez, who had a decent outing last time out.
In the centre of the park, Oriol Romeu will take care of the defensive side of things. He will have the support of Gavi and Ilkay Gundogan, who feature on either. They will look to control the possession of the ball and dictate the pace of the game. As for the offensive unit, Joao Felix could feature as the number nine, with Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres out wide on the flanks.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Cancelo, Araujo, Martinez, Balde; Gavi, Romeu, Gundogan; Yamal, Felix, Torres
Shakhtar Donetsk
The visitors will be without the services of Stav Lemkin. Apart from the 20-year-old defender, everyone else is expected to be fit for this fixture.
🧡 «Шахтар» – у Барселоні 🇪🇸
✈️ Шлях команди до Іспанії на матч Ліги чемпіонів ⭐️#Shakhtar #UCL #БарселонаШахтар pic.twitter.com/nk5nHVtD91
— ⚒FC SHAKHTAR DONETSK (@FCShakhtar) October 24, 2023
Darijo Srna’s team will line up in a 4-1-4-1 formation where Dmytro Riznyk will be in goal. The back four will consist of Yukhym Konoplya, Valeriy Bondar, Yaroslav Rakitskyi and Irakli Azarovi. They will have the tough task of stopping a star-studded Barcelona attack.
Taras Stepanenko will be the defensive midfielder who will sit in front of the backline. Oleksandr Zubkov and Heorhiy Sudakov will start out wide in the centre of the park. They will look to provide width to their attacks.
Dmytro Kryskiv and Yehor Nazaryna will feature in a more central role. The duo will look to ensure that Barcelona do not dominate possession too deep in their half. The 22-year-old striker Danylo Sikan will be the lone man up top for the visitors.
Probable Lineup (4-1-4-1): Riznyk; Konoplya, Bondar, Rakitskyi, Azarovi; Stepanenko; Zubkov, Nazaryna, Kryskiv, Sudakov; Sikan
Key Stats
- Barcelona have been unbeaten in the 2023/24 season. They have won nine and drawn three out of their 12 games.
- Shakhtar Donetsk have been on a three-match winning streak and they will look to make it four in a row.
- The Catalan giants have won both their opening games in the UEFA Champions League this season.
- The visitors have conceded five goals but have only scored four so far in the UEFA Champions League.
- The home team have scored six goals in their two UEFA Champions League outings and they have not conceded yet.
Player to Watch
Lamine Yamal
At just 16 years of age, Yamal has established himself as a first-team regular at Barcelona. He has taken the football world by storm. The teenager has featured in 12 matches this season and has three goal contributions to his name.
It has been an exceptional start for him, and he will look to add to it when he takes the field against Shakhtar Donetsk. With some of their star players out injured, the teenager will surely look to win it for his club.
Prediction
Barcelona 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
The Catalan giants have not lost this season. They might been struggling with injuries to their key players, but their performance on the pitch has been spot on, and their recent results suggest they could take away all three points from this fixture with ease.
Shakhtar Donetsk have not had a bad season either, but they might not have enough in their tank to challenge the Catalan giants. They will surely give them a tough fight but in the end, Xavi’s team should come out on top. The Hard Tackle predicts an easy 2-0 win for the home team.
