Barça wants to secure a trip to the Round of 16 and find their best form of football again.
La Liga: Real Sociedad vs. FC Barcelona Virtual Armada
FC Barcelona (1st, 9 points)versus Shakhtar Donetsk (3rd, 3 points)
2023–24 Champions League, Group H, Matchday 4 is the competition/round.
Barcelona’s uncertain players include Sergi Roberto and Frenkie de Jong.
Artem Bondarenko and Oleh Ocheretko are Shakhtar’s Outs and Doubts.
Date and Time: Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 5.45 p.m. GMT (UK), 12.45 p.m. ET, 9.45 a.m. PT (USA), 11.15 p.m. IST (India), 6.45 p.m. CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria),
Location: Germany’s Volksparkstadion in Hamburg
Irfan Peljto (BIH) is the referee.
TBD, VAR
How to watch on TV: Movistar Liga de Campeones (Spain), SONY TEN 5 (India), SuperSport (Nigeria), TUDN (USA), TNT Sports 3 (UK), and others
How to watch on the internet: Movistar+ (Spain), Paramount+ (USA), Discovery+ (UK), and others
Barcelona returns to continental action this Tuesday evening with an early kickoff against Shakhtar Donetsk in Hamburg, Germany. This comes after the Blaugrana’s thrilling last-second victory over Real Sociedad on the road over the weekend to maintain their lead atop the La Liga standings.
Barça enters this match having picked up three vital points at Anoeta, but the general consensus among supporters, players, and head coach Xavi Hernández is that the Blaugrana just have to perform better. Along with mathematically guaranteeing a spot in the Champions League knockout stage for the first time in three years, that is one of the top priorities for Tuesday’s match.
A draw will secure qualification for the Blaugrana, and a win would be a significant step toward taking the group lead. After the international break, Barça will play FC Porto at Montjuïc, where the result will essentially determine who wins Group H. Therefore, winning at Shakhtar is essential if they want to advance to the big match against the Portuguese team later this month.
Two weeks ago, Barça defeated Shakhtar at home in a match that should have been easy after an incredible first half by the Blaugrana. However, they were unable to finish the game, suffered some bad luck with two goals that VAR disallowed for very close calls on offside, and gave up a poor goal that brought the score much closer than it should have been in the latter part.
Shakhtar demonstrated their ability to compete against anyone if given the chance, and they will play the entire game with the same mindset they had in the second half of Catalonia because they need to win in order to advance in the group. This should make the game more open, give Barça more room to create opportunities and try to end the game early this time.
After the disastrous display away to Sociedad, Xavi will be looking for a more polished offensive performance in this match. It will be crucial for Barça to replicate the excellent football from the first half of the match against Shakhtar and the first sixty minutes of El Clásico as they aim to maintain their competitiveness on all fronts.
Barça must weather the early storm and establish their dominance throughout the night because Shakhtar will be hungry and fierce. They should leave Germany with the victory and a guaranteed spot in the Round of 16 if they accomplish that and play more clinically in front of goal. If not, we may have to endure another tense hour and a half.
Now let’s dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS Barcelona (4-3-3): Raphinha, Lewandowski, Félix; Ter Stegen; Cancelo, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; Pedri, Gavi, Gündogan
Shakhtar (4-2-3-1): Zubkov, Sudakov, Kryskiv; Sikan; Matviyenko, Rakitskyy, Bondar, Gocholeishvili; Stepanenko, Nazaryna
Prediction
This time, I anticipate a very serious and professional Barça team that will aim to play close to their best and take their chances to deny Shakhtar any hope: 3-0 to the favorites and a safe trip to the knockout stages.
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