Prediction: Barcelona vs Shakthar Donetsk

Verdict: Barcelona to win & over 3.5 goals

Best odds: 2.20

Bookmaker: Zetbet

Barcelona will be looking to secure their top position in Group H with a win against Shakhtar Donetsk. The game will start at 19:45 at Estadio Olimpico. The visitors will need to bring their A-game to have a chance of getting a positive result in this fixture.

Barcelona

Barca is flying high this season both domestically and in Europe. The current champions are 1 point behind rivals Real Madrid in La Liga and are dominating their Champions League group. Xavi has improved Barca’s defense pulling out 2 wins without conceding a goal in their opening games. After a long period of struggle and without any major trophies in Europe, Barca looks set to challenge again for the most prestigious trophy in world club football, the UEFA Champions League.

The home team made a statement in their 1st game of the group hammering Belgian champions Antwerp, with a perfect display in front of their fans that ended in a convincing 5-0 win. Missing Barcelona’s superstars from the squad had an impact on the 2nd match in Portugal. Blaugrana won narrowly with Porto, at the end of a tight game that ended with a 1-0 victory. It was a match that showed Barca could suffer as well, resisting the pressure Porto had built towards the end of the game.

 Team News

Barcelona’s recovery room keeps getting fuller with each game passing by. Robert Lewandowski is still recovering from his ankle injury and will not be available for this match. Kounde (knee injury), Pedri (tight injury), Raphinha (hamstring), Frenkie de Jong (ankle) and Sergi Roberto (foot) are out of the squad. Gavi will also miss the game due to his red card received in the match played against Porto.

Xavi is expected to use the same players that were involved in the 1-0 home victory against Bilbao. The new sensation Marc Guiu is expected to be on the bench thanks to the incredible debut he had on Sunday. The young player won 3 essential points for Barca, scoring the only goal of the match with Bilbao.

Shakhtar Donetsk

Shakhtar Donetsk will travel to Barcelona hoping to produce a major upset. The Ukrainian team displayed a strong performance in the previous match played away at Antwerp, scoring 3 goals in a 2-3 win. Shakhtar are playing their home matches in Hamburg due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. This major disadvantage was pinpointed by Porto who managed to defeat the Ukrainians on German soil (3-1). Considering Barca’s long injury list and the attacking power of Shakhtar, we can expect a tricky game.

Domestically, Dario Srna’s team sit 3rd in the table with 2 points behind leaders Kryvbas. A comfortable win at home against LNZ Cherkasy was the perfect result to uplift the spirits before the trip to Barcelona. As things stand now, it looks like Porto and Shakhtar will battle it out to qualify in the knockout stage of the competition. Ironically the last time the Ukrainians pulled off such a performance was in 2011 when they were knocked out by Barcelona in the quarter finals.

 Team News

Stav Levin, the talented young Israelian defender is the only player unavailable for this fixture.

Lemkin and Raktiskyi are expected to lead the backline with Miroshi and Konoplya covering the left and right side. Speanenko will hold the midfield and connect the play with his attacking midfielder. Nazaryna and Sudakov will back Kelsy to score with Zubkow and Sikan being expected to deliver quality crosses in the opposition’s box.

Key factors to consider

• Barcelona won all their games from Group H without conceding a goal.
• The Blaugrana team is a serious Champions League contender this season.
• Xavi has a big headache due to his long list of unavailable players for this match.
• Barca won their last Champions League trophy in 2015 when they defeated Juventus in the final (3-1).
• Lamime Yamal can become the youngest-ever goalscorer in the competition if he scores against Shakhtar.
• Shakhtar scored 4 goals in their opening 2 matches, the 2nd highest tally in the group after Barcelona.
• Dario Srna’s team’s last win against Barcelona happened in 2008 (2-3 on Camp Nou).
• The visitors are undefeated this season in all of their competitive matches played away from home.

Conclusion

Barcelona vs Shakhtar looks to be an exciting match with many goals scored. Although Barca is lacking key players, the energetic youngsters can make a difference in this fixture. Shakhtar are a strong team on the road, creating many chances and playing attacking football. I see a win for Barcelona with at least 3 goals scored in the match.

Verdict: Barcelona to win & over 3.5 goals

Best odds: 2.20

Bookmaker: Zetbet