Barcelona will look to strengthen their push for a top-eight finish in the Champions League league phase when they travel to the Fortuna Arena to face Slavia Prague on Wednesday night.
The Catalan giants currently sit 15th in the standings, just two points adrift of eighth-placed Atletico Madrid, while Slavia find themselves languishing in 33rd position after a difficult European campaign to date.
Slavia Prague head into this contest short on competitive rhythm, having not played an official match for over a month due to the winter break in Czech domestic football. Their last meaningful outing came on December 13, when they edged Jablonec 4-3 in the league. Since then, Jindrich Trpisovsky’s side have relied on friendlies against Basel, Karlsruher and Brann to stay sharp, but such preparation is far from ideal ahead of a fixture of this magnitude.
The Champions League has been unforgiving for the Red and Whites this season. After six matches, they remain without a win, recording three draws and three defeats to leave them on just three points. That return places them four points outside the playoff positions, making this encounter almost must-win territory. Slavia were last seen in European action suffering a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, and their struggles are underlined by the fact that they have scored just twice in the league phase.
History also offers limited encouragement. Slavia have won only two of their 16 European matches against Spanish opposition, losing seven times, and they were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona at home when the sides met in the 2019-20 Champions League group stage.
Barcelona, by contrast, arrive knowing that their destiny remains firmly in their own hands. Hansi Flick’s side have collected 10 points from six matches, thanks to three wins, one draw and two defeats, and victories over Slavia Prague and Copenhagen in their remaining fixtures would put them in a strong position to secure automatic qualification.
However, confidence was dented at the weekend when the La Liga champions suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat away to Real Sociedad. That setback has cut their lead at the top of the domestic table to just one point over Real Madrid, further increasing the pressure on Flick’s squad.
Encouragingly for the visitors, Barcelona boast an excellent record against Czech sides, remaining unbeaten in their last eight such encounters and winning seven of them. That said, recent European travel has been problematic, with the Blaugrana winning only one of their last five away Champions League matches, losing three times in the process. Defensive frailties have been a recurring theme this season and could yet undermine their continental ambitions despite their wealth of attacking talent.
Injuries & Suspensions
Slavia Prague have no fresh injury or suspension concerns, a welcome boost given their extended layoff. Matous Srb and Dominik Javorcek remain long-term absentees, but Trpisovsky otherwise has a near full-strength squad to choose from.Mojmir Chytil, who has scored eight goals in 22 appearances this season, is expected to lead the line, while Lukas Provod, Slavia’s standout performer with five goals and 10 assists in 26 outings, is certain to start. Tomas Chory, despite scoring nine times this term, may have to settle for a place on the bench.
Barcelona will be without teenage star Lamine Yamal, who is suspended after picking up a milestone yellow card in the previous Champions League match against Eintracht Frankfurt. Gavi and Andreas Christensen are also sidelined with knee injuries.
Raphinha remains a doubt due to a thigh problem that kept him out of the defeat to Real Sociedad, but if fit, he could operate centrally, potentially allowing Marcus Rashford to feature on the left. Fermin Lopez is pushing for a start in the final third, while Ferran Torres is expected to be preferred to Robert Lewandowski at centre-forward.
Possible Starting Lineups
Slavia Prague:Stanek; Holes, Chaloupek, Ogbu, Zima; Doudera, Moses, Provod, Sadilek, Sanyang; Chytil
Barcelona:
J Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Balde; Pedri, De Jong; Fermin, Raphinha, Rashford; F Torres
Expert Prediction
Slava Prague 0-3 Barcelona
