Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Champions League Match Preview, Team News, Lineups and Prediction

FC Barcelona will host Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk at the Montjuic Stadium, in football match news, on matchday three of the UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona are unbeaten this season in all competitions and aim to win the La Liga again and compete in the Champions League. As for Shakhtar Donetsk, they are third in the Ukrainian league with a game in hand and aim to finish at least third in this group, which consists of the likes of Barcelona and Porto.

Match Preview

For the past two seasons, the Catalan giants have exited in the Champions League group stages. And for a club of this stature, not making it into the round of 16 is kind of worrying.

Xavi’s side hammered Royal Antwerp 5-0 on matchday one and also managed to beat FC Porto 1-0 at the Estadio do Dragao on matchday 2.

Barcelona youngster Marc Guiu scored the goal on his debut this weekend to hand Athletic Club a 1-0 defeat. The La Liga Champions will look for a win against Shaktar as they face Real Madrid next in the El Clasico.

Shakhtar Donetsk picked up their first victory in the Champions League this season against Royal Antwerp three weeks ago. However, Porto handed them a 3-1 defeat on matchday one. Currently, Shakhtar sits third in Group H, on three points.

The visitors cruised to a 3-0 home win over Cherkasi at the weekend, but will no doubt be facing a different kind of test here. According to Fabrizio Romano, Shakhtar have appointed Feyenoord assistant coach Marino Puisc as their new manager.

In their last meeting in Catalonia in 2011, Barcelona hammered Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1.

Barcelona team news

Barcelona have several players out through injury, with Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Sergi Roberto joining Raphina, Frenkie de Jong. Pedri has recovered and can play a part in the last minutes of the game.

Alejandro Balde is not expected to start this game. Moreover, Gavi is suspended for this game after picking up a red card against Porto.

Shakhtar Donetsk team news

The Ukrainian side has no injuries issues in their squad at the moment, and with a fully fit squad under their belt, they will make sure they go toe to toe against Barcelona.

Danylo Sikan has scored half of Shakhtar Donetsk’s goals in the Champions League this season. He scored a brace against Royal Antwerp on the last matchday.

Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Predicted line-ups

Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen, Cancelo, Christensen, Araujo, Alonso; Romeu, Lopez, Gundogan; Yamal, Joao Felix, Ferran Torres

Shakhtar Donetsk (4-2-3-1): Riznyk, Konoplya, Matvienko, Rakitskiy, Azarovi; Nazaryna, Stepanenko; Kryskiv, Sudakov, Zubkov; Sikan

Prediction

Barcelona 3-0 Shakhtar Donetsk

Shakhtar can disappoint big teams in the Champions League and they have done that in the past. Nevertheless, a win against Barcelona at the Montjuic may be a bit too difficult.

Barcelona have several players out, and despite that, they have been performing well. This game against Shakhtar might be their easiest game this season.

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