Barcelona are looking for their second win of the month over Group G rivals Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League on Tuesday evening as the two sides come face to face in the Ukrainian capital.
While Barcelona’s form in La Liga has left them down in 12th place, they currently sit top of their Champions League group. Ronald Koeman’s side ran out 2-1 winners in the reverse fixture at Camp Nou earlier this month after beating Juventus in Turin in October.
The recent resignation of the entire Barcelona board signals a fresh start for Barcelona and they will be more desperate than ever to make good progress in the Champions League.
When Is Kick Off? Tuesday 24 November
What Time Is Kick Off? 8PM (GMT)
Where Is It Played? NSC Olimpiyskiy
TV Channel/Live Stream? BT Sports Extra 3 (UK), CBS Sports (USA)
Referee? Matej Jug (Slovenia)
Dynamo Kyiv have been going through a COVID crisis lately with a considerable amount of players and staff self-isolating after testing positive. Striker Artem Besedin is ruled out due to serving a doping ban. Oleksandr Tymchyk, Nazariy Rusyn, Volodymyr Kostevych and Mykyta Burda all miss out through injury.
The Ukraine outfit could be forced to plug gaps in their starting XI due to the effects of injuries and COVID on team selections and will need to work hard to beat Barcelona.
Gerard Pique suffered a serious knee injury in the 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid at the weekend and the 33-year-old faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Fellow defender Sergi Roberto suffered a muscle injury in the same game, while Ousmane Dembele is reported to have hurt his shoulder, joining centre-backs Ronald Araujo and Samuel Umtiti on the treatment table.
The defensive headache Koeman currently has could mean we see Frenkie de Jong start at centre-back alongside Clement Lenglet. Ansu Fati and Sergio Busquets are also out of contention for Tuesday’s game with knee injuries.
Dynamo Kyiv: Bushchan; Kedzlora, Zabarnyl, Mykolenko, Karavaev; Shepelev, Garmash; Shaparenko, Buyalskyl, Verbic; Supryaga.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Dest, De Jong, Lenglet, Alba; Pjanic, Alena; Dembele, Messi, Pedri; Griezmann.
Dynamo Kyiv have taken only one point from their two opening games in the Champions League. A 2-2 draw with Hungarian side Ferencvaros preceded their 2-1 loss against Barcelona at the Nou Camp earlier in November. Despite a rocky start to their European campaign they currently sit top of their domestic league with a three-point lead.
Messi and co have taken maximum points from their Champions League games, beating a Juventus side that missed Cristiano Ronaldo 2-0 and Kyiv 2-1 in Barcelona. Draws with Sevilla and Alaves coupled with losses to Getafe and Real Madrid have meant Barcelona reside in the bottom half of the domestic table in 12th place.
Dynamo Kyiv
Ingulets 0-2 Dynamo Kyiv (21/11)
Dynamo Kyiv 0-3 Shaktar Donetsk (08/11)
Barcelona 2-1 Dynamo Kyiv (04/11)
SK Dnipro 1-2 Dynamo Kyiv (31/10)
Ferencvaros 2-2 Dynamo Kyiv (28/10)
Barcelona
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Barcelona (21/11)
Barcelona 5-2 Real Betis (07/11)
Barcelona 2-1 Dynamo Kyiv (04/11)
Alaves 1-1 Barcelona (31/10)
Juventus 0-2 Barcelona (28/10)
Both sides currently find themselves with key players either injured or self-isolating and we could see some improvisation with squad selection on Tuesday. Injuries to experienced players like Pique and Busquets will mean a more youthful side but the fitness of Messi and Antoine Griezmannshould be enough to see Barcelona over the line.
Prediction: Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Barcelona