Barcelona will be looking to make a winning start to their Champions League Group H campaign when they welcome Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp to Camp Nou on Tuesday night.
The home side will enter the contest off the back of a 5-0 victory over Real Betis in La Liga on Saturday, while Antwerp recorded a 3-0 win over Westerlo in Belgium's top flight on Friday.
Match preview
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Barcelona made an underwhelming start to their La Liga title defence, being held to a goalless draw by Getafe on August 13, but they have since posted four straight victories, which has left them top of the table.
Indeed, Xavi's side overcame Cadiz, Villarreal and Osasuna in three straight matches ahead of the international break, before recording a thumping 5-0 win over Real Betis on Saturday evening, with Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo netting on their home debuts, while Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres and Raphinha also registered.
The Catalan outfit are the reigning La Liga champions and have started well this term, but they have failed to make it out of the group stage of the Champions League in their last two participations.
Barcelona were beaten by Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 in 2020-21, meanwhile, but they did make the semi-finals of the 2019-20 competition, losing to eventual winners Liverpool.
Xavi's team are the huge favourites when it comes to topping this group, which also includes Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto, and they will be determined to start well on Tuesday night.
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Antwerp, meanwhile, are competing in the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in their history, so Tuesday will be a huge moment for the Belgian outfit.
The Reds won just their fifth Belgian First Division title last season, and their first since 1957, in order to qualify for the Champions League playoff round, which saw them take on AEK Athens.
Mark van Bommel's side managed to triumph home and away against their playoff opponents, though, running out 3-1 winners on aggregate to advance to the group stage of the competition.
Antwerp will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 victory over Westerlo in the league on Friday, so they would have had slightly longer than Barcelona to prepare for this game, but they are only fifth in their domestic division, three points behind the leaders Anderlecht.
The fact that the Reds were beaten in the playoff round for last season's Europa Conference League and are now present in the group stage of the Champions League is an indication of how far they have come in a short space of time, and Tuesday's contest will be historic for all of those involved with the club.
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Team News
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Barcelona remain without the services of Ronald Araujo and Pedri through injury, but Ilkay Gundogan did feature against Real Betis on Saturday despite concerns over a back problem.
Fermin Lopez is also available again after serving a league suspension at the weekend, so Xavi will have a strong squad for this match, with the manager having plenty of decisions to make.
Gundogan is likely to come back into central midfield, while there might also be a recall for 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who could start alongside Felix and Lewandowski in attack.
The same back five from Saturday should retain their spots, while Raphinha has dropped down the pecking order since being sent off on the opening weekend of the new league season, so he is unlikely to be considered for a start in Tuesday's European contest.
Antwerp will be without the services of Ortwin De Wolf, Davino Verhulst, Bjorn Engels, Sam Vines and Kobe Corbanie for the contest with Barcelona through injury.
Vincent Janssen is the team's leading goalscorer this season with six goals in eight appearances, and the 29-year-old will again feature in the final third of the field.
Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Arbnor Muja are also expected to operate in advanced areas, while there will be a start at left-back for former Manchester United defender Ritchie De Laet.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Cancelo, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Gavi, De Jong, Gundogan; Yamal, Lewandowski, Felix
Royal Antwerp possible starting lineup:
Butez; Bataille, Van den Bosch, Coulibaly, De Laet; Keita, Ekkelenkamp, Vermeeren; Balikwisha, Janssen, Muja
We say: Barcelona 3-0 Royal Antwerp
Barcelona were excellent on Saturday, and it is very difficult to imagine Antwerp picking up a positive result in this match. Whether the Belgian side are able to make an impression in the group will not depend on Tuesday's game, which is their hardest in the section on paper, and we are expecting them to lose comfortably here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
