PREVIEW | FC Barcelona v Viktoria Plzeň

The Champions League anthem is back! Moments before the 9pm CEST kick-off on Wednesday, that very spine-chingling melody will blasting across the Spotify Camp Nou PA system.

And with their hopes very much renewed, with a wealth of new recruits and some very tasty-looking football, FC Barcelona fans are confident that they can make up for the disappointments of recent years.

And it all starts against Viktoria Plzeň. With Bayern Munich and Inter Milan completing it, the Czech champions are theoretically the minnows of Group C. But the Catalans know they would be unwise to view this as an easy start. This is the Champions League, and easy games are nowhere to be seen at this level.

But if the 3-0 win at Sevilla last Saturday is anything to go by, Barça have every reason to feel quietly confident about this one. Bring on the greatest club competition in world football!

How to watch

As usual you will find all the information on kick-off times and broadcasters in our special guide. There have been several changes in different countries and regions, with some channels no longer showing Champions League games and others taking their place. But we've been keeping ourselves busy doing the research here at fcbarcelona.com and you should find most of the answers at the following link:

If you can’t watch UCL games for whatever reason, don’t forget that we have all kinds of different options in our Match Center, from in-studio coverage before, during and after the game to live commentary on Radio Barça and real-time text updates. And don’t forget that our social media staff will be working hard to keep you informed about everything that’s happening.

Team news

Coach Xavi Hernández announced his Champions League squad on Monday, which includes 31 different names. Those are the eligible players, but for each game, he needs to cut that list down to 23.

For Wednesday, he has no injury or suspension concerns to complicate his choice, although he has opted not to include either of the two last-minute signings, Hector Bellerín and Marcos Alonso, in his plans quite yet.

New signings Robert Lewandowski, Andreas Christensen, Frank Kessie, Jules Kounde, Raphinha and Pablo Torre are all in line to make their first ever Champions League appearances for their new club. In fact, the latter two have never played in this competition before. Big day, then!

Viktoria Plzeň

Viktoria had never been crowned Czech champions until 2011, but after winning the title for the first time, they have won it five more times since, in doing so very much breaking the traditional dominance of Sparta and Slavia Prague in the country’s league.

This is the fourth time that the Czechs have appeared in the group stage of the Champions League, and they have never managed to progress any further. 

They had to work their way through three qualifying rounds to get here, beating all of HJK (Finland), Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova) and Qarabağ (Azerbaijan).

Form guide

After finishing a disappointing fifth in the Czech First League the season before, Viktoria bounced by in 2021/22 by winning the title by seven clear points, losing just two games in the process.

Six games into the 2022/23 campaign, they are currently unbeaten and tied at the top with Slavia Prague. Colombian Jhon Mosquera is their top scorer with three goals.

Previous meetings

FC Barcelona’s first ever game against Czech opposition was a 1-1 draw with SK Plzen in 1933, but that was a different club to Viktoria, who eventually grew to be the dominant force in the city.

Barça didn't cross paths with Viktoria until they were drawn together in the 2011/12 group stage. The Catalans won 2-0 at home (goals from David Villa and Andrés Iniesta) and then 4-0 in Prague, where the game was moved to make use of the larger capacity stadium. Leo Messi scored three goals in that match and Cesc Fabregas bagged the other.

Barça have not lost to Czech opposition since a 1-0 defeat to Sparta Prague in 1991/92, the only game they lost en route to winning the trophy for the first time.

Earlier, in 1985, Sparta had become the only Czech club to ever inflict a competitive home defeat on Barça, although the Catalans still progressed on aggregate. Barça’s most recent encounter with Czech opposition was in 2019/20, when they beat Slavia Prague 2-1 away but were held to a 0-0 draw at Camp Nou.

Xavi says

"It’s a potential banana skin because they have nothing to lose. Their physical man-to-man marking will be hard to deal with. This is anything but an easy start and we have two very tough away trips after, so it’s a must-win.”

"Every game is a world. You can’t compare things to Liverpool, or Munich. I just have to make sure that those things don’t happen again. Of course there’s pressure, but if I didn’t want pressure then I’d just stay at home with my family.”

“The team is so much better now. The new players have helped. They have brought a new hunger and winning spirit.”

“Bellerín and Marcos need time to settle. They need more sessions. But they’ll be in for Saturday. Pablo Torre is in the squad and is part of my plans.”

Jules Kounde also spoke to the press ahead of the game: