APOEL v FC Barcelona (U19): Tricky fixture in Larnaca

Tuesday’s game may be harder than it looks. APOEL managed a 0-0 draw with Group F leaders Ajax and pushed PSG hard too. The Dutch currently top the table with seven points while Barça have five.

While the first team will play in Nicosia, the youth teams will play in the ground of one of APOEL’s fiercest rivals, AEK Larnaca, managed by former Barça man Thomas Christiansen.

Win essential

The U19 team will be hoping to produce the same kind of form that got them a 5-1 win at Cornellà at the weekend. Whatever happens, coach Vinyals will also be keeping an ear out for events in the Ajax v PSG game, on which the outcome of the group very much depends. The Dutch may have beaten PSG 6-1 in their earlier meeting, but anything can change from one game to the next. In whatever case, a win in Cyprus would leave Barça on eight points and strongly poised for a place in the next round.

Rio and Cucurella both in

Two players from the U19 B team, Marc Rio and Marc Cucurella, are in Jordi Vinyals’ 18-man squad. With several injuries to work around, the full list reads as follows: Onana, Andreu, A. Arjona, Aitor C., A. Corredera, Dani Palao, Padilla, Palencia, Ros, Sarsanedas, A. Vilanova, R. Tarín, Quinti, Enguene, T. Chendri and Amir.