PREVIEW | Shakhtar Donetsk v FC Barcelona

Following their dramatic last-minute escape act against Real Sociedad on Saturday, attention at FC Barcelona now switches back to the Champions League and a trip to Hamburg to take on Shakhtar Donetsk, and it’s one of the day’s earlier kick-offs at 6.45pm CEST.

The Ukrainians are playing all their home fixtures in the competition in the north German city due to the conflict in their own country.

How it stands

We are halfway through Group H and Barça have won every game so far, 5-0 against Antwerp, 1-0 in Porto and then 2-1 versus Shakhtar. It means that just a draw in Hamburg would be enough to seal mathematical qualification for the last sixteen with two games to spare. That’s because one point would leave them six clear of the Ukrainians and with a better head-to-head record should they end up equal on points.

Defeat would complicate things somewhat, but even so, Barça would still be in a very strong position to advance.

Shakhtar, meanwhile, cannot be eliminated this week, although anything other than a win would make it very hard for them to catch Porto, especially if the Portuguese side beat Antwerp later in the evening.

The previous meeting

Barça looked well in control when the sides met at the Estadi Olimpic a fortnight ago, utterly dominating early on and getting goals through Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez. But after only getting the ball into the Barça area twice in the whole first half, Shakhtar then had ten goalscoring opportunities in the second, and Heorhii Sudakov converted one of them, meaning that what had looked like a routine win ended up being a close battle to hold onto the three points.

Lopez was given the MVP award after the game, having not only scored the second, but also playing a key role in the other.

Team news

As against Real Sociedad at the weekend, the only players that are still unavailable due to injury are Frenkie de Jong and Sergi Roberto. Pedri was back for the game against Real Sociedad and is now set to play his first game in this season’s Champions League.

Marc Casadó of Barça Atlétic is also in the squad, after making his senior debut as a substitute in the game two weeks ago against the same side.

The Ukrainians are without Stav Lemkin, Lassina Traore and Ivan Petryak, and possibly also Irakli Azarovi, who was stretchered off the field in a crucial 1-0 defeat of Dynamo Kyiv at the weekend that leaves Shakhtar third in their league championship.

Did you know?

Barça are looking to win their first four games in a Champions League group for just the third time, and the first in two decades.

Shakhtar have not won any of their last seven home fixtures in the Champions League, including losses in the last two.

It’s an unusual situation, although it is by no means the first time that, other than finals, Barça have played a European fixture at a neutral venue. Here’s a look back at other times when it’s happened.

The only other time Barça played a non-German team in Germany was the 3-1 defeat of Juventus in the 2015 final in Berlin.

What they're saying

Xavi spoke about how much more intensity he wants to see from his players when addressing the media prior to the game:

Jules Kounde also spoke to the press, agreeing with his boss that the team needs to improve and stressing the importance of securing a last sixteen berth as soon as possible: