PREVIEW | Crvena Zvezda v FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona's league form has been fantastic in 2024/25, with the 4-0 victory over the 'old enemy' Real Madrid and then a 3-1 win over city rivals Espanyol being just the latest in a series of impressive performances. And despite opening day defeat in Monaco, things are shaping up very nicely in Europe too, with a convincing 5-0 trouncing of Young Boys followed by a 4-1 victory over Bayern Munich that has truly showed Europe that Barça mean business this season.

The target at this stage is to qualify in the top eight and thus avoid having to negotiate a tricky playoff round, and with Barça currently tenth, the right result in Belgrade should put them in one of the leading positions at the halfway stage. Wednesday's game is a 9pm CET start, and you'll find a full guide to international kick-offs and broadcasters here.

But what awaits is anything but an easy test. Crvena Zvezda, or Red Star as they are better known in the English language, play in the historic Rajko Mitic Stadium, familiarly known as the 'Little Maracana' in reference to the iconic venue in Rio de Janeiro. The 53,000 capacity facility has one of the noisiest and most passionate sets of fans in Europe, and they will be doing all they can to put pressure on the visitors.

Not that it's likely to worry Robert Lewandowski too much. The last time he visited in the Champions League, playing for Bayern Munich at the time, he scored four times. A repeat of that is probably hoping for too much. Not that it wouldn't be nice.

However, although they are still unbeaten in the Serbian Super League, which they are looking to win for the eighth time in a row, competing on the continental stage has been a struggle so far for the red-and-whites. Three games into their campaign and they are one of six teams that have yet to earn a point, and the way Barça are playing right now, they'll need to produce something very special indeed to prevent their losing streak from being extended to four.

Among the many attractions offered by this game, we have the chance to weigh up two of the most extraordinary teenagers in European football. We know all about Lamine Yamal, but fellow 17-year-old Andrija Maksimovic has been causing a lot of excitement in Serbia, for whom he is already a full international.

This is the first time that Barça have visited Serbia as a separate country. 27 years have passed since the last time they were in Belgrade, when five republics had already broken away in the wake of the Balkan War, but the country was still officially known as Yugoslavia.

Team news

There have been no new developments in the Barça camp, and Ferran Torres, Marc-André ter Stegen, Marc Bernal, Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia all remain out of action.

For Red Star defender Ognjen Mimovic, midfielder Ivanic, winger Peter Olayinka and now Nemanja Radonjic too are all out with goalkeeper Omri Glazer and striker Bruno Duarte doubts for the game.

What they're saying

During the pre-match press conference, coach Hansi Flick emphasised the importance of the game by stating "Only a win counts in the new Champions League" before stressing that "we have to go all out because our aim is to be among the top 8".

Furthermore, despite considering that "winning the Champions League takes a lot of work", he is feeling good, as "everything is going fine at the moment, everyone is very motivated" and that "everyone is very connected, both on and off the pitch".

Fermín also appeared before the media and concurs with his coach in that they will have to go for it, while adding that "we will experience a difficult atmosphere and the fans will expect a lot and put a lot of pressure on us" before going on to say that "we have to go out with a clear idea and do our job".