Barcelona will be looking to get their Champions League campaign off to the perfect start when they host Royal Antwerp. The home side will enter the contest off the back of a 5-0 victory over Real Betis in La Liga on Saturday. Antwerp recorded a 3-0 win over Westerlo in Belgium’s top flight on Friday.
Preview (Barcelona vs. Royal Antwerp)
Barcelona had a lackluster start to their La Liga title defense. They were held to a scoreless draw by Getafe on August 13. However, they have since gone on a four-game winning streak, placing them atop the standings. Before the international break, Xavi’s team defeated Cadiz, Villarreal, and Osasuna in three straight games. On Saturday night, they thrashed Real Betis 5-0. Thanks to goals from Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo on their home debuts. Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres, and Raphinha rounded up the scoring. The reigning La Liga champions from Catalonia enjoy a strong start to the current campaign. In their last two appearances in the Champions League, they were unable to go past the group stage.
Barcelona was defeated by Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 in the 2020–21 competition. They did reach the 2019–20 season’s semifinals before falling to eventual champion Liverpool. The club led by Xavi is the overwhelming favorite to win this group, which also includes Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk. They will be motivated to get off to a strong start on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Tuesday will be a historic day for Antwerp as they play in the Champions League group stage for the first time in their history. The Reds qualified for the Champions League playoff round, where they faced AEK Athens, after winning just their fifth Belgian First Division championship overall and their first since 1957.
However, Mark van Bommel’s team was able to defeat both of its playoff opponents at home and away, winning 3-1 on aggregate to move on to the group round of the competition. Although Antwerp would have had a little more time to prepare for this game than Barcelona as they defeated Westerlo 3-0 in the league on Friday, they are only fifth in their domestic division, three points behind Anderlecht.
Team News
Ronald Araujo and Pedri are still out of commission for Barcelona due to injury, while Ilkay Gundogan played against Real Betis on Saturday despite concerns about a back issue. Xavi will have a strong squad for this game and plenty of roster options to make because Fermin Lopez is also eligible after serving a league ban over the weekend. Gundogan will most likely to play in center midfield. Lamine Yamal will start in attack alongside Felix and Lewandowski.
Injuries will prevent Ortwin De Wolf, Davino Verhulst, Bjorn Engels, Sam Vines, and Kobe Corbanie from playing for Antwerp in the match against Barcelona. With six goals in eight games, Vincent Janssen has been the team’s leading scorer this season. The 29-year-old will once more play in the last third of the field. Barcelona played exceptionally well on Saturday, so it is quite unlikely that Antwerp will win this game. It is on paper their toughest in the division and where we anticipate them to easily lose.
Barcelona 3 – 0 Royal Antwerp
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