Welcome back to TalkBarca. Our topic for today is the Match Preview of Dynamo Kyiv vs FC Barcelona. The Champions League is back as FC Barcelona travels away to face Dynamo Kyiv. Dynamo, having home advantage is going to look to grab their first win in the European league against a vulnerable FC Barcelona. Here is the Match Review of the upcoming game.
DYNAMO KYIV VS FC BARCELONA
Barcelona is up to face Dynamo Kyiv. Barca is already set up with multiple injuries, the latest being Gerrard Pique and Sergio Roberto. Therefore, FC Barcelona is surely not at their best heading into this away game. The team also lost its previous match in La Liga against Atletico Madrid. That defeat was never on the cards for the Spanish team. However, now that it happened, it must be affecting the players badly.
Ronald Koemann’s team has done very well so far in the Champions League. They have won all their games in this competition and are the favorites to end at the top of the table. However, the team is also struggling with injuries as well as many technical problems. Therefore, it is hard to mark them as clear favorites to win this encounter before the game.
Gerrard scored the winner against Kyiv in their previous game when Dynamo visited the Camp Nou. Therefore, his absence is going to be felt very badly. Furthermore, FC Barcelona is going through many problems on and off the pitch. The team is struggling with injuries and nothing seems to be going Ronald Koemann’s way in La Liga. FC Barcelona is currently 12th in the league. Furthermore, nothing is certain about Lionel Messi’s future at the club. Therefore, this adds more burden to the already burdened FC Barcelona.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM FC BARCELONA?
There is not much to discuss how FC Barcelona can play against this side. Barcelona is obviously not at its best. The absence of Pique and Roberto is going to be felt badly. Furthermore, Lionel Messi’s participation in this game is also doubtful. This is going to make this game very uninteresting for many fans. However, FC Barcelona and Ronald Koemann are going to come out in search of extending their perfect winning record in Europe. Barca’s injuries have made way for more young players to be a part of the team and express themselves.
However, Dynamo Kyiv is not going to be easy this time. The team is doing very well in its own league and surely knows how to grab FC Barcelona from where it is going to hurt the most. Senior players such as Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann must pick up form in this game. Good performances from such players in this game are going to make them very confident for future games especially the ones in La Liga. Frenkie De Jong and Sergio Busquests are also going to miss this game. Therefore, Miralem Pjanic and Carles Alena are very likely to play that double pivot role.
Furthermore, Philippe Coutinho has completely recovered from his injury. Therefore, he is expected to play the majority of the game. However, Philippe must perform as well as the team is operating without many senior players. Oscar Mingueza is expected to start alongside Clement Lenglet as the Center Back. Sergino Dest is likely to start at the RB and Jordi Alba at the LB. Riqui Puig might also get some playing time. However, it does not seem very likely considering that Ronald Koemann only used him for 10 or less than 10 minutes in a competitive game this season.
Pedri is expected to start at the Left-wing; where as Ousmane Dembele is going to operate at the Right Wing. Antoine Griezmann is obviously going to play as the number 9.
CONCLUSION
FC Barcelona has a tough task to accomplish as they face Dynamo Kyiv up next in the Champions League. Despite all the injury issues, FC Barcelona is still the favorite team to win this game on paper. However, considering their lack of finishing ability and some flaw in defense, it looks as if Barca has to earn this victory.
Frenkie De Jong and Lionel Messi are the two FC Barcelona players who have played the most minutes this season. However, the team is going to miss both of these players tonight. It is definitely a big deficit. However, Koemann must use his players and his tactics wisely in order t grab a win in this game. Kyiv can be very unpredictable and if they score first, they are going to make it very hard for FC Barcelona to equalize. Therefore, Koemann must play his cards right from the start of the game.
Let’s see how Ronald Koemann and his men face Dynamo Kyiv with a team without many of the big names.
