Welcome back to TalkBarca. Our topic for today is the Match Preview between FC Barcelona and Dynamo Kyiv. The Champions League is back again and Barcelona is hosting Dynamo Kyiv at the Camp Nou. Barcelona is up against the Ukrainian side, Dynamo Kyiv for their third matchday in the Champions League competition. Can Barcelona perform similar to the way they did against Juventus?
The Spanish team is struggling to win in La Liga competition. Meanwhile, the Champions League is so far going great for them. Barcelona previously beat Juventus at their home turf in Turin. Barca has a three-point lead and looks like the most probable contenders to finish at the top of the table. Things are going very bad for the opponents, Dynamo Kyiv. They have a lot of their players sidelined due to the coronavirus. Furthermore, they have only 1 point from the two games played so far in the Champions League. This adds more salt to the wound as their qualification to the next round is a big doubt.
This game was also a doubt to take place till today as the majority of the players from the Dynamo Kyiv team were tested positive for the coronavirus. However, the result of the PCR test which came today stated that the players were tested negative, and hence, this game is going to take place.
FC BARCELONA VS DYNAMO KYIV MATCH PREVIEW
The Blaugranas are definitely going to come into this fixture with a pure intention of winning the game. However, it is also very important to keep in mind what happened in La Liga previously. Barcelona was expected to dominate their La Liga opponents after performing so well against the Italian side, Juventus. However, it did not happen and Barcelona ended with only 1 point from this game.
Dynamo is a totally different opponent. Their players already know that facing Barcelona at home is not an easy task and therefore, Barcelona is coming into this game with all advantages. However, Dynamo cannot be just ruled out of the game that easily. The team is facing a lot of issues lately but still remains unbeaten and at the top of the Ukrainian league. This suggests that the team is going to look to trouble Barcelona in some way or another. They are going to push very hard to somehow make it to the qualifying stages of this competition as well, and this can be a real challenge for FC Barcelona.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM FC BARCELONA?
There is not much to fix in this FC Barcelona team. Creating chances or dominating the ball is not a problem for this team. However, converting those chances is a major issue. Ronald Koemann has so far not imposed himself as a competitive manager except in the game against Juventus. Still, Koemann is not the only one to blame in this scenario. The major problem is that players are not willing or are not confident enough to take shots at the goal.
Barcelona can end up with 4-6 goals per game if they start converting half of the changes they make. The major problem in this team is finishing. The team is operating without a natural number 9. Griezmann is there but is struggling heavily to get his form back. Furthermore, players are very reluctant to just take a shot at goal. We have seen players always looking to pass the ball even inside the box. This is happening to even the most confident players such as Ansu Fati.
This kind of attitude benefits the other teams no matter how poor they might be performing. Other teams are not afraid of firing shots at goal, and eventually, end up scoring against FC Barcelona. This needs to be fixed for FC Barcelona real soon.
The expected lineup is expected to be very solid from FC Barcelona. Gerrard Pique is back after suspension. He is going to accompany Clement Lenglet. Jordi Alba is going to serve at the Left Back; whereas Sergino Dest might start things as RB. Pedri might also get a place in the starting spot alongside Dembele or Fati. Griezmann is likely to start as well.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM DYNAMO KYIV?
Dynamo’s manager is Mircea Lucescu who is one of the oldest and senior to manage in this competition. He knows his ways around playing against difficult opponents and how to grab them by their neck. Therefore, he must have something planned for FC Barcelona. The playing style of Dynamo Kyiv is very similar to that of FC Barcelona. The team likes to play short passes and keep possession. The squad is mostly consisting of young players who are full of zeal and a spirit of never giving up.
The team likes to build up and score their goals. However, they are also known to make mistakes at the back. It is going to be a good competition to see both teams of somewhat similar mentality going against each other.
CONCLUSION
Barcelona is coming undefeated in 21 of their last 23 games in the Champions League competition. They have also won 3 out of their 4 games against Dynamo Kyiv. Therefore, Barcelona is the clear favorites to win this game. However, Lucescu can trouble Barcelona and this makes this game very interesting to watch.
Barcelona must look to improve their finishing which is the major problem for the team and everything is going to be good for them.
