MX23RW : Friday, November 8 12:55:30| >> :120:9264:9264:
[monks data]
Barcelona logo
Champions League | Group Stage
Oct 20, 2021 at 5.45pm UK
Camp Nou
Dynamo Kiev

Barcelona
1 - 0
Dynamo Kiev

Pique (36')
de Jong (90')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Preview: Barcelona vs. Dynamo Kiev - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Champions League clash between Barcelona and Dynamo Kiev, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Still seeking their first wins and first goals of the 2021-22 Champions League, Barcelona and Dynamo Kiev prepare for battle in Wednesday's Group E clash at Camp Nou.

Ronald Koeman's side enter this game on the back of a 3-0 defeat to Benfica on matchday two, while their Ukrainian counterparts were humbled 5-0 by Bayern Munich.


Match preview

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman on October 17, 2021© Reuters

A 3-0 home defeat to a side as rampant and merciless as Bayern Munich was not the end of the world for Koeman - although those inside Camp Nou made their feelings clear - and the pressure would soon pile on the Dutchman as Benfica marched to victory by the same scoreline on matchday two.

Darwin Nunez would take all of three minutes to break the deadlock before Rafa Silva doubled Benfica's advantage in the 69th minute, and Nunez would double his tally for the evening from the penalty spot 10 minutes before the full-time whistle blew in a humiliating experience for La Blaugrana.

Despite widespread speculation that his time in the Catalan dugout may soon be coming to an end, Koeman has retained the faith of Joan Laporta for the time being and oversaw a much-needed 3-1 win over Valencia at the weekend, with Ansu Fati, Memphis Depay and Philippe Coutinho on the scoresheet after Jose Gaya's stunner.

Victory over Los Che represented only Barcelona's second win from seven games in all competitions - simply unacceptable for a club of the Catalans' calibre - and their Champions League goal difference of -6 is the second-worst across all eight groups ahead of Malmo's -7.

Already at risk of failing to make the knockout rounds for the first time since the 2000-01 season, Barcelona must seek to reverse a miserable run of form which has seen them lose their last three Champions League games at Camp Nou, and not since November 2019 have they kept a clean sheet at home in the competition.

Dynamo Kiev coach Mircea Lucescu on September 14, 2021© Reuters

While they managed to hold Benfica to a goalless stalemate in their opening game, Dynamo Kiev were never expected to spring any sort of surprise against Bayern Munich on matchday two, and the Bavarians produced a five-star performance to sink the Ukrainian giants.

Robert Lewandowski netted twice while Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting also made the net ripple on the day, but Dynamo's opening-day point against Benfica sees them occupy third spot ahead of Barcelona at this early stage in Europe.

Mircea Lucescu's side made their return to winning ways in convincing fashion at the weekend, though, as Vitaliy Buyalskyi, Viktor Tsygankov and Denys Garmash (2) were all on the scoresheet during a 4-1 domestic romping of PFK Lviv.

A true veteran of the game at 76 years of age, Lucescu has seen his side win just one of their eight encounters in the Champions League - failing to score in four of those games - and the visiting coach will not travel to Catalonia full of optimism, even with Barcelona's ongoing on-the-pitch and off-the-pitch struggles.

Furthermore, Dynamo are on a four-game losing streak against Barcelona in the Champions League, most recently losing 2-1 at Camp Nou in last season's group stage before being humbled 4-0 on home soil a few weeks later.

Barcelona Champions League form:
  • L
  • L

Barcelona form (all competitions):
  • D
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W

Dynamo Kiev Champions League form:
  • D
  • L

Dynamo Kiev form (all competitions):
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • W



Team News

France forward Ousmane Dembele pictured on June 19, 2021© Reuters

Barcelona defender Eric Garcia was given his marching orders for two bookable offences in the loss to Benfica and is suspended for this battle, so Clement Lenglet should deputise alongside Gerard Pique.

Ronald Araujo's injury has also depleted Barcelona's defensive ranks, while Pedri also remains absent for the time being, but there is hope that Ousmane Dembele may be able to feature in some capacity this week.

Sergio Aguero also earned his first minutes in Catalan colours off the bench against Valencia, but the Argentine is unlikely to be considered for a start just yet.

Meanwhile, Dynamo Kiev's well-documented injury woes on the attacking front are still very much alive, as Artem Besedin, Vladyslav Kulach and Ibrahim Kargbo all remain in the treatment room, while defender Denys Popov is recovering from cruciate ligament surgery.

Ilya Shkurin was also not in the squad to face Lviv at the weekend, but Garmash has staked his claim for a start at the tip of the attack after netting twice off the bench last time out, especially with Vladyslav Supryaga coming off after just 41 minutes.

Nineteen-year-old protege Ilya Zabarnyi was given quite the reality check against Bayern but will hope to return to the first XI here alongside Sergiy Sydorchuk and Mykola Shaparenko.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Gavi, Busquets, De Jong; Dest, Depay, Fati

Dynamo Kiev possible starting lineup:
Bushchan; Tymchyk, Zabarnyi, Shabanov, Mykolenko; Shaparenko, Sydorchuk; Tsygankov, Bulyalskyi, De Pena; Garmash


SM words green background

We say: Barcelona 2-0 Dynamo Kiev

With the visitors still stuck with several injury problems and already struggling for goals in European competition, expect Barcelona to finally register their first points of the continental campaign here.

Koeman's woes are still present, but the Dutchman's side enter this match on a high from their win over Valencia and can keep their strong run of form against Dynamo going with a professional performance.


ID:467596:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect11927:

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Barcelona win with a probability of 61.76%. A draw had a probability of 23.6% and a win for Dynamo Kiev had a probability of 14.66%.

The most likely scoreline for a Barcelona win was 1-0 with a probability of 15.78%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (13.34%) and 2-1 (9.08%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.73%), while for a Dynamo Kiev win it was 0-1 (6.35%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 15.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Barcelona in this match.


Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev

Barcelona
84.2%
Draw
7.7%
Dynamo Kiev
8.1%
442
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Barcelona's Samuel Umtiti pictured in February 10, 2021
Read Next:
Barcelona to sell Samuel Umtiti in January?
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Liverpool440012
2Sporting Lisbon431010
3Brest431010
4Inter Milan431010
5Monaco431010
6Barcelona43019
7Dortmund43019
8Aston Villa43019
9Atalanta42208
10Juventus42117
11Lille42117
12Man City42117
13Arsenal42117
14B. Leverkusen42117
15Celtic42117
16Dinamo Zagreb42117
17AC Milan42026
18Bayern42026
19Benfica42026
20Feyenoord42026
21Real Madrid42026
22Brugge42026
23Atletico42026
24PSV41215
25Sparta Prague41124
26Stuttgart41124
27PSG41124
28Shakhtar41124
29Girona41033
30Salzburg41033
31Bologna40131
32RB Leipzig40040
33Sturm Graz40040
34Young Boys40040
35Red Star40040
36Slovan Bratislava40040


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!