Barcelona faces Slavia Prague tonight. If Barça want a real chance of getting into the Champions League Top 8 and securing automatic qualification, they have to win today at the Eden Arena and then finish the league phase at home against Copenhague.
Barça are 15th in the table with 10 points, and even a perfect finish might still require other teams to drop points. Goal difference plays a huge part here, Barça sit on a modest +3, so a narrow win may not help much if the race becomes a tie on points.
The forecast is cold. Mundo Deportivo reported it could be around -5°C at kick off.
Prague come into this match in a different rhythm, because the Czech league is on its winter break and they have not played an official game since December 13. They will be fresher, but also less sharp. Barcelona will want to set the tempo early and force mistakes.
Team news
Flick faces problems with his starting front three. Lamine Yamal is suspended, and Ferran Torres has a right hamstring issue and the club expects about 10 days out.
The good news is Raphinha is back. He trained normally after missing the match against Real Sociedad as a precaution due to a knock. He is the favourite to start on the right wing in place of Lamine.
Likely lineup
Joan Garcia in goal. Koundé, Eric Garcia, Cubarsí, and Balde at the back. De Jong and Pedri as the double pivot. Raphinha on the right, Marcus Rashford on the left. Lewandowski up front.
Either Fermín or Olmo as the link between midfield and attack.
Yellow card watch
Four Barça players are one yellow card away from suspension for the final league phase match against Copenhague: Frenkie de Jong, Marc Casadó, Fermín López, and Gerard Martín.
De Jong and Fermín are expected to play a lot of minutes, so they have to be smart about how they press, how they stop counters, and how they respond to pressure moments. Koundé, Olmo and Balde are sitting on one yellow as well. If they get booked tonight, they go into the danger zone for later rounds.
If Barça dominate the ball, chances will come down to the final execution. Lewandowski is still looking for his first Champions League goal of this campaign. If Barça can deliver quality crosses and cut backs, this is the type of match where a number 9 can decide everything.
