Dynamo Kiev vs Barcelona predictions and match preview for Tuesday’s game in the UEFA Champions League. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as the Catalans head to Ukraine without a host of key men.
- DATE: Tuesday 24th November 2020
- KICK-OFF: 22:00 (local time)
- VENUE: NSC Olimpiyskiy
- COMPETITION: UEFA Champions League (Group Stage)
Dynamo Kiev vs Barcelona Preview
Barcelona travel to Ukraine without Leo Messi on Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League. With maximum points from their opening three group games combined with poor domestic form, Ronald Koeman has clearly decided the time has come to prioritise LaLiga and give his star man some much needed rest.
Fatigue won’t only be a problem for Messi with this long trip coming just after another busy international break which saw many players travel across the world. Frenkie De Jong has also been rested for this and the mounting injury list that Barcelona have is testament to the difficulties that this congested campaign is going to cause for many of Europe’s top clubs.
Gerard Pique is now a long-term absentee following injury in the 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid at the weekend. Barcelona are 12 points off the top of LaLiga as a result and their strong start in an admittedly weak Champions League group is just about the only cause for cheer in the Catalan capital right now.
A point will see Barcelona qualify for the knockout stage, providing Ferencvaros don’t cause a major upset in Turin. Dynamo Kiev will quite fancy their chances you’d imagine though against a depleted Barca side. They were competitive at Camp Nou three weeks ago, going down to 2-1 to goals from Messi and Pique, neither of whom will feature here.
Dynamo were missing a host of key players in that game after a COVID-19 outbreak in their camp but they should be in a much better position fitness-wise here. They claimed a 2-0 win in their league at the weekend to retain top spot in the Ukranian top flight.
Head to Head
- Barcelona were 2-1 winners at Camp Nou three weeks ago.
- There had been 6 previous meetings between the clubs which produced 3 wins each.
- Dynamo famously won 4-0 at Camp Nou in the 1997/98 group stage and they also won 3-0 in Kiev during that campaign.
- Barcelona did win both games the last time the sides were paired together in the group stage (2009/10).
Team News
Mykyta Burda, Volodymyr Kostevych, Oleksandr Tymchyk and Nazariy Rusyn are injured for the hosts but their COVID problems have improved since the reverse fixture.
Gerard Pique, Sergi Roberto, Ansu Fati and Sergio Busquets are out injured while Leo Messi and Frenkie de Jong are being rested and haven’t travelled.
Predicted Dynamo Kiev Starting Lineup:
Bushchan – Karavayev, Mykolenko, Zabarnyi, Kedziora – Harmash, Shepelev – De Pena, Buvalskyi, Shaparenko – Supriaha (4-2-3-1)
Predicted Barcelona Starting Lineup:
Ter Stegen – Alba, Lenglet, Mingueza, Dest – Alena, Pjanic – Pedri, Coutinho, Trincao – Griezmann (4-2-3-1)
Dynamo Kiev vs Barcelona Predictions
Score Prediction: Dynamo Kiev 2-1 Barcelona
Barcelona are set to be without at least six first team regulars here and the players that do take the field will in many cases have limited experience of having played together so a disjointed display seems probable. Dynamo have been competitive in this group despite only picking up one point and they might just cause an upset here – although it wouldn’t be too damaging a result for the Catalans who should still secure qualification with relative ease even if they do lose in Kiev.
UEFA Champions League Betting Tips (18+)
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