Champions League | League Stage

Oct 1, 2024 at 8pm UK

Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys

Barcelona vs Young Boys

Match preview

Barcelona had a great start to their 2024-25 La Liga campaign, winning seven games in a row, but their perfect record came to an end on Saturday night when they lost 4-2 to Osasuna.

This is the second loss of the season for Hansi Flick's side. They were also beaten 2-1 by Monaco in their Champions League opener, but in that game, Eric Garcia was sent off in the first half.

There's pressure on Barcelona to bounce back on Tuesday night, but they'll be missing a number of key players due to injury. Flick deserves huge praise for the start he's had, given the issues he's faced.

The La Liga team made it to the quarter-finals of last season's Champions League, but they were knocked out in the group stage of 2022-23 and 2021-22.

Barcelona haven't been in a European Cup semi-final since 2018-19, and their last success in the competition came back in 2014-15, which is too long for a club of their calibre.

The Catalan team have a tricky La Liga game against Alavés next weekend, but they really can't afford to switch their focus away from the Champions League.

Young Boys had a tough start to their competition on 17 September, losing 3-0 to Aston Villa. They now have a challenging away match against Barcelona.

The reigning Swiss champions will be looking to improve on Saturday after losing 1-0 to Grasshoppers. They're currently in 11th place in their domestic table with six points from eight matches, so it's been a tough start.

Young Boys also took part in the group stage of last season's Champions League, finishing third in their section. This meant they dropped into the Europa League knockout round playoffs, where they were beaten 4-2 on aggregate by Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon.

The Swiss side has never managed to progress past the group stage of the Champions League, so it will be a big ask for them to make a serious impression in this competition, especially as a very difficult third match in the league stage will see them welcome Italian giants Inter Milan.

There's some good news for Patrick Rahmen's side in that Barcelona are struggling with fitness issues. They've already got two big results in the competition this term, beating Galatasaray home and away in the playoff round.

Recent Performance

Barcelona Champions League form:L

Barcelona form (all competitions):WWLWWL

Young Boys Champions League form:WWL

Young Boys form (all competitions):WDWLWL

Injuries and suspensions

Barcelona

1 Marc-André ter Stegen

4 Ronald Araujo

15 Andreas Christensen

28 Marc Bernal

6 Gavi

21 Frenkie de Jong

16 Fermín López

20 Dani Olmo

Young Boys

6 Patric Pfeiffer

5 Anel Husic

17 Saidy Janko

31 Facinet Conte

Possible starting lineups

Barcelona(4-2-3-1)

1Stegen(GK)

23Koundé(DR)

2Cubarsí(DC)

5Martínez(DC)

3Balde(DL)

8Pedri(DMC)

17Casadó(DMC)

19Yamal(AMR)

14Torre(AMC)

11Raphinha(AML)

9Lewandowski(FW)

Young Boys(4-2-3-1)

26Ballmoos(GK)

24Athekame(DR)

4Zoukrou(DC)

13Camara(DC)

3Hadjam(DL)

30Lauper(DMC)

20Niasse(DMC)

77Monteiro(AMR)

7Ugrinic(AMC)

11Colley(AML)

35Ganvoula(FW)