Champions League | League Stage

Nov 26, 2024 at 8pm UK

Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys

Barcelonavs.Brest

Match preview

Barcelona had a shocker in La Liga on Saturday night. The Catalan giants let in two goals in the last few minutes of their game against Celta Vigo, ending up with a 2-2 draw. That means they've only got one point from their last two league matches.

Flick's team are still at the top of La Liga, but they're now only five points ahead of Atlético Madrid in second place and seven clear of Real Madrid, who have two games in hand.

Barcelona lost 2-1 to Monaco in their Champions League opener on 19 September, but they've won their last three games in the competition against Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Red Star Belgrade, scoring 14 times in the process.

The Catalan side have won nine of their previous 14 home matches against French clubs in Europe, but they've only been victorious in eight of their last 19 European games in front of their own supporters.

Barcelona have already been beaten by Ligue 1 opposition this season and will certainly be wary of the threat that a talented Brest outfit could provide. That said, it would be a surprise if Flick's side did not return to winning ways on Tuesday night.

It would be fair to say that Brest have done better than expected in the Champions League this season. They've done really well in their first ever European campaign.

Les Pirates are one of five newcomers to the competition this season, the other four being Bologna, Aston Villa, Girona and Slovan Bratislava. They've been the best of the new kids on the block so far.

They've actually won three and drawn one of their last four games, which has brought them up to 10 points, putting them in fourth place, just two points behind the leaders Liverpool. The only team with a 100% record in this season's competition is Liverpool.

Eric Roy's team has beaten Sturm Graz, Red Bull Salzburg and Sparta Prague in the competition this season, and they also held Bayer Leverkusen to a 1-1 draw. However, they've struggled in Ligue 1 this term.

Brest have actually lost their last three Ligue 1 games, including a 3-2 defeat at Monaco on Friday night. They're currently in 12th place in the Ligue 1 table, 10 points behind third-placed Marseille.

Recent Performance

Barcelona Champions League form:LWWW

Barcelona form (all competitions):WWWWLD

Brest Champions League form:WWDW

Brest form (all competitions):DWLWLL

Team News

It's not yet been confirmed that Lamine Yamal will be missing from this Barcelona match, but it's looking unlikely that he'll be involved as he's still struggling with an ankle issue.

Eric García and Ferran Torres are almost back to full fitness and might make the squad, but Ronald Araújo, Ansu Fati, Andreas Christensen, Marc-André ter Stegen and Marc Bernal are all out.

It looks like Flick might make a couple of changes to the side that started against Celta. Frenkie de Jong and Alejandro Balde could come into the XI in place of Gavi and Gerard Martin.

Brest will be without Pierre Lees-Melou, who is having a late fitness test on his leg injury that forced him off against Monaco. Massadio Haidara (muscle), Romain Faivre (ankle) and Soumaila Coulibaly (pelvis) are all likely to miss out here too.

Bradley Locko is still out for the French team, having suffered a ruptured Achilles in August.

Abdallah Sima might also be out on Tuesday because of a muscle issue, but Ludovic Ajorque is good to go. The 30-year-old will probably start, having scored three times and set up four goals in 15 games during the 2024-25 season.

Possible starting lineup

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Casado; Olmo, Pedri, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Brest possible starting lineup:

Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Le Cardinal, Amavi; Camara, Lees-Melou, Fernandes; Balde, Ajorque, Doumbia