Things continue to go from bad to worse for Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman. Just as the Blaugrana had strung together several wins in all competitions, they suffered a shock league defeat at the weekend to Cadiz, 2-1.
Now, Barcelona host Juventus with the fate of Champions League Group G in the balance. Barcelona head into the final day of the group stage with 15 points from five games. Juventus, beaten by Barcelona on matchday 2, trail the leaders by three points.
Juventus claimed a late winner against Turin Derby rival Torino at the weekend 2-1. The Bianconeri have been good in the Champions League group stage with their only blemish being that 2-0 loss to Barcelona.
Andrea Pirlo’s team must win by more than two clear goals without conceding to overtake Barcelona as group winners. Head-to-head away goals will determine which team goes through as group winners and as it stands, Barcelona are two goals to the good.
Juventus will be able to call on the services of striker Alvaro Morata in midweek. He is suspended due to a red card in Serie A, but should play in midweek. Meanwhile, Pirlo is unlikely to have either Merih Demiral nor Giorgio Chiellini for the game due to injuries.
According to reports on Monday, Juventus have offered striker Paulo Dybala to a trio of Premier League teams. Since Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival at Juventus, Dybala has been on the chopping block and may finally be allowed to leave for the right price.
Koeman has four names on his injury list at Barcelona. Ansu Fati is out long-term and won’t be back until January. He has been incredibly important for Barcelona and their struggles in the final third show just how important the young man is to the offence.
Transfer flop Ousmane Dembele is ruled out until January with a hamstring injury. Sergi Roberto is also ruled out while there are doubts over Gerard Pique’s participation due to a muscle injury.
Barcelona claimed a 2-0 win in Turin in October. The scoreline flattered them slightly as Dembele scored a first-half goal and the second only came in second-half stoppage-time courtesy of Lionel Messi.
Juventus only tallied 41% of the game’s possession and failed to record a shot on target from 10 total shots in October. Ronaldo was not in the team for matchday 2 due to a positive COVID-19 test. The forward will play on Tuesday night as transfer speculation ramps up that he could leave Juve.
Barcelona proved they can defeat Juventus in October. They should do it again on Tuesday night in a close match. Both teams should find the back of the net this time with over 2.5 goals scored and Barcelona winning.
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