Barcelona vs Slavia Prague: Preview
Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images
Following a very bad defeat, Barça look to get back on track — and the manager looks for some good news
FC Barcelona (1st, 7pts) vs Slavia Prague (4th, 1pts)
Competition/Round: 2019-20 UEFA Champions League, Matchday 4
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Arthur, Luis Suárez, Jean-Clair Todibo, Moussa Wagué, Junior Firpo (out)
Slavia Prague Outs & Doubts: David Hovorka (out)
Date/Time: Tuesday, November 5, 2019, 7pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 6pm GMT (UK), 1pm ET, 10am PT (USA), 11.30pm IST (India)
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)
How to watch on TV: TNT (USA), BT Sport 1 (UK), SuperSport 5 (Nigeria), SONY TEN 2 (India), Movistar Liga de Campeones (Spain), others
How to stream: FuboTV, B/R Live (USA), BT Sport Live (UK), DAZN (Canada), Movistar+ (Spain), others
Following an embarrassing defeat in La Liga that somehow didn’t cost them the lead because Real Madrid are just as inconsistent, Barcelona return to action with only their second game at Camp Nou over the last 30 days as they welcome Slavia Prague for a key Champions League match.
Because Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund face off in the other game in this group the Blaugrana can take a big step towards qualification if they win and the other match ends in a draw, but that doesn’t really matter right now, does it? We all know Barça will qualify, then eventually they’ll be eliminated by some team they should beat with a pathetic away performance.
The Ernesto Valverde Experience has gotten really old after two and a half years, and frustration doesn’t begin to describe just how impossible it is to not hate him right now. His relationship with the fans is toxic at best, and the board continues to ignore an entire, literally global fanbase that clearly doesn’t want him in charge anymore.
Tuesday’s game is just another step in this painful, seemingly never-ending journey of trying to get excited about something in this team but eventually realizing they won’t do much as long as the coach is the same.
This game should be fun!
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Roberto, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba; Vidal, Busquets, De Jong; Dembélé, Messi, Griezmann
Slavia Prague (4-2-3-1): Kolář; Coufal, Kúdela, Frydrych, Bořil; Ševčík, Souček; Masopust, Stanciu, Traoré; Olayinka
PREDICTION
I will never wish my team loses so the coach gets fired, and I don’t think we’ll lose at home anyway. In fact, we’ll probably destroy Slavia because that’s what we do at home against smaller clubs in the Champions League: 4-0 Barça, papers over cracks, another month of Valverde. Fantastic.
Source: barcablaugranes.com
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