Barcelona and Olympiacos clash at the Olympic Stadium of Montjuic for matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League group stage, an important match for both teams to improve their standings.
Barcelona comes into this match following a 2-1 victory against Girona in La Liga, with goals from Pedri and a late winner by Ronald Araujo. This win broke a two-game losing streak against PSG and Sevilla, giving Xavi’s team some much-needed momentum for this key European game.
In the Champions League, Barcelona is currently 16th with three points, having won against Newcastle and lost to PSG. At home, they have a strong record, losing only one of their last eight Champions League matches at Montjuic.
On the other hand, Olympiacos arrives after a 2-0 win over AEL Larissa in the Greek Super League, with both goals from Ayoub El Kaabi. In the Champions League, they have earned just one point so far, drawing with Pafos and losing to Arsenal. Away from home, the Greek team has two wins, one draw, and two losses in their last five matches, keeping a clean sheet only once during that period.
Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona during the UEFA Champions League.
Barcelona’s expected lineup vs Olympiacos
Injuries are affecting Barcelona’s squad. They will be missing several key players — Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi, Robert Lewandowski, Joan Garcia, Ferran Torres, Raphinha, and Dani Olmo — all of whom are usually important starters.
Barcelona’s predicted XI: Wojciech Szczesny; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Pedri, Frenkie de Jong; Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal, Roony Bardghji; Marcus Rashford.
Olympiacos’ expected lineup vs Barcelona
Jose Luis Mendilibar has most of his squad available for the match on Tuesday. The only absences for the Greek side are Rodinei and Strefezza, giving the coach a wide range of options to choose from.
Olympiacos’ predicted XI: Konstantinos Tzolakis; Costinha, Panagiotis Retsos, Federico Pirola, Francisco Ortega; Santiago Hezze, Dani Garcia; Gelson Martins, Chiquinho, Daniel Podence; Ayoub El Kaabi.