Barcelona will be looking to recover from their first La Liga loss of the season when they face Swiss team Young Boys at home in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The Catalan club started their campaign with a tough 2-1 loss to Monaco, while Young Boys were defeated 3-0 by Aston Villa in their opener.
Barcelona kicked off their 2024-25 La Liga season with an impressive seven straight wins, but that streak came to an end with a disappointing 4-2 loss to Osasuna on Saturday.
This marks the second defeat for Hansi Flick’s squad, who also fell to Monaco in their Champions League debut—though that match saw Eric Garcia sent off in the first half.
With the pressure on to bounce back, Barcelona faces challenges due to an injury crisis that has sidelined several key players. Despite this, Flick deserves recognition for the strong start he’s managed under these circumstances.
Last season, Barcelona reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League but had disappointing group stage exits in both the 2022-23 and 2021-22 seasons. They haven’t made it past the group stage since the 2018-19 season, and their last Champions League title was in 2015—too long for a club of their stature.
Looking ahead, Barcelona has a tricky La Liga match against Alaves next weekend, but they can’t afford to take their eyes off the Champions League.
Young Boys, the reigning Swiss champions, are coming off a tough 1-0 loss to Grasshoppers, which leaves them in 11th place in their domestic league with just six points from eight games. It’s been a rough start for them.
Like Barcelona, Young Boys also struggled in their Champions League opener, finishing third in their group last season and subsequently getting knocked out of the Europa League playoffs by Sporting Lisbon.
They’ve never advanced past the group stage of the Champions League, making it a tall order for them to make an impact, especially with a challenging match against Inter Milan looming.
However, they can find some hope in Barcelona’s injury woes, and they’ve already managed to secure two significant results this season, defeating Galatasaray both home and away in the playoffs.
INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
Barcelona is dealing with a significant injury list, now including Eric Garcia, who is suspended after receiving a red card against Monaco in their last Champions League match.
In total, seven players are out due to injuries: Fermin Lopez, Dani Olmo, Marc Bernal, Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo, Gavi, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Frenkie de Jong hasn’t played at all this season because of an ankle issue, but he might have a slight chance of joining the squad for this game.
Expect to see changes from the lineup that faced Osasuna, with Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Alejandro Balde, Marc Casado, and Inigo Martinez likely to step in.
On the Young Boys side, Saidy Janko, Patric Pfeiffer, and Facinet Conte will miss the match, but overall, the squad is in good shape for this European encounter. Joel Monteiro has been their standout player this season, scoring five goals and providing seven assists in 13 matches, so he’s a guaranteed starter. Silvere Ganvoula, who has four goals this season, could also lead the attack, while Cedric Itten might start on the bench despite having five goals to his name.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; Casado, Torre, Pedri; Lamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
Young Boys possible starting lineup:
Van Ballmoos; Athekame, Camara, Zoukrou, Hadjam; Niasse, Lauper; Monteiro, Ugrinic, Colley; Ganvoula
EXPERT PREDICTION
Barcelona 3-0 Young Boys
While Young Boys could make things tricky for a Barcelona team with several absentees, it’s hard to envision them coming away with a positive result. Barcelona should have enough quality to secure the win on Tuesday night.
