Three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs FC Copenhagen | UEFA Champions League | OneFootball

Having secured a tricky 3-0 win over Real Oviedo over the weekend, Barcelona play host to FC Copenhagen in a massive UEFA Champions League clash on Wednesday night.

The final matchday of the event sees all the games played concurrently to avoid any ambiguity and to level the playing field. 

After all, almost all teams are in contention to stay alive in the competition, with more than 15 teams theoretically in the running for a top-8 finish. A lot rides on the results of Matchday 8, even for Barcelona who have not had a great UCL campaign so far.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs FC Copenhagen.

A midfield puzzle

As Hansi Flick prepares for Barcelona’s final game of the league stage of the UEFA Champions League, just one big question stares him in the eye – the midfield equation.

The team’s last game in the competition, after all, was not a pleasant one in that respect, for they lost two stars in the same department for varied reasons.

Pedri left the field injured against Slavia Prague in the Czech Republic in what was a massive blow to Flick’s plans. He is expected to be out for a month and is not an option tomorrow night.

The second player who faced a setback in the same game was Frenkie de Jong. He was shown a yellow card and misses tomorrow’s games through suspension for accumulation of cards.

With both Pedri and De Jong unavailable, the manager has his work cut out for him. Replacing the technically gifted duo, after all, will not be easy by any measure and he must ensure that his side retains complete control of the midfield regardless of the scenario.

One option that he can turn to is deploying Dani Olmo as an interior midfielder alongside Eric Garcia, with Fermin Lopez playing as the attacking midfielder.

Also in his options are the likes of Marc Casado and Marc Bernal, both of whom still have a lot to prove. It remains to be seen if he hands either a start, for it appears rather early for such a massive change in a pressurising game.

Goals needed in bulk

No Pedri and De Jong for Barcelona against Copenhagen. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Ahead of Matchday 8, Barcelona sit in ninth place on the Champions League standings and are narrowly out of the top-8 who directly qualify for the knockouts.

Their points tally, however, is the same as the three teams ahead of them and the four teams behind them, making it eight teams that all currently sit on 13 points.

All of the teams on that tally have the chance to move to 16 points with a win tomorrow, and at least three of them will qualify with that point tally. The big deciding factor, thus, will be the goal difference.

PSG and Newcastle United, both of whom are on as many points and ahead of Barcelona, face off on the final matchday, and at least one is guaranteed to drop points in what comes as a massive boost for the Catalans.

A win, in that sense, may well be enough given their current goal difference. However, it is clear that a win with a hefty margin will only improve their chances of assured qualification.

The objective for Barcelona come Wednesday night, thus, will be to win by a massive goal difference. Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Fermin Lopez will be the ones likely under the spotlight, and ruthlessness is what is needed in great capacity.

Pressure on the defence

While the attacking tenacity and ruthlessness will be on one side, it is equally critical that Barcelona do not concede at the other end of the pitch.

After all, every goal that they let past them on the night will reduce their advantage margin by one point, and seemingly negate any advantage the forward line hands the Blaugrana.

With Eric Garcia likely to start in midfield, given the absence of Pedri and De Jong, Pau Cubarsi will likely be paired with Gerard Martin on the night.

The duo has done largely well this season, but this will be the biggest test they have been put to yet, and it is critical that they get their partnership on point.

Concurrently, however, Flick also has the option of deploying Ronald Araujo alongside Cubarsi to provide a more comprehensive and physical coverage at the back – and while a lot will depend on how ready Araujo is – it is not a discarded option.

Flick’s plans, tactics, and ideas in defence, needless to say, will play a massive part tomorrow night. A clean sheet, needless to say, will be invaluable.