Hansi Flick’s Barcelona will resume their Champions League campaign with a home game against winless Olympiacos.

Barcelona will be looking to return to winning ways in the UEFA Champions League when they host Olympiacos, who are still waiting for their first European win of the season.

The home team are currently 16th on the European league table with one win and one defeat. While they started their Champions League campaign with an impressive 2-1 win over Newcastle United, the Blaugrana suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of PSG in their last outing.

After suffering defeats at the hands of PSG and Sevilla prior to the international break, Barcelona did bounce back with a win against Girona on Saturday, and they will now be looking to build on it against Olympiacos.

Meanwhile, the visitors are 29th on the UEFA Champions League table with just one point out of their first two fixtures. They started the campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw against ten-man Pafos. The Greek giants then ended up suffering a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal last time out.

Now they have an even difficult task at hand as they go up against Spanish giants Barcelona, who will be desperate to return to winning ways in the Champions League. While their domestic form has been quite impressive, taking down the Catalan giants will require a special performance from the team as a whole. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.

Team News & Tactics

Barcelona

Hansi Flick remains without the services of Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo, Gavi, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Joan Garcia. Meanwhile, Raphinha is a major doubt for this fixture. Ferran Torres will be hoping to shake off a hamstring issue to be available for this fixture, but Flick might still not risk him from the start with El Clasico against Real Madrid coming up.

Flick could switch to a 4-3-3 formation and rest quite a few of their first-team stars in this fixture. Wojciech Szczesny will be in goal with the other two shot-stoppers out injured. Jules Kounde and Gerard Martin should be the full-backs, while Ronald Araujo will pair up with Pau Cubarsi in the heart of the defence.

Eric Garcia could feature in the centre of the park in this fixture alongside Frenkie de Jong and Marc Casado. The trio will look to ensure they dominate the ball and dictate the tempo of the game. In the final third, Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford will feature on the flanks, while Fermin Lopez could take up the number nine role for this outing.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Martin; de Jong, Garcia, Casado; Yamal, Fermin, Rashford

Olympiacos

The visitor will be without the services of Rodinei and Gabriel Strefezza because of injury. Meanwhile, Nikos Botis, Remy Cabella, Ruben Vezo, Yusuf Yazici, Gustavo Mancha, and Konstantinos Angelakis have all been left out of their UCL squad.

Olympiacos will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, where Konstantinos Tzolakis will be in goal. Costinha and Francisco Ortega will feature as the wing-backs, while Panagiotis Retsos will start alongside Lorenzo Pirola in the heart of the defence.

As for the midfield unit, Dani Garcia will pair up with Santiago Hezze in the centre of the park. The duo will certainly have a lot of defending to do. Meanwhile, Gelson Martins and Daniel Podence will feature on the flanks in attack. Chiquinho will take up the number ten role, while Ayoub El Kaabi will lead the line against Barcelona.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Tzolakis; Costinha, Retsos, Pirola, Ortega; Garcia, Hezze; Martins, Chiquinho, Podence; El Kaabi

Key Stats

• The two teams have previously met each other on two occasions in the UEFA Champions League.
• Barcelona have been unbeaten in both those outings (W1 D1).
• The last time the two teams squared up against each other was during the 2017/18 group stage.
• Hansi Flick has faced a Greek team only once in his managerial career, and he did win that outing.
• Olympiacos are featuring in the main draw of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2020-21.

Player to Watch

Lamine Yamal

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At just 18, Yamal is already the most important player at Barcelona, and with the youngster now back fit, Hansi Flick will hope the teenage sensation can help his team get on a roll again. With the Clasico coming up, the Spanish international will be looking to hit top gear against Olympiacos.

Yamal already has two goals and five assists in his six outings, and it won’t be much of a surprise if he ends up adding to them in this Champions League outing. Expect the teenage attacking sensation to have a big say on the end result of this fixture.

Prediction

Barcelona 4-0 Olympiacos

Barcelona will head into this clash with renewed confidence after their crucial win over Girona at the weekend. Hansi Flick’s men have endured a mixed start to their UEFA Champions League campaign, but playing at home against a struggling Olympiacos side gives them the perfect opportunity to get back on track in Europe.

Olympiacos, meanwhile, will be fully aware of the uphill task they face. The Greek outfit have looked toothless in attack so far, and their defensive lapses could prove costly against a high-intensity Barcelona side. Unless they produce something extraordinary, it is hard to see them getting anything out of this fixture. The Hard Tackle predicts an easy 4-0 win for the home team.