BARCELONA have had their fair share of ignominy this season and are on the brink of an almost-certain early Champions League exit if they don't take care of Dynamo Kiev at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
Ronald Koeman's side has not just lost their opening two games in the group stages, they were absolutely pumped in both of them as they crashed to defeat at home to Bayern Munich and in Lisbon to Benfica, after a couple of painful 3-0 losses.
It's been a miserable few months for the once-mighty, all-conquering Barca who have looked like a mid-table La Liga outfit for most of the campaign.
However, there were signs a major corner had been turned with an impressive 3-1 home win against Valencia on Sunday which featured the return of Ansu Fati to their side.
Kiev were also thumped by Bayern, but collected a point at home to Benfica. They are unbeaten in their domestic league, but come to Spain with injury worries with Vladyslav Kulach, Ibrahim Kargbo, Artem Besedin and Denys Popov all set to miss out.
How the bookies view it
It's been priced up as almost like a Lionel Messi-inspired Barca here. The hosts are massive 1/4 favourites with SBK, with the Ukrainians 11/1 with Paddy power and the draw 29/5 with SBK.
Recent head to heads
The clubs met in the Champions League last season too and have played ten times in Europe. Barca did the double on Kiev last season, although their win in Catalonia was a narrow 2-1 victory as can be seen below.
Players to watch
Philippe Coutinho has been an often-criticised figure in the Barca ranks, but played well against Valencia on Sunday as he scored and was praised by Koeman. He's 15/8 with Unibet to score on Wednesday.
Viktor Tsygankov scored in Kiev's 4-1 weekend win at Lyiv and that was his eighth goal of the season in 17 starts for the playmaker. He's 34/5 with SBK to silence the Nou Camp with a goal.
Anything else catch the eye?
Barca look far, far too short here given the well-documented problems they have had this season. They are up against one of the most experienced names in European football managed by 76-year old fox Mircea Lucescu who has done and seen it all.
With a defence that seemingly can't help but provide chances for the opposition, Kiev will surely fancy their chances to at least score and the 21/20 for both teams to score with SportNation looks the call.
With Barca being so short, Kiev with a two-goal start on the handicaps looks to be a solid shout too at 11/10 with BoyleSports.
This UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Dynamo Kiev will be played on Oct 20, 2021 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
