Barcelona vs Young Boys
UEFA Champions League, KO: 20:00 Oct 1, 2024, Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium
Barcelona will be looking to get their first Champions League win of the season on the board when they play host to Young Boys on Tuesday night.
The Catalan giants came away empty-handed from their opening game of the competition, as they crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Monaco on matchday one.
Hansi Flick’s side bounced back with victories over both Villareal and Getafe before losing for the first time in La Liga this season on Saturday night in a shock 4-2 defeat at Osasuna.
Back at their temporary Olympic Stadium home this midweek, Barca will look to get up and running in the Champions League at the second attempt when they face Young Boys.
The Swiss champions were swatted aside 3-0 by Aston Villa on matchday one, on a night where both of my bets banked in Bern.
Patrick Rahmen and his side's preparations for this clash were far from ideal, they were beaten 1-0 at home to Grasshoppers on Saturday, a setback that has left them languishing in ninth spot in the Swiss top-flight.
How the bookies view it: Barcelona to breeze to victory
Unsurprisingly, Barcelona are overwhelming 1/14 favourites on Betano to claim top honours on Tuesday night.
Young Boys are as big as 22/1 (Betano) to pull off what would be a huge upset, while the draw is also deemed unlikely at 19/2 (Betano).
Head to head: A first-ever encounter
Barcelona and Young Boys will do battle for the first time ever on Tuesday night.
The Swiss outfit last crossed paths with Spanish opposition in this competition back in season 2021-22, losing both home and away to Villarreal.
Players to watch: Lamine to light the fire?
Lamine Yamal netted his sixth goal of the season in Barcelona’s aforementioned 4-2 defeat at Osasuna on Saturday night. The Spanish boy wonder looks worth backing to make the net bulge again here at 13/10 (Bet 365) against what is a brittle Young Boys backline.
Jaouen Hadjam could be given the thankless task of trying to keep tabs on Yamal on Tuesday night, making the Young Boys left-back a prime candidate for a booking at 9/4 (Bet 365).
Predicted line-ups
Barcelona will be without Eric Garcia following his red card against Monaco on matchday one.
Saidy Janko, who has yet to feature for Young Boys due to injury this season, is not expected to return for his side’s trip to Catalonia this midweek.
Barcelona: Inaki; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; Casado, Torre, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
Young Boys: Keller; Blum, Camara, Zoukrou, Hadjam; Lauper, Niasse; Monteiro, Ugrinic, Colley; Ganvoula
Anything else catch the eye?
With Barcelona unbackable at the above-mentioned odds, I’ll dip into the Bet Builder market with a view to getting the home team onside at a backable price.
Backing Barcelona to win, Barcelona to take the most corners and for Young Boys to receive the most cards will bring about an appealing 4/5 shot on Bet 365.
This combination clicked in Young Boys’ 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa and siding with the same formula on Tuesday night should give us a good run for our money in what should be a routine home win for Flick's free-scoring side.
This UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Young Boys will be played on Oct 1, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Young Boys prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
