Champions: Barça-Viktoria Pilsen | Barcelona wants to show muscle before the ‘cinderella’ of the ‘group of death’
The new project for the Barça team, led by Xavi Hernández on the bench and by Robert Lewandowski on the field of play, has generated great expectations at this start of the course.
But now you will have to endorse them at their premiere in the highest continental competition, where it has been too many years that chains failures and disappointments that have relegated him to second place in the ranking of the most feared teams in Europe.
Receiving the Czech team at the Spotify Camp Nou seems like the best possible scenario for the premiere of the new project of the Catalan team in this Champions League, especially when in the following two days they will have to chain trips to Munich and Milan.
Barca has returned
Therefore, everything that is not winning would compromise, right from the start, the options of commanding the group and sending an unequivocal signal that Barça has returned.
For the European premiere, Xavi does not have the midfielder Miralem Pjanic, with the club’s permission to close his transfer to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, nor with the last two reinforcements from the frenetic Barça summer market, the full-backs Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso.
But the center-back Eric García has entered the call, who had to be replaced due to muscular discomfort in the last LaLiga Santander game against Sevilla.
The substitution of Eric, who would leave his place to Andreas Christensen as Ronald Araujo’s partner in the backbone, could be one of the novelties in the local eleven, which seems very defined when it has barely been a week of competition.
possible rotations
However, Xavi has advanced what he intends to do some rotations for that matchso the entry of Frenkie de Jong for Gavi in midfield and Ansu Fati or Ferran Torres for Dembélé or Raphinha at the point of attack is not ruled out.
For its part, Viktoria Pilsen returns to the Champions League after four years of absence, and does so in a big way, in the so-called ‘group of death’, a challenge that does not keep Michal Bílek’s pupils up at night.
Pilsen played at the Nou Camp eleven years ago, in the group stage of the ‘Champions 2011-12, in which they conceded a sweet defeat, 2-0, with goals from Andrés Iniesta and David Villa. In Prague, the team also lost to the azulgranas, but in a more convincing way (0-4).
a rocky opponent
The co-leader of the Czech league returns to the most prestigious European club tournament with a renewed squad, which has the Colombian second point in its ranks Jon Mosquera, 31 years old, with experience in the local league championship.
From the team of the past decade, which was under the orders of the former national coach Pavel Vrbaonly the midfielder remains Vaclav Pilarwho played that match on October 19, 2011 in Barcelona, and defender Milan Havel.
Pilsen is a rocky team. Last season he appeared to unseat Slavia from Prague, king of Czech football in the last five years, from the leadership in the league.
It also has several internationals among its ranks, such as defenses Lukas Hejda and Milan Haveland the midfielder Lukas Kalvach.
Another of the team’s strongholds are the Senegalese Modou Ndiaye, the Ivorian Mohamed Tijani, the Nigerian striker Fortune Bassey and his Czech partner Tomás Chorý, who has scored two goals in the league championship.
Likely lineups:
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Koundé, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; Sergio Busquets, Of Jong, Pedri; Raphinha, Ferran Torres and Lewandowski.
victory pilsen: Stanek; Holík, Hejda, Pernica, Havel; Kalvach, Cermak; Vlkanova, Sykora, Mosquera; Bassey.
Referee: Lawrence Visser (BEL)
Stadium: Spotify Camp Nou
schedule: 9:00 p.m. (19 GMT).