The Catalans are looking to cart away all three points to consolidate their position at the top of the table. Not only that, the team is well aware that a win will seal their automatic qualification to the next round of the competition—a feat that they have failed to achieve in the past two campaigns.
Shakhtar Donetsk are a fearsome side that will give Barcelona a run for its money. They have only lost once in their past five games and currently sit third in their league standing, just two points adrift of first-placed Kryvbas.
In group H, they sit third, having lost to Porto in the first leg but came from behind to beat Royal Antwerp at home in the second match. At Barcelona, they have a great task awaiting them, even with the depleted state of the Xai-Hernandez-led squad. Barcelona have scored six in their last two UCL matches against Royal Antwerp and Porto, currently sit first, and are unbeaten across all competitions.
However, it remains to be seen if they can win this encounter after their poor outing against Porto in the last match. The Portuguese side have shown that keeping Barcelona off possession can provide an opportunity to score, but were unlucky as two goals were chalked off after a mistake gave Barcelona the lone goal of the night.Barcelona will play this game with a very thin squad. About seven first-team players will miss out on this.