Barcelona Vs. Brest: El Barca Guard Momentum At The Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys

Raphinha, the buzz power is expected to reappear in the Champions League. (photo: x @fcbarcelona)

JAKARTA - Barcelona will host a team from France, Brest, at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Tuesday night in the 2024/25 Champions League group stage continued match. Both teams have big ambitions to win to secure their position in this elite European competition.

Barcelona currently lead the La Liga standings, although they have only won one point from the last two games in the domestic league. Last Saturday, they were held to a 2-2 draw by Celta Vigo after conceding two goals in stoppage time.

In the Champions League, Barcelona showed a more consistent performance. After losing to Monaco in the group opener, they won three consecutive wins over Young Boys, Bayern Munich, and Red Star Belgrade, scoring a total of 14 goals. However, Hansi Flick's men remain vigilant against the threat of Brest, who performed surprisingly in this competition.

Brest, who made his Champions League debut this season, has recorded three wins and one draw from four early matches. They are in fourth place in the group, just two points behind leaders Liverpool. Despite performing brilliantly in Europe, Brest struggled to maintain consistency in Ligue 1, with three consecutive defeats, including a 3-2 defeat to Monaco last Friday.

In this match, Lamine Yamal, who struggled with an ankle injury, will most likely not appear in this match. Although there has been no official announcement from the club, Barcelona is expected to prioritize long-term recovery for their talented young players.

Meanwhile, Ronald Araujo, Ansu Fati, Andreas Christensen, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Marc Bernal were also ruled out. However, Eric Garcia and Ferran Torres had a small chance of getting into the squad after approaching full recovery from their injuries.

Coach Hansi Flick may make some changes to the match against Celta Vigo on Saturday night, which ended in a 2-2 draw after Barcelona conceded two in stoppage time.

Frenkie de Jong and Alejandro Balde are expected to return to the starting XI, replacing Gavi and Gerard Martin. Marc Casado, who was sent off in the match against Celta, remains available for this match as his sentence only applies in La Liga.

On the front lines, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, who scored against Celta, are confirmed to be the mainstay, while Dani Olmo will most likely keep his place in attack position.

On the other hand, Brest had to play without Massdio Haidara, Romain Faivre, and Soumaila Coulibaly who were still injured. Team captain Pierre Lees-Melou also doubted appearing after suffering a leg injury against Monaco. Even so, Ludovic Ajorque is confirmed to appear as Brest's front line mainstay.

Despite Brest's outstanding performance in the Champions League this season, Barcelona is still seeded for victory. Support from the home fans and the superior quality of the squad made Hansi Flick's side have a great chance of returning to winning ways

Player Composition Forecast

Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Casado; Olmo, Pedri, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Brest (4-3-3): Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Le Cardinal, Amavi; Camara, Lees-Melou, Fernandes; Balde, Ajorque, Doumbia