Champions League
2021-10-20 - Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: European Champions League Group Stage
Wednesday 20th October 2021 - Kick Off 5:45pm
This game is live on TV
Barcelona
It is surprising to still see Ronald Koeman in charge of Barcelona considering the pressure the manager has been under, but the players have to take their share of the blame for the poor start made to the 2021/22 season. This is clearly a campaign of transition, but standards are very high at Barcelona and there are only so many poor results that will be accepted by the board and the fans.
They are 7th in the Spanish Primera Division, but Barcelona's win over Valencia keeps them in touch with the leading teams despite the up and down start to the season. The inconsistencies have been most evident in the Champions League as Barcelona have been humbled by back to back 3-0 defeats, although the double header with Dynamo Kiev gives the Catalan giants a chance of righting the wayward ship. The club have not only lost their last 3 home Champions League games, but more embarrassing is Barcelona have conceded at least three goals in each defeat.
Barcelona went into the October international break having lost away games at Benfica and Atletico Madrid, but they came from a goal behind to beat Valencia 3-1 this past weekend. That result means Barcelona have recorded consecutive wins at the Nou Camp and they have scored three times in both wins.
Eric Garcia is suspended and Pedri may not be risked considering the amount of football the young player has been involved in over the last few months.
Dynamo Kiev
Being placed alongside three former European Cup winning teams meant even a place in the Europa League may have felt beyond the reach of Dynamo Kiev. This is not the club that formerly reached the Champions League Semi Final during a golden time in the last 1990s, but Dynamo Kiev may feel they can do enough to maybe upset Barcelona and thus at least secure a 3rd place finish in the Group.
They have yet to score in this Champions League Group, but Dynamo Kiev will enter Match Day 3 in 3rd place having earned a point against Benfica before being hammered at Bayern Munich. Any kind of positive result would be seen as a big one for them this week, but Dynamo Kiev have only won 1 of their last 13 away Champions League games and have lost 3 in a row on their travels.
Dynamo Kiev are currently leading the Ukrainian top flight over Shakhtar Donetsk and they were 1-4 winners at Lviv this past weekend. The side have won half of their last 6 away games in all competitions, but during that time Dynamo Kiev have been crushed at Shakhtar Donetsk (3-0) and Bayern Munich (5-0).
The squad are still missing a number of key players and the likes of Ilya Shkurin and Vladyslav Supryaga could be adding to the absentees.
Head to Head
These clubs met in the Champions League Group Stage last season and Barcelona won both games.
The fixture here ended 2-1 in favour of Barcelona who have won 4 of 6 home games against Dynamo Kiev.
Prediction
This may not be a vintage Barcelona team, but the future may look bright if they can bring through some of the talented youngsters.
It might not come soon enough for Ronald Koeman who seems to be clinging onto the manager's job merely because Barcelona can't afford to pay him out and Sack him. Results have certainly not been up to scratch, but Barcelona did beat Valencia 3-1 here over the weekend and have won back to back games at the Nou Camp.
That has to give the team a boost as they look to get back on track in the Champions League following disappointingly one-sided losses to Bayern Munich and Benfica. Even now, Barcelona are only 4 points behind Benfica and the double header before the November international break could see the Group turned around.
Barcelona will have to beat Dynamo Kiev twice and they did that in the Group Stage last season, albeit with Lionel Messi still leading the team. Despite the losses, Barcelona have created some very good chances in their last couple of home games and Dynamo Kiev are a step down to the other two teams in the section.
While they are leading domestically, Dynamo Kiev have won 1 of their last 13 away Champions League games, and they have suffered heavy away losses at Shakhtar Donetsk and Bayern Munich this season. Dynamo Kiev did manage to push Barcelona in a narrow loss here last season, but they were also beaten at Villarreal in the Europa League and the underlying numbers from their defeat at the Nou Camp suggests it could have been a much wider margin of victory for Barcelona.
They are under pressure, but Barcelona should have enough to get back on track in the Champions League with a comfortable win here.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Barcelona 3-1 Dynamo Kiev
