Royal Antwerp vs FC Barcelona: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Published at :December 11, 2023 at 1:15 PM

Modified at :December 14, 2023 at 10:33 AM

The Blaugrana travel to Belgium to win the game and remain on top of their group in the UEFA Champions League!

The match between FC Barcelona and Royal Antwerp in the UEFA Champions League promises a tactical clash. Perhaps the underdogs, Antwerp hopes to show resilience in the face of Barcelona’s European football heritage. The Spanish powerhouses, who are renowned for their possession-based style of play, seek to rule the group with their technical skill. This game will probably be exciting and full of surprises and perseverance, as it represents the battle between an emerging team and a European powerhouse FCB.

Kick-Off:

Thursday, 14 December 2023; 1:30AM IST, 8PM GMT

Location: Bosuilstadion

Form:

Royal Antwerp (in all competitions): D-L-W-W-W

FC Barcelona (in all competitions): L-W-D-W-W

Player to Watch

Michel-Ange Balikwisha (Royal Antwerp)

Michel-Ange Balikwisha is a bright prospect at Royal Antwerp and he usually exhibits flair and agility on the pitch. He is the top assist provider in his team with 5 assists and 5 goals in the Belgian Pro League. He is a dangerous figure that greatly helps Antwerp’s attacking tactics in the UCL as well due to his speed and technical skill.

Joao Felix (FC Barcelona)

Joao Felix is an important player to FC Barcelona now. He possesses exceptional adaptability and an acute sense of goal scoring opportunities. His quickness and tactical awareness frequently place him at the centre of Barcelona’s attacking plays, giving their style of play more surprise. He has been doing really well in recent games for the Blaugrana!

Match Facts

In their seven major European meetings against Spanish opponents, Royal Antwerp have suffered six losses. They have given up three goals in each of their first two home UEFA Champions League matches.
This season, Royal Antwerp have suffered losses in every one of their five UEFA Champions League games.
Barcelona will win their group in the UCL for the 22nd time if they win this match, which is only their second-ever away UEFA Champions League match in Belgium.

Injury and Team News

With important players like Valencia suffering from injuries that are postponing their recovery, Royal Antwerp is facing serious injury setbacks. Their lineup is further made questionable by the absence of Engels and Ondrejka. Barcelona also faces an even greater task as they are without key players like Ter Stegen and Gavi because of their respective injuries. In addition, Alonso and Martínez are out with back and hamstring problems respectively.

Head to Head

Played – 1

Royal Antwerp – 0

FC Barcelona – 1

Draw- 0

Predicted Lineup

Royal Antwerp Predicted lineup:

Butez; De Laet, Alderweireld, Coulibaly, Bataille; Vermeeren, Yusuf; Muja, Ekkelenkamp, Balikwisha; Janssen

FC Barcelona Predicted lineup:

Pena; Araujo, Kounde, Christensen, Cancelo; Pedri, Gundogan, De Jong; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix

Match Prediction for Royal Antwerp vs FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona are playing away from home and will fancy themselves to go past Antwerp easily. Girona have been playing really in their league but injury problems might disturb them. The game is expected to be a fun one and we can expect a good final group stage game. FC Barcelona will start this game as favorites & might win by a good margin.

Prediction: Royal Antwerp 1 – 4 FC Barcelona

Telecast

India – Sony Sports Network

UK – TNT Sports

US – CBS, TUDN

Nigeria – SuperSport

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