Three talking points ahead of FC Porto vs Barcelona | UEFA Champions League | OneFootball

Having conquered La Liga last season, Barcelona hope to take a big step forward in their European interests this term. The 5-0 win over Royal Antwerp in their opening game of the UEFA Champions League was a big statement of their intent.

Yet, the world knows that the first matchday was a fixture where Barcelona were the clear favourites. Tomorrow’s outing in the Champions League will be different.

The Azulgranas take on Portuguese champions Porto at Estadio do Dragao in their second European clash of the season.

Sergio Conceicao’s side currently sit third on their domestic league table with 16 points in seven games and started their UCL campaign with a 3-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Porto vs. Barcelona.

Conquering the demons

Barcelona’s recent history in the UEFA Champions League is far from memorable. After all, the Catalans crashed out of the group stages of the competition for two years in a row.

In both the 2021-22 campaign and last season, the Blaugranas won just two of their six group-stage fixtures, losing three in the process. Their elimination was influenced by the tricky draw and injury concerns.

Yet, there is no excuse for such premature exits for a club of their stature. On Wednesday night, the Catalans will look to put an end to their misery in the competition.

A win against Porto will not guarantee Barcelona a spot in the next round. Yet, playing the Portuguese giants at Estadio do Dragao is arguably their most challenging fixture in the group stages. A victory would place them in the driver’s seat to not only qualify but but do so as table-toppers.

The La Liga champions have not played Porto since the UEFA Super Cup back in 2011, and it is safe to say that an exciting fixture awaits. A lot has changed since the two teams last met.

Three worthy candidates

Who will Xavi start with at centre-back? (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Barcelona boast one of Europe’s most complete squads. Of the personnel at Xavi Hernandez’s disposal, however, the central defence has the greatest depth.

Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, and Jules Kounde have all been in spectacular form for the Catalans since last season and all demand a starting spot on the field.

Yet, Xavi’s system only permits the use of two of the aforementioned three at any point, especially after Joao Cancelo’s integration.

With Kounde and Christensen striking up a golden partnership in recent weeks after Araujo’s injury, the Uruguayan’s exclusion was barely felt. Now that he is back, the manager has a serious decision to take.

Araujo is the team’s bonafide leader on the field and perhaps Barcelona’s best defender. He will, in all likelihood, return to the starting lineup tomorrow, and the only question that remains is over the player who will partner with him.

Purely from a form standpoint, Kounde is the favourite to start with the South American star. However, one can also make a strong case for Christensen and to bench him for the biggest game yet would be unfair to his consistency.

It will thus be interesting to see how Xavi opts to play his cards against the Portuguese side.

The threat of a low block

Xavi Hernandez’s men found fifth gear last month. For a brief period of time, there appeared no way to stop the Blaugranas as they scored ten goals in just two games across all competitions.

Things have not been the same since the 5-0 win over Royal Antwerp. From a position of undeniable dominance, Barcelona were forced to touch the ground once more with a narrow 3-2 win over Celta Vigo.

Matters did not improve, as Xavi’s men dropped two points against Mallorca last week. A few days later, they narrowly scraped past Sevilla with a lucky own goal. Notably, all three teams deployed low-blocks against the Azulgranas and identified it to be their weakness.

It remains to be seen if Porto deploy a low block to test Barcelona’s attack on the night, with manager Sergio Conceicao teasing the possibility. As such, it is time for Barcelona to buckle the seatbelt and get going on the field once more.