Champions League Preview: Shakhtar Donetsk - Barça

Shakhtar 0-2 Barca.

I reckon perhaps a rest for Iniesta as he perhaps Pep will go for two DM's for this tough away game. I reckon Xavi, Toure and Keita in modfeild with Eto and Henry and Messi upfront with Messi operating behind the two strikers. It could be an experiment worth trying or as Nic pointed out a win would practically guarantee passage through or a draw would be fine.

In my opinion I think Pep should rest Messi and Xavi aswell as one of Henry or Eto as the next few games will be hard, high-tempo affairs so to go defensive tomorrow and snatch a draw with a few rested would do me fine.

Prediction 1-1

I agree with Tit186 , Pep should rest some players and most importantly messi - ineasta and xavi as they r already tired from their summer campaign with their national team , we could start with bojan , etoo and henry

my prediction 2-2

My prediction: 2-1 for Barca

A tight game with a late winner from our side.

barca wins it 4-0

My first comment here ...
I Guess Alves, Xavi, iniesta and messi should be rested, though its unlikely happening...

It would be nice to rest a few of the key players and give time to Pedro, Caceres, Toure.

However a win would be a big result to get. You would hope that Barca have enough quality even resting players to get a result but I don't agree with the draw philosophy - I'd see a draw as a point lost, definitely - especially against this sort of quality opposition (i.e not that much).

Barca 3 - Shakhtar 1
Messi, Eto'o (2)

3-1 barca. even if we draw, i wouldnt be upset because its an easy group and we should qualify in the end anyways....we play atletico madrid at home on saturday so im more worried about that game right now.

Comon, I have more confidence in this barca squad....
I predict 3-0

@ FCB Darren

I know what your saying about a draw seeming as a loss but still the trip is very far and draining and especially the Euro 2008 players have had little rest and Messi at the Olympics. Also Athletico and Valancia will require very high tempo and high work rates so the last thing we need is jet lagged players not fresh. This group is relatively easy, we have two great DM's and a few young players coming through. Give them a chance, if we draw or lose but keep several key players rested I can live with that if it gives us a better chance in the league

Barca should NOT take any team too lightly !! Fielding a weakened side can be risky and counterproductive !!

My prediction: 2-1 for Barca

I agree, Barca should rest a few players and give players like Toure, Pedro and Bojan a start.

Barca 2-0

@Titi86

I agree with your response - the trip is long & draining, and we must battle also for the league and stars coming off the Euro campaign.

I guess I just don't like to think of my team who I've supported since I was 7 ever being happy with a draw - we do have a easy group and I think no matter what happens tomorrow we will get through - as I stated before, I'd like to see Pedro/Busquets and Caceres start - hopefully giving rest to the likes of Xavi, Messi etc.

I also would like to think no matter who we rest, the squad depth is still good enough to get a result - and be ready for the upcoming ties in la liga.

Henry should start as well?

Go Barca!

some people here underestimated our squad quality , this team should do fine even without messi-ineasta and xavi ( i don't agree with the people asking for resting alves ) we still got talents in the team and it will be a chance to see what they can provide . I highly doubt that pep would play with the best XI but i personally can not predict whether messi-xavi or ineasta will be rested

I don't think we can rest bot Xavi and Iniesta. No one can replace there creative skill in the midfield. Messi should not be rested as he is getting back to his best only. Stop considering this match as some crap, this is the second match in CL and we need to play the best eleven. they all can be rested once we are assuired of qualification

yoyoyoyoy ive been out loooong for a regular reader(1week) well waht can i say we look good for a win tonight my prediction 3-0

oh and btw what the fu&*ck is boixos nois

I'll play:

--------------------------------------Valdes----------------------------------------
--------------------Marquez-------Pique----------Puyol------------------------
-----------------------------------Yaya Toure-------------------------------------
-------Alves-------------------------Xavi-----------------------------Iniesta----
------------------Messi------------------------------Henry-----------------------
-------------------------------------Eto'o-------------------------------------------

and Barca will win 0-7

I'll play:

--------------------------------------Valdes----------------------------------------
--------------------Marquez-------Pique----------Puyol------------------------
-----------------------------------Yaya Toure-------------------------------------
-------Alves-------------------------Xavi-------------------------Iniesta----
------------------Messi------------------------------Henry-----------------------
-------------------------------------Eto'o-------------------------------------------

and Barca will win 0-7

FCB Darren, I think whoever is in Pep's mind to start at the weekend should have a rest today; although not for 90mins. Maybe as a sub would be better. Whoever plays Darren, Pepe will make them play with their heart dont worry.

Come on Barca!

blaugrana_namibia - the boixos nois are a radical group of barça fans. On the positive side they are one of the most vocal groups for singing at matches, on the negative side they have been linked with violence including what happened at the match on Saturday. For more see their webpage - LINK - (the english version)

the line up: valdes alves marques (rhyme )pique puyol toure keita xavi iniesta eto henry

I CANNOT beleive what kind of defending Ive just witnessed.

How on EARTH are we going to win a sunday league let alone the CL or LaLiga with defending like that. 1 hoof in the air, poor clearance, abismal back line and not much valdes could do tbh. Anyone even want to disagree lol because if you can then you are watching the wrong match

Poor very very poor.

Bloody hell, we won that?

Messi!! To be honest Im not going to talk about the game. It was poor, the defence was abismal, I didnt even know Keita was playing, and there will be about 30 people about to bombard the blog repeating the same stuff. So...

It is sad to see Barca become a 1-man team tbh. I dont understand how come Xavi and Iniesta who are absolutely brilliantly creative for Spain play well but create nothing much when compared to their performances for Spain. To be honest I think its this slow, PREDICTABLE, unbalanced, 4-3-3 formation.

Play Messi behind two strikers (dont care which ones) which would create many more chances for us. We have no natural winger. Iniesta and Henry aint left wingers, Messi isnt a crossing winger, and Eto, Bojan or Henry aint Central Forwards who will dominate in the air. We need to change in my opinion if we are to be successfull WITH THE PLAYERS WE HAVE. That is the key. If we get Silva, Adebayor and another winger 4-3-3 works.

Just use the players best attributes. Thats all Im asking for.

Very fortunate. Messi saved Guardiola's ass, again !!

ive never felt so angry after a win. going to unwinde and let loose later. this team is FAR, FAR FAR FAR from a league winning side.

Barca-Rotterdam ----- messi saved barca....messi didnt save guardiola's ass....im not sure if u know but guardiola's job wasnt on the line here or the game before.

........and the whining begins........

Well said Titti.....I think putting Messi behind the strikers would bring out the best in the team. Again we are playing strikers as wingers and it doesnt work. Pep is not Frank though, and he will change things. He has already switched to a 4-4-2 with Messi playing behind the strikers a few times and it works very well. That being said its still very early in Peps managerial career, he is still trying things out and testing different formations and player combinations. Personally i think we would have had a lot more from this game had Pep played Pedro instead of Henry. Speaking of Henry, my patience is starting to wear very thin....and i have been very patient with him. Poor touches, poor finishing, no real drive or imagination. He played in the middle tonight, displacing Eto'o and did very little. He has till Jan to prove himself, if he doesnt then i am all for selling him.

We did not play a good game today, although Iniesta was class throughout. To be fair to Shaktar they played their hearts out and I did feel a little bad for them in the end. They were quite dirty though, but we should expect such tactics from lesser teams. Our defense was actually very good in the first half till Puyol gifted them a goal. Then things started falling apart a bit defensively. We are getting better at the back though, it doesnt happen overnight and i think die hard puyol fans are going to have to come to terms with the fact that he may be coming closer to the end of his illustrious career. As much as i love and respect the captain, he seems to be getting sloppier and sloppier. Pique on the other hand looks like one hell of a talent and could end up being our new talisman at the back. Yaya had a good game, Keita was ok, nothing special. Xavi was quiet for once. Eto'o was not his usual self on the wing and I think the only way to play Henry and Eto'o is in a 4-4-2.

Messi is too much!!

FCB88:
It is true that Gradiola's job was NOT on the line but a loss to a lower calibre opposition would not have won him many friends. Messi to the rescue !!

Damn ! I keep messing up his name again: Guardiola !!

Come on guys, take it easy. A win is a win, sometimes you have to win playing badly and getting lucky...

"this team is FAR, FAR FAR FAR from a league winning side" That is an unfair statement, this was one game on a very difficult ground against very aggressive, well organised opposition. Sure we got a little lucky, but only persistence, hunger and a will to win got us the luck we needed. How many times did RM win games when they did not play well and got lucky. It ended up winning them the league! Thats football, you cannot always get good wins.

As for Guardiola....sure he might not have made the best decisions tonight, but overall he has impressed me a lot. This is still a team in the building phase so you are going to have to get used to games like tonight where things dont go our way. The fact that we still walk away with all the points is a very good sign!

Hilal, ur the smartest guy ever, barca needs more fans like u!

yeah that was a bit match. im upset. i really disliked this performance. my patience for the rebuilding phase is getting serioulsy tested. hilal, nice to see u seeing henry through more objective eyes.

titi got this match spot on. dont want to say much more on it. but really i was FUMING mad most this game. i mean come ON, our equalizer was the luckiest thing ive seen in years. that win is like brushing the trash under the rug, its just masking a pretty bad performance.

titi was especially corrent about keita, WHERE was he!!!! that the point i got most from the game, and i hope people saw it too, Yaya is SOOO much better. not only defensively, BUT he also showed way more attacking skill, dribbling, passing, penetration.

and PLZ PLZ someone tell me alves is going to get better. plz reassure me. because ive always thought he was overrated, but i hope im wrong.

i thought iniesta was good though, and thank god for messi. frankly i totally disgree with him being rested. i know he has had a busy summer and that, but he should just get some days rest from training. you dont see CR, kaka, lampard, gerard being RESTED. especially after like 7 games in the season. give me a break.

maybe its true that grinding out wins is something positive to get from this. but people be honest with yourself, the win was shocking lucky and the performance was god awful. but ill admit this isnt an easy game coming to the ukraine. they played their hearts out. super dirty though. if i was a barca player i would have broken that braulao's legs and probably punched mr howard webb.

my patience is running so thin. i am so not enjoying watching these games.

Lol.....Blau.....i knew you would like that comment about Henry

Believe me when i tell you i have no particular bias towards or against Henry, I just think he deserves his chance. Now he is getting his chance and he is doing little with it I am more than happy to critisize. The team comes first.

Like you I agree tonights performance was very poor, and unlike the last two games we didnt deserve the win. It came down to Peps odd choice of formation which left us very one dimensional. I could see what he was trying to do but it just didnt work, the movement wasnt there. Pep obviously used this game to try some things, they backfired, but hey that is part of learning and building a team. Your gonna have to be more patient Blaugranaboy. We still won in the end and say what you will about the first goal being lucky, the second goal had class and vision written all over it. Luck may have gotten us the equaliser but WE won that game.

@Titi186

Hey Titi - show some passion lad! While like most others today, I'm dissapointed in the performance, I'm glad we eeked a win out in what is a challenging trip. I do share some of your concerns over how we will go against some of the big games in la liga if we display this football again - but lets just enjoy the result and move on - Barca fans are great but are often to quick I think to really turn on our boys (not saying you are Titi, just an observation).

I don't like the 3-5-2 - and I concur, we need proper 'out and out' wingers..not makeshifts like Iniesta - who does a tremendous job btw acting as one.

Lets look ahead guys...we got the points and are on the way back to Spain..can't honestly ask more for that this early in the campaign.