Barça coach Xavi's unexpected decision for this Wednesday's Champions League game

Barcelona are in a difficult moment of the 2023/24 season. The team's performances during the last weeks have been far from expectations and the results have not been satisfactory. In fact, this Sunday they lost a decisive game in La Liga against Girona, the leaders, at the Olympic Stadium Lluis Companys in Montjuic. This left them in a difficult situation in the tournament, as they are now in fourth place in the standings and 7 points off the top.

But in the Champions League things have gone better for them. They have already qualified for the round of 16 of the tournament, when they still have one game to play. What they have not yet secured is the first place in Group H. And this is not a minor detail, as their opponents in the next phase will depend on that position.

However, it is extremely unlikely that they will lose that privileged position. For now, Los Blaugranas have 12 points and a goal difference of +7. Second place is shared by Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto, with 9 points. They will face each other this Wednesday and whoever wins can overtake Barcelona, if they lose against Royal Antwerp.

In that case, the first tie-breaker criterion is the results between them. There Porto are not a threat, as in both matches the Catalan side won. But against the Ukrainians they won one and lost the other, so goal difference will be key. Anyway, for Shakhtar Donetsk to beat them, they would have to win by many goals against Porto and Barcelona also lose by many goals in Belgium, something unlikely.

Xavi's surprise decision

The Barcelona coach had initially decided not to call up some stars of the squad such as Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan and Ronald Araujo. Some speculated that this is because Xavi does not want to risk a defeat against Royal Antwerp. But the club's explanation is that it is for logistical reasons, as the team will not be returning to Spain immediately and so it is best for all players to be together.