Barcelona vs Plzen prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2022-09-06 19:00.
Barcelona missed out on the UEFA Champions League (UCL) knockouts for the first time in 17 campaigns last season when they came third in a tough group that also hosted Bayern Munich. With Barça once again tagged with Bayern in a tricky Group C along with Inter Milan, a win against Czech club Viktoria Plzeň could prove crucial in avoiding the same fate in what is going to be their joint-record 27th UCL group campaign.
After a big summer splurge, nothing less than reaching the UCL knockouts will satisfy the Camp Nou faithful. Recent competitive form is positive with a three-game winning run aided by 11 goals, yet Barça will be treading carefully on home turf after winning just one of their last eight European home games (D3, L4) while only troubling the scorers twice across their last five UCL home encounters.
Plzeň are making their fourth appearance in the UCL group stages but their first since 2018/19. They finished third in the group in each of their last three appearances at this stage and given the quality of opposition they face this year, a repeat wouldn’t be a disaster especially considering it provides a route into the Europa League. They do enter this game on the back of a club-record 34-game unbeaten competitive run (W25, D9), as they chase their first ever positive result on Spanish soil at the fifth attempt (L4).
Having won five of their six qualifying matches (D1), Plzeň have shown considerable European appetite, albeit against lesser-ranked sides. They won their last fixture in that run 2-1, and if they are to pull off an upset, then a repeat of that scoreline could be on the cards given four of their last five UCL wins came by the same result.
Players to watch: Robert Lewandowski has scored in five of his last six UCL season openers, including a brace at this venue last season, albeit that came against rather than for Barcelona. Meanwhile, Tomáš Chorý has scored Plzeň’s first goal in their last two away UCL games helping his side to two 2-1 wins.
Hot stat: Barcelona can keep three consecutive UCL home clean sheets for the first time since December 2016.