Barcelona will book their spot in the knockout stage of the Champions League with two games to spare if they avoid defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night.

The Catalan outfit have been excellent in Group H thus far, topping the section with nine points from three matches, while Shakhtar are third, collecting three points from their opening three games.

Match preview

Shakhtar started their Group H campaign with a 3-1 home loss to Porto, but they recovered impressively to beat Royal Antwerp 3-2 in their second match of the section at the start of October.

Marino Pusic's side will have been pleased with their performance against Barcelona in their third game in the section on October 25, but they suffered a 2-1 defeat, with three points from three games leaving them in third position, three points behind second-placed Porto.

Shakhtar cannot be eliminated from the competition on Tuesday, but a defeat would leave them in a very difficult spot ahead of their final two games, so there is huge pressure on the Ukrainian outfit.

Pusic's team will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv in Ukraine's top flight on Friday, with the result leaving them in third position in the table on 24 points.

Shakhtar have won three, drawn five and lost seven of their previous home fixtures against Spanish opposition, although this match will be taking place in Hamburg, so it is difficult to class it as a true home game.

The Ukrainian side have failed to progress from their section in their last five Champions League campaigns, but they will fancy their chances of finishing ahead of Antwerp in third if they are unable to claim a top-two position, with Barcelona and Porto both in strong positions.

Barcelona have finished third in their last two Champions League group-stage campaigns, with head coach Xavi thus far being unable to lead them into the knockout round of the competition.

However, providing a stunning turn of events, the Catalan team will be present in the round of 16 this term; Barcelona can secure their progression if they avoid defeat in this match, but they would still be in a strong position even if a defeat were to occur on Tuesday night.

The La Liga champions are top of Group H on nine points, beating Antwerp 5-0 in their section opener before recording back-to-back successes over Porto and Shakhtar in their last two fixtures.

Barcelona suffered a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in El Clasico at the end of last month, but they managed to record a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday evening, with Ronald Araujo scoring the winner in the second minute of added time at the end of the 90.

The Catalan team have won seven, drawn one and lost three of their previous 11 away matches against Ukrainian opposition in European football, but they have only been victorious in 14 of their last 32 away matches in this competition, suffering nine defeats in the process.

Team News

Shakhtar will be missing Stav Lemkin, Lassina Traore and Ivan Petryak for this contest, while Irakli Azarovi is also expected to miss out, having been stretchered off against Dynamo Kyiv last time out.

Yaroslav Rakitskyi was Azarovi's replacement off the bench in the league contest, so the 34-year-old is now expected to be introduced into the starting XI for this match.

Danylo Sikan has scored four times for Shakhtar this season and is again set to operate in the final third of the field, while Oleksandr Zubkov, who has three goals this term, should also retain his attacking spot.

As for Barcelona, Pedri made his long-awaited return off the bench against Real Sociedad on Saturday, but he is not expected to be considered for a start at this stage.

The Catalan outfit's only definite absentee for this match is Sergi Roberto, who is battling to overcome a calf problem, although Frenkie de Jong is also a major doubt due to an ankle issue.

Robert Lewandowski is working his way back from an ankle problem of his own and should again start here, but there could be a couple of changes from the weekend clash against Real Sociedad, with Andreas Christensen and Raphinha potentially coming into the side.

Lamine Yamal and Oriol Romeu are also options to come into the XI, but the pair are expected to be among the substitutes for the first whistle once again.

Shakhtar Donetsk possible starting lineup:
Riznyk; Konoplya, Bondar, Matvienko, Rakitskyi; Stepanenko, Bondarenko; Kryskiv, Sudakov, Zubkov; Sikan

Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Araujo, Kounde, Christensen; Cancelo, Gavi, Gundogan, Balde; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix

We say: Shakhtar Donetsk 1-2 Barcelona

Shakhtar are more than capable of making this a tricky match for Barcelona, and we are expecting the Ukrainian outfit to find the back of the net on Tuesday. Barcelona can call upon the greater quality, though, and we are backing the Catalan side to navigate their way to a fourth victory in the section.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Previews by email