Red Star Belgrade vs Barcelona

Stadion Rajko Mitic forms the backdrop for a ‘David vs Goliath’ UEFA Champions League clash between Red Star Belgrade and Barcelona.

As one of the six teams to have lost each of their first three matches in this Champions League campaign, Red Star’s hopes of securing an unlikely knockout qualification hang by a thread. Despite winning three consecutive domestic fixtures since a dreadful 5-1 defeat at Monaco in the previous round, the hosts head into proceedings as massive outsiders. That’s hardly surprising, considering they’ve suffered eight defeats across their last nine Champions League outings (W1). Encouragingly, that sole victory came in this season’s qualification playoffs against Bodo/Glimt. However, that remains their only win across their last four home matches at Europe’s top table (L3). That dismal run includes a 2-1 defeat to Benfica on matchday one, after which they’ve won three straight home fixtures by an aggregate score of 10-2.

On the other hand, Barcelona picked up where they left off in a 4-0 romping of Real Madrid, netting three unanswered first-half goals to beat local rivals Espanyol 3-1 last weekend and extend their lead on top of La Liga’s table to nine points. Equally impressive in Europe, Hansi Flick’s free-firing squad has won back-to-back Champions League games via a combined score of 9-1 after a 2-1 loss at Monaco in round one. They hammered Bayern Munich 4-1 on the previous matchday, a scintillating triumph that forms part of their six-game winning streak in all competitions. Another similar performance would see Barcelona score 4+ goals in three successive European fixtures for the first time since the 1959/60 season.