FC Barcelona host Borussia Mönchengladbach in Champions League Matchday Six

A dead rubber for both Barcelona and Borussia Mönchengladbach because both have qualified for the Champions League and Europa League knockout stages respectively.

Form

In the Champions League, Barcelona have won four out of their five games with the sole loss against Manchester City. They have already secured top of the group which means this match has little meaning for the Catalans. In terms of all competitions, Barcelona have drawn four of their last five games which is poor form. A win here would be nice to get them out of their current slump. Borussia Mönchengladbach are in poor form as well, they have taken two points from their last five games. They have only picked up five points in the Champions League so far, but the problems they have in the league will probably take precedence due to this game meaning little.

Squads

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Luis Enrique confirmed a day before the match that Lionel Messi would be starting. Enrique has also decided to rest Gerard Piqué and Marc-André Ter Stegen for this match. Neymar and Ivan Rakitić are both suspended for the match, and Jérémy Mathieu is still injured. Barcelona are likely to field a weaker team than usual, but they will be wanting to end their current slump with a win. Mönchengladbach are without Lars Stindl due to suspension. They also have injuries to contend with: Patrick Herrmann, Ibrahima Traoré and Marvin Schulz are unlikely to return for this match.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – DECEMBER 05: Lionel Messi of Barcelona smiles during a training session ahead of the UEFA Champions League group C match against Borussia Monchengladbach at San Joan Despi training ground on December 5, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) /

History

This is only the second competitive match between the two teams with other being the reverse fixture at Mönchengladbach. Therefore, Barcelona have the advantage in the limited history with the 2-1 comeback win when they were without Lionel Messi. Both these teams have a great history, so hopefully they get to play each other again in the future. If it’s half as entertaining as the last match then we should be in for a treat.

MOENCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 28: Gerard Pique of Barcelona celebrates with team-mates Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets after scoring his team;s second goal during the UEFA Champions League group C match between VfL Borussia Moenchengladbach and FC Barcelona at Borussia-Park on September 28, 2016 in Moenchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

Playing Style

Mönchengladbach are a talented counter-attacking side with pace throughout the team. They will allow Barcelona to dictate the tempo of the game and control the majority of the possession. However, they will be looking for the opportunity to pounce on a loose pass, and from that quickly transition up the pitch. As long as Barcelona are smart with their positioning, and don’t commit too many men high up the pitch then they should get the win. They have to be careful to not give possession up in their own half, though, because the Westphalians will punish them.

Messi will be hoping to take advantage of the lack of importance for the fixture due to him being a hat-trick away from beating Cristiano Ronaldo’s eleven goal record in the group stages of the Champions League. Barcelona are likely to start in a 4-3-3 which could fluidly change into a 4-2-3-1 with Messi in the central playmaker position, and Arda pushing up to the right-wing position. It’s also likely that in defense they will revert to a 4-4-2 formation with Messi and Paco Alcácer staying upfront.

Prediction: FC Barcelona 3-1 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Predicted Lineup

Javier Mascherano instead of Marlon Santos is a possibility, but I think Enrique wants to try-out Marlon currently. Andrés Iniesta instead of Denis Suarez is also a possibility.