Crvena Zvezda vs Barcelona, Champions League: Team News, Match Preview

Barça travel to Serbia looking for a crucial European win in one of the toughest atmospheres in the world

Following a comfortable win over Espanyol in the city derby at the weekend, Barcelona return to action as the Blaugrana travel to the capital of Serbia for a huge Champions League clash against Red Star Belgrade, also known as Crvena Zvezda.

Barça come into this one on the back of two straight wins in the League Phase following their opening night defeat to Monaco two months ago, and a third victory in a row would firmly place the Catalans in contention for the Top 8 which guarantees a spot in the Round of 16 and avoids two extra Playoff matches in an already busy calendar.

After such an impressive performance and win against Bayern Munich two weeks ago there is no doubt that Barça will be expected to fully dominate and cruise past a Red Star side without any points and with one of the worst defenses in the competition after the first three games, but anyone thinking Barça will have it easy on Wednesday is sorely mistaken.

Red Star have forever been a force when playing at home thanks to one of the most passionate and hostile environments in all of world football. The Marakana Stadium, named after Brazil’s iconic Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, is an absolute pressure cooker with incredible noise and a very intimidating crowd that raises the level of their team by sheer force and passion.

It doesn’t matter how worse Red Star may be compared to their opponent, for 90 crazy minutes the crowd makes them believe they can beat anyone, and no team leaves Belgrade having had an easy night. Even though Barça are the better team and the clear favorites for this one, they need to know they’ll be in a battle with more than just 11 people.

Let’s dance.