Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk - Champions League: TV channel, team news, lineups and prediction

Barcelona will seek to maintain their spotless record in the Champions League so far this season when they host Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.

Xavi's side won their opening two games in Europe, scoring six goals and conceding none, and cut the gap to La Liga leaders Real Madrid to a point with victory over Athletic Club on Sunday.

While plenty of eyes in Catalonia are firmly fixed on El Clasico at the weekend, Barca must first deal with a Shakhtar side that earned a slender victory at Royal Antwerp in their last UCL outing.

Here's what you need to know ahead of this Champions League encounter.

What time does Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk kick-off?

• Location: Barcelona
• Stadium: Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys
• Date: Wednesday 25 October
• Kick-off Time: 17:45 BST / 12:45 ET / 09:45 PT
• Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (SVK)
• VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)

Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk H2H Record (last five games)

• Barcelona: 3 wins
• Shakhtar Donetsk: 2 wins
• Draws: 0

• Last meeting: Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1 Barcelona (Champions League) - 12 April 2011

Current form (all competitions)

• Barcelona: DWWDW
• Shakhtar Donetsk: DWLWW

How to watch Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk on TV and live stream

Barcelona team news

Barcelona's raft of injury problems mean Xavi is having to get more creative in dealing with important absences in his squad.

Marc Guiu was the latest beneficiary as the Masia graduate came off the bench and scored Barca's winner against Athletic Club. He has been named on the bench against Shakhtar alongside the likes of Aleix Garrido, Marc Casado, Hector Fort, Pau Cubarsi and Ander Astralaga.

Gavi's suspension alongside Frenkie de Jong's injury means options are limited in midfield. Oriol Romeu will sit at the base with Ilkay Gundogan and Fermin Lopez starting alongside him.

Raphinha, Sergi Roberto, Robert Lewandowski, Pedri and Jules Kounde won't feature.

Barcelona starting lineup vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Barcelona lineup vs Shakhtar Donetsk (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Cancelo, Araujo, Martinez, Alonso; Lopez, Romeu, Gundogan; Yamal, Torres, Felix.

Shakhtar Donetsk team news

Shahktar have no new injury concerns. Both Ivan Petryak and Lassina Traore have been sidelined for months and won't be fit in time to feature in Catalonia.

The starting lineup features Taras Stepanenko, the Ukraine stalwart with 80 caps at international level, and 22-year-old striker Danylo Sikan, who scored twice in the 3-2 win at Antwerp on Matchday 2 earlier in October.

Shakhtar Donetsk starting lineup vs Barcelona

Shakhtar Donetsk lineup vs Barcelona (4-1-4-1): Riznyk; Konoplya, Bondar, Matviyenko, Azarovi; Stepanenko; Zubkov, Bondarenko, Sudakov, Kryskiv; Sikan.

Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk score prediction

Barcelona's functional outfit rumbled to its ninth win of the season in all competitions as they successfully squeezed past Athletic Club, but there's no doubt their cohesiveness and attacking threat has dropped off with the loss of key players to injury.

Without attacking stars like Lewandowski and Raphinha, Barca have relied on Ferran Torres and Joao Felix to guide them to slender victories over the past month or so.

Lionel Messi, David Villa and Dani Alves were among the Barca legends who played in their last meeting with Shakhtar back in 2011 as they finished off a comprehensive 6-1 aggregate win in the quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory.

Shakhtar managed a straightforward 3-0 success against Cherkasi last time out but will find any points hard to come by on Wednesday.

Prediction: Barcelona 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk

READ 90MIN'S FULL MATCH PREVIEWS FOR MATCHDAY 3 OF THE 2023/24 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE