Barcelona will be aiming to clinch their second win of the Champions League league phase when they welcome Olympiacos to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Olympiacos are still searching for their first win of the main draw after mustering a point from their opening two matches of the main draw.
Match preview
Barcelona are sitting in 16th place in the Champions League league phase after following a narrow win over Newcastle United with a 2-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
Their loss to the reigning European champions was followed by a surprise 4-1 away defeat against Sevilla in La Liga, ensuring Hansi Flick's charges went into the international break in a downbeat mood.
They looked set to experience another disappointing result in Saturday's derby clash with Girona, after Axel Witsel cancelled out Pedri's early opener at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
However, Ronald Araujo came off the bench to save the day for Barcelona, scoring a 93rd-minute winner to seal a third consecutive head-to-head victory, sending them top of the table before Real Madrid's clash with Getafe.
Barcelona will face their arch-rivals in Saturday's clash at the Santiago Bernabeu, but while El Clasico will be on their mind, they will want to avoid complacency in their first encounter with Olympiacos since the 2017-18 group stage.
The Blaugrana will certainly take confidence from the fact that they have won all of their previous European home games against Greek opposition, including a 3-1 success against Olympiacos in October 2017.
Flick has previously faced the Greek side once in his managerial career, overseeing a 2-0 home victory during his time in charge of Bayern Munich, where Robert Lewandowski and Ivan Perisic grabbed a goal apiece in the 2019-20 Champions League group stage as part of their triumphant European campaign.
Olympiacos' Ayoub El Kaabi celebrates after scoring on August 23, 2025
Olympiacos are competing in the Champions League main draw for the first time since 2020-21 as a result of last season's Greek Super League title success.
Jose Luis Mendilibar, who led Olympiacos to Conference League glory in 2023-24, saw his side kick off the league phase with a frustrating goalless draw against Pafos, who played the majority of the contest with 10 men.
Olympiacos were unable to add to their point in their second league phase clash against Arsenal, as Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka grabbed a goal apiece to condemn the Greek giants to a 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, leaving them in 29th place in the league phase standings.
They followed that result with a disappointing 2-1 defeat against bitter rivals PAOK in the Greek Super League, before they returned to winning ways in Sunday's away clash against AEL Larissa.
Ayoub El Kaabi netted a first-half brace to seal a 2-0 victory that temporarily moved Olympiacos to the top of the standings.
They will be desperate for El Kaabi and his fellow attackers to produce the goods in Tuesday's clash, considering they are one of two teams that are yet to score in this season's Champions League league phase.
However, their hopes of a positive result at Monjuic will be tempered by the fact that they have lost each of their last 11 Champions League group stage/league phase matches, while Mendilibar has lost 23 of his 27 managerial encounters against Barcelona (D3, L1).
Barcelona Champions League form:
Barcelona form (all competitions):
W W W L L W
Olympiacos Champions League form:
Olympiacos form (all competitions):
D W W L L W
Team News
Barcelona's Raphinha on September 18, 2025
Barcelona are still contending with a number of injury absentees, including Joan Garcia, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi and Dani Olmo.
Robert Lewandowski will be out for around a month after he sustained a hamstring injury on international duty, while Raphinha remains a doubt after missing the last four matches.
Ferran Torres is hoping to shake off a hamstring issue in time for the midweek fixture, but Barcelona will want to avoid taking any risks ahead of Saturday's Clasico.
Fermin Lopez is pushing for a starting spot after featuring as a half-time substitute at the weekend, while Araujo and Gerard Martin are options to start if Flick decides to rest a couple of his defenders ahead of the weekend.
As for the Greek visitors, they are expected to be without full-back Rodinei and winger Gabriel Strefezza due to injury.
Nikos Botis, Remy Cabella, Ruben Vezo, Yusuf Yazici, Gustavo Mancha and Konstantinos Angelakis are all ineligible after being left out of Olympiacos' squad for the league phase.
Lorenzo Pirola will come into the side to partner Panagiotis Retsos in central defence, while there could also be recalls for Dani Garcia and Gelson Martins.
El Kaabi will continue to lead the line for Olympiacos, having scored five goals in 10 competitive appearances this season.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Martin; Pedri, De Jong, Casado; Yamal, Fermin, Rashford
Olympiacos possible starting lineup:
Tzolakis; Costinha, Retsos, Pirola, Ortega; Garcia, Hezze; Martins, Chiquinho, Podence; El Kaabi
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We say: Barcelona 3-1 Olympiacos
Barcelona may be contending with a number of injury issues, but they still have a wealth of talent at their disposal for Tuesday's fixture, and we think they will produce one of their trademark free-scoring displays to ease to a comfortable victory and build confidence ahead of Saturday's clash with Real Madrid.
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