On Tuesday the blaugranes missed out on a chance to book their place in the last 16 of this season’s Champions League with Danylo Sikan’s goal handing Shakhtar a 1-0 win against Barça in Hamburg. Despite the reverse in group H, Xavi Hernández’s side are still in an excellent position to make it through to the last 16 of Europe’s premier club competition.
Next objective: beating Porto
On Tuesday 28 November, Barça have another chance to cement their passage into the knockout phase of the competition when they take on FC Porto at 9pm CET at the Estadi Olímpic on Match Day five of the group stage.
The blaugranes and the Portuguese club both have nine points from a possible 12 so far in group H. Shakhtar Donetsk are still in with a shout as they are in third place on six points but Belgian side Antwerp cannot now make it to the last 16 and their hopes of a third place finish and a spot in the Europa League are remote following four defeats in four matches in the group so far.
A win for Barça against Sérgio Conceição’s side in their next game would seem them mathematically through to the last 16 and almost certainly as group winners.
Match day six
In the final fixture of the group stage Barça take on Antwerp in Belgium. Should Shakhtar have beaten the Belgians on Match Day five, Barça would still need just a point to secure mathematically top spot if they are victorious against Porto.
