Preview: Barcelona vs Copenhagen - prediction, team news, lineups

Barcelona will be aiming to qualify for the knockout round of the Champions League when they welcome Copenhagen to Camp Nou on Wednesday night.

The Catalan outfit are ninth in the Champions League table, level on points (13) with the three teams above them, while their opponents are down in 26th, with the Danish outfit bidding to secure a position in the knockout round playoffs to continue their journey in the competition.

Match preview

Barcelona have a record of four wins, one draw and two defeats from their seven matches in the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League, with the Catalan outfit picking up 13 points, which has left them in ninth spot in the division, only just outside the qualification spots.

Hansi Flick's side, as it stands, will need to navigate their way through a knockout round playoff in order to reach the final 16, but they are level on points with eighth-placed Chelsea, seventh-placed Newcastle United and sixth-placed Paris Saint-Germain.

As expected, it is a complicated system when it comes to permutations for the final matchday, but Barcelona need a win to stand a chance of finishing in the top eight, so that will be the message from Flick - collect all three points and then see if that is enough.

Barcelona have again been in impressive in the final third of the field, scoring 18 times in their seven matches, but they have conceded 13 times in the league stage, which is the joint-most in the top 15, and that will be a real concern for the club moving forward.

The hosts will enter the match off the back of a 3-0 win over Real Oviedo, with the victory moving them back to the top of the La Liga table ahead of Real Madrid.

Me. Here. ? pic.twitter.com/X5Yr7iCf0d

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 25, 2026

As for Copenhagen, the Danish outfit have a record of two wins, two draws and three defeats from their seven matches in the Champions League this season, with eight points leaving them in 26th, level on points with the four teams above them.

The Lions will qualify for the playoffs with a win over Barcelona providing that at least two of the other nine teams on eight, nine or 10 points do not secure the results that they require.

It is a tall order for Jacob Neestrup's side, but they have managed to pick up seven points from their last three matches in the competition, beating Kairat and Villarreal before drawing 1-1 with Italian champions Napoli last time out in the league stage.

Copenhagen have been on a winter break since December, with their last league fixture taking place against Sonderjyske on December 7, but they did play a friendly against B.93 on January 23, recording a 3-2 victory over their fellow Danish outfit.

The Lions have faced Barcelona twice before in the Champions League, with both of those games taking place in the group stage of the 2010-11 tournament; La Blaugrana won 2-0 at home, but the reverse fixture in Denmark finished 1-1.

Barcelona Champions League form:

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Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Copenhagen Champions League form:

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Copenhagen form (all competitions):

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Team News

?⚠️ Pedri will be out for one month with hamstring injury, Barcelona confirm. pic.twitter.com/9yzEv10ZDT

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 22, 2026

Barcelona will be without the services of Ferran Torres, Gavi, Pedri and Andreas Christensen on Wednesday night due to injury problems, while Frenkie de Jong is suspended due to the milestone yellow card that he picked up against Slavia Prague.

Marc Casado could benefit from the midfield absences to retain his spot in the middle, and he is likely to be joined by Eric Garcia, with Gerard Martin set to feature alongside Pau Cubarsi at the back.

Further forward, Dani Olmo could miss out on a spot in the XI, with Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha expected to operate behind Robert Lewandowski, as Torres will miss at least one more match for the Catalan giants due to a muscular issue.

As for Copenhagen, experienced midfielder Thomas Delaney will miss the contest following his red card against Napoli in the last matchday in the competition.

Rodrigo Huescas and Magnus Mattsson will both miss the game due to injury problems, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape for the clash at Camp Nou.

Jordan Larsson has scored eight times and registered four assists in 35 appearances for the Danish outfit this season, and the 28-year-old is expected to be in the away side's XI here.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martin, Balde; E Garcia, Casado; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Copenhagen possible starting lineup:

Kotarski; Meling, Gabriel, Suzuki, Lopez; Elyounoussi, Madsen, Claesson, Larsson; Cornelius, Dadason

We say: Barcelona 3-1 Copenhagen

Copenhagen are capable of making this a tricky match for Barcelona, with the visitors in excellent form in the Champions League, but the Catalan outfit should be able to navigate their way to a victory which could potentially be enough to finish in the top eight.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.