Barcelona vs. Guangzhou: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
The mission is simple and the reward is clear, for both FC Barcelona and Guangzhou Evergrande. Beat the other on Thursday and arrive in Sunday's Club World Cup final, where River Plate are waiting.
Marcelo Gallardo's Argentine side were not hugely impressive against Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Wednesday, winning 1-0, and both these sides would fancy themselves to beat them and win the trophy.
Of course Barcelona, as champions of Europe, will be favourites in any match they play and are odds-on to beat Luiz Felipe Scolari's Chinese Super League and Asian Champions League winners.
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It is an interesting tie, which puts the Brazilian manager back on the scene of his greatest triumph, at the International Stadium, where he won the 2002 World Cup final in charge of his own country.
Guangzhou also have two more interesting Brazilians among their number, in former Tottenham man Paulinho and ex-Real Madrid star Robinho.
But the most exciting Brazilian of all plays for Barcelona, although he may not play at all in this contest.
Neymar suffered a groin problem in training last week and is doing his utmost to play in the Club World Cup.
His injury is the main problem on Barcelona's mind coming into the game, but they were boosted by good news the day before the game.
"Neymar continues with his recovery. Just because you don't see him training doesn't mean he's not training," said Luis Enrique in his pre-match press conference, h/t the Daily Mail.
And Sport's Albert Masnou says Neymar did some running and ball work on the pitch at the Nissan Stadium.
He wrote: "Judging by the intensity and the rhythm, everything indicates that Neymar would be available for a hypothetical final on Sunday, although it’s hard to decipher whether he would be available to start or to take a place on the bench."
Neymar aside, Barcelona have a relatively clean injury bill, barring long-term absentees Douglas and Rafinha.
Another recent theme for the Catalans has been Gerard Pique's battle against Real Madrid's Alvaro Arbeloa, which he was forced to speak about again before the game.
However, he also found time to say, per the Daily Mail: "Here we are, thinking about the Club World Cup, which we are playing in because we are champions of Europe."
That fact is enough to strike fear into the heart of Guangzhou players, who never face teams with the same strength as Barcelona, regardless of Neymar's injury.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are fit and firing, and that itself could be enough to see the Blaugrana into the next round.
Guangzhou are in fine fettle, though, having gone unbeaten 24 games on the trot, while Barcelona have drawn their previous three matches, throwing away leads every time.
Scolari is wary, correctly and obviously, of the threat posed by the other members of the Barcelona squad. Per the Mail, he said:
"Neymar is one of the top three players in the world. He has the potential to be the best player in the world in the next five years but Barcelona have 25 Neymars. They have quality in every position. They have Messi, Suarez, (Andres) Iniesta, the list goes on – players who can hurt you everywhere. It will be a huge challenge but one we relish.
"
His side came from behind to beat Club America 2-1 in the quarter-final of this competition, but despite Barcelona's recent results, the coach won't fancy his chances of doing the same thing to them here.
Date: Thursday, December 17
Time: 10.30 a.m. GMT/5.30 a.m. ET
Venue: Nissan Stadium, Yokohama
TV Info: UK N/A, USA: Fox Sports
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Form Lines
| Barcelona form | Guangzhou form |
| D 2-2 vs Deportivo (H) | W 2-1 vs Club America (N) |
| D 1-1 vs Bayer Leverkusen (A) | W 1-0 vs Al Ahli (H) |
| D 1-1 vs Valencia (A) | D 0-0 vs Al Ahli (A) |
| W 6-1 vs Villanovense (H) | W 0-2 vs Beijing Guoan (A) |
| W 4-0 vs Real Sociedad (H) | D 2-2 vs Shandong Luneng (H) |
Predicted Formations
The key questions for Luis Enrique are who will stand in for Neymar, with a choice between Sandro, Munir or even Sergi Roberto, and whom to pick in goal. Marc-Andre ter Stegen usually features in cup competitions, so he is the more likely pick.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Sandro.
Guangzhou Evergrande (4-5-1): Shuai; Linpeng, Xiaoting, Kim, Zheng; Paulinho, Zhi; Bowen, Goulart, Robinho; Elkeson.
Players to watch
Andres Iniesta is in wonderful form at the moment, and with Neymar set to miss the game, he will have to be at his creative best to keep the chances flowing for Barcelona. Meanwhile, Zheng Zhi, 35, is Guangzhou's captain and still a force in midfield. He will have his work cut out against the likes of Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets, though.
Key battle
Robinho against Dani Alves could hold the key to any success for the Chinese side. If Barcelona have a weak point, it's the defence, and Alves' performances have been inconsistent. If he's not having a good day, and Robinho is, then it's a chance to prosper. However, the Brazilian forward is even more inconsistent and might not prove much of a threat at all to the Catalans.
Odds (via Odds Checker)
FC Barcelona 1/10
Guangzhou Evergrande 28
Draw 10
