The 3-0 defeat against Chelsea in Champions League matchday 5 leaves FC Barcelona in a precarious situation if they aim to finish this league phase among the top 8 best clubs in the competition, something that, as you probably already know, warrants direct qualification for round of 16, plus greater chances of playing the second leg of the knockout stages at home.
After two victories, one draw and two defeats (against Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain), Barcelona is provisionally 15th in the table (before Wednesday's games), with 7 points. If we look at the competition last year, 16 points are enough to qualify between the top 8. That means that Barcelona is forced to win their three upcoming matches to finish in the top 8.
However, Barcelona will also want to improve their goal average, currently 2 after 12 goals in favour and 10 against, which could be used to untie. The good news is that Barcelona has, theoretically, three much easier rivals.
Upcoming Barcelona Champions League matches
Barcelona vs. Eintrach Frankfurt: December 9
Slavia Praha vs. Barcelona: January 21
Barcelona vs. Copenhagen: January 28
Nevertheless, even a draw in one of those games will almost surely mean that Barcelona will not finish in the top 8. That shouldn't really be much of a problem in the long run, as last year's champions, PSG, finished the league stage in the 15th position... and later won their play-off match an aggregate 10-0.
Do you think Barcelona will finish in the top 8 of Champions League?