When Barcelona squares up against FC Porto in the second match of their UEFA Champions League group stage, the Catalan club will be facing one of the most difficult tests they have encountered thus far during the 2023–2024 season.

The Blaugrana have not had the best of runs in Europe in recent seasons, as evidenced by the fact that they were eliminated from the competition in the group stage for both of their most recent efforts in Europe.

As a consequence of this, the most important objective for Barcelona in the Champions League is to at least get to the knockout stages of the competition.

And Xavi’s team will most likely face their greatest competition in Group H against FC Porto, which also includes Royal Antwerp and Shakhtar Donetsk as members.

In spite of the fact that it will be a difficult test for Barcelona to pass, they do have history on their side as they prepare to compete against the giants of Portugal.

In point of fact, Barcelona has won each of their last four matches against Porto, and they have done it while preserving a clean sheet in three of those encounters. The UEFA Super Cup in 2011 was the venue for the two sides’ most recent encounter against one another.

A recent look at the Blaugrana’s performance in the Champions League when playing away from home reveals some cause for concern.

After all, Barcelona has dropped as many points in their last six matches played away from home in the Champions League group stage (W2) as they had in their previous 43 encounters of same nature.

In point of fact, Barca’s previous trip to Portugal for the Champions League resulted in a loss to SL Benfica by a score of 3-0. This match took place in September 2021, during the closing days of Ronald Koeman’s managerial tenure.

The La Liga champions, on the other hand, can take heart from the dominating performance they turned in during the opening match of the UEFA Champions League campaign, which they won 5-0 against Royal Antwerp.

Joao Felix was the star of the show for the Catalans on that night against the Belgian champions, scoring two goals, and tonight, as he returns to his homeland, all eyes will be on him again as he takes on the competition.

If Joao Felix hits the back of the goal tonight against Porto, he would be only the fourth footballer in Barcelona’s history to score in his first two games in the UEFA Champions League. He will follow in the footsteps of Luis Enrique, Deco, and David Villa, all of whom scored in their first two games for Barcelona.

It will also be a momentous event for Xavi Hernandez, who will be managing Barcelona for the 100th time, as he will be the one to take charge of this encounter. He has played a total of 99 games and has a win-loss record of 63 victories and 19 losses (D17).

However, his record in the Champions League as Barca’s manager does not make for the finest reading, as it consists of only three victories and four losses from a total of nine matches (D2).

It will also be a momentous day for Marc-Andre ter Stegen, the captain of Barcelona and the goalie for the team.

If the German player makes an appearance against Porto, he would tie club great Antoni Ramallets for third place on the list of goalkeepers with the most official appearances for Barcelona (387), behind only Victor Valdés (535) and Andoni Zubizarreta (410).