Champions League Odds & Pick for Barcelona vs. Dynamo Kiev: Offenses Will Continue to Struggle Wednesday

Barcelona vs. Dynamo Kiev Odds

There are five teams without a goal in the Champions League group stages and two of them meet Wednesday when Barcelona hosts Dynamo Kiev in their crucial Group E matchup.

It has been ugly for both clubs after their first two games as they have been outscored by a combined 11 goals in matches against Bayern Munich and Benfica.

The Ukrainian champion did secure a draw against Benfica, which puts it ahead of the Spanish giant in the group table.

Barcelona has lost its last three home UCL fixtures, which is as many defeats as it had in its previous 74 games at Camp Nou in the same competition.

Can manager Ronald Koeman turn things around at Barcelona or has his team quit on him? Let's see what could in store for this meeting.

Barcelona Hoping to Regain Old Form

Battling a lot of injuries at the start of the season, it’s probably a positive that Barcelona enters the week seventh in La Liga with 15 points after eight games.

The advance metrics might point to some positive regression hitting the Catalan club, which is second in the Spanish top flight in expected goals difference (+5.6) and xG/90 minutes (1.65), according to fbref.com.

Unfortunately for Koeman, the advanced stats don’t tell the same story in the Champions League, where Barcelona has posted 1.6 xG, a -2.6 xGDiff and no shots on target.

If there's one positive, the team should be healthier than in previous games as Ansu Fati and striker Sergio Agüero should both be in contention for starts. Barcelona does have another El Clásico at the weekend, which makes this a very important week if Koeman wants to keep his job.

Dynamo Kiev Seeking Success on European Stage

Dynamo Kiev has been dominant in its domestic league so far this year, entering midweek play in first place with 29 points and a +26 goal difference.

Although it was able to hold out for a draw against Benfica in its UCL opener, the Ukrainian champion was pretty lucky to do so after losing the xG battle by -0.8 margin. The club followed that with a 5-0 defeat to Bayern Munich to find themselves in a similar boat to their counterparts.

Kiev is led by a trio of Ukrainian players in Viktor Tsyhankov (eight goals), Vitaliy Buyalskyi (six goals) and Denys Harmash (five goals).

Mircea Lucescu’s team has been pretty solid defensively, allowing just three goals in 11 matches in the Ukrainian top flight.

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Betting Analysis & Pick

When you look at the odds in for this match, Barcelona is a pretty big favorite sitting at or close to -400 odds on the moneyline. The game total is in the -155 to -160 range as well.

I do think the Blaugrana is set up to get its first UCL win of the year, but I’m not ready to back them at this big price yet. That said, I'm playing Both Teams To Score — No at -120 odds via DraftKings as my top pick.

I highlighted how neither team has scored through the first two games, but that also continues when you look at matches against stiffer opposition. In the four games Barcelona has played against teams in European competitions, the Catalan club has only scored in one of those fixtures.

The same can be said for Dynamo Kiev, which also failed to score against fellow UCL qualifier Shakhtar Donetsk a few weeks back.

With both teams showing moments of poor defending, I’m avoiding the overall total in this game, but I think there’s value in one or both of these teams not scoring in this match.

Pick: Both Teams To Score — No (-120)