Barcelona vs Viktoria Plzeň. Prediction and Betting Tips for UEFA Champions League 2022–23 (September 7, 2022).

Barcelona had a terrible start to the season last year, but since Xavi has become the manager, they found stability and even secured the second-place finish. In the summer, the Blaugranas have strengthened their squad - for instanse, they signed Robert Lewandowski and Marcos Alonso. Barcelona also bought Raphinha from Leeds (50 million). Jules Koundé and Frank Kessie have reinforced the defensive line. 

Xavi's side kicked off the new La Liga seson with a goalless draw against Rayo Vallecano. Since then, the team won three straight games - they recorded high-scoring victories over Real Sociedad (4:1), Valladolid (4:0), and Sevilla (3:0). At the moment, Barcelona are in 2nd place in the standings, trailing Real Madrid by two points. 

Viktoria Plzeň won the Czech First League in May. That was quite unexpected, since the club wasn't even considered a favourite to win the title, but Viktoria beat the second Slavia Praha by seven points. This was the team's first trophy in the last four years. To reach the main draw of the Champions League, Viktoria had to pass three qualifying rounds - the Czechs prevailed over HJK, Sheriff, and Qarabag.

In the summer, Viktoria were active on the transfer market. The most important signing was of Václav Pilař, who played 27 matches for the Czech national team and used to play for Wolfsburg and Freiburg in Bundesliga. In their new Czech First League campaign, the team collected maximum points from the first five games. Last weekend, Viktoria beat Slovan (1:0).