Barcelona will play Bayern Munich in a must-win Champions League game on Wednesday.
Venue: Allianz Arena
Key Statistics
- Bayern Munich thrashed Barcelona 3-0 in the reverse fixture at Camp Nou.
- Bayern top Group E with 15 points while the Catalans giants trail them in second place with 7 points.
- Bayern are unbeaten in their last five home games against Barca in all competitions.
- Robert Lewandowski is the current top scorer of UCL this season, having racked up 9 goals in 5 games.
- Thomas Muller has scored 7 goals in 6 appearances against Barca and he is the most productive player against the Catalan club in the history of the Champions League.
Head to Head record
Bayern boast an impressive record against Barcelona, winning 9 out of 14 games played between the two. The Blaugrana have only three victories to their name.
Latest performances in all competitions
Bayern Munich: W D W W W
Barcelona: D W D W L
Bayern Munich
After their unlikely setback against Augsburg, Bayern Munich have regained their form by winning three straight games, including their recent Bundesliga fixture against Borussia Dortmund.
The victory in Der Klassiker has given Bavarians enough confidence moving into Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Barca.
Bayern hold an impressive track record against Barca and they also defeated the Catalan giants 3-0 in the reverse fixture at home.
Bayern have won their five games so far in the group stage and would look to wrap up things on a high note.
It will be a game of no big consequences for the Bavarians however they could still prevent Barca from entering the round of 16.
Wednesday’s game at Allianz Arena will be played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 restrictions in the Bavaria region.
Joshua Kimmich could be available for selection after testing positive for COVID-19 a month ago. His quarantine ends on Tuesday, and he will be allowed to play if he returns a negative test.
Possible Bayern Munich line-up
Manuel Neuer; Benjamin Pavard, Niklas Sule, Nianzou, Richards; Marc Roca, Leon Goretzka; Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala; Robert Lewandowski
Injured: Bouna Sarr, Marcel Sabitzer, Josip Stanisic, Michael Cuisance, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
Doubtful: Joshua Kimmich
Suspended: None
Barcelona
After going unbeaten for three matches, Xavi suffered his first defeat as Barca manager against Real Betis in La Liga. Juanmi’s strike in the 79th minute was enough to sink the Catalan giants at home.
Now, they prepare for a make or break clash against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. The Catalans are second in Group B with 7 points, a point ahead of Benfica, who will be facing Dynamo Kyiv simultaneously.
The Catalan giants should not afford to drop points against Bayern and even if they do so, they must hope for Benfica to lose or draw against Kyiv.
Although the odds are against Barca, Xavi appears to be optimistic about pulling things off against Bayern.
Ousmane Dembele’s cameo in the second half against Betis was one of the positive takeaways and he could be in line to start against Bayern.
Ronald Araujo will play a key part in the defence as he is looking to build on the impressive display against Betis. It will be a fascinating battle between him and Lewandowski.
Young midfielder Gavi sustained a head injury at the weekend, and he was admitted to the hospital with immediate effect. But the reports are now stating that the injury isn’t serious and could be available for selection.
However, the biggest drawback will be the unavailability of Ansu Fati. It has been speculated for weeks that the Spaniard would be fit in time for the UCL clash against Bayern. But, he hasn’t fully recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered against Celta Vigo and could only return to action for next week’s La Liga game against Elche.
Possible Barcelona line-up
Marc Andre ter Stegen; Sergino Dest, Ronald Araujo, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba; Nico Gonzalez, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie De Jong; Ousmane Dembele, Memphis Depay, Philippe Coutinho
Injured: Martin Braithwaite, Sergi Roberto, Sergio Aguero, Ansu Fati, Pedri
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Bayern Munich 0 – 2 Barcelona
