Match Overview
In one of the standout games on matchday three of the Champions League, five-time winners Barcelona will host six-time champions Bayern Munich. With both teams on three points after two games, another defeat here could put either side in danger of dropping out of the top 24.
Match Preview
Hansi Flick‘s superb start as Barcelona manager continued at the weekend, as a 5-1 thrashing of Sevilla maintained their three-point lead at the top of La Liga. The one blemish on the card domestically so far was a slip-up away to Osasuna, while Flick’s only other defeat came away to an impressive Monaco side after they had been reduced to 10 men in the first half.
Barca returned to form in some style on matchday two, thrashing Young Boys 5-0; the perfect preparation for the visit of the German heavyweights – Flick, and top scorer Robert Lewandowski’s former employers. The Barca boss has now won 17 of his 20 matches in the Champions League, the best win ratio of any manager in its history, and also the most wins any coach has managed in their opening 20 games in the competition.
However, Barcelona’s history against Bayern is extremely ominous ahead of this encounter, as the Catalans have only ever won twice in 15 previous meetings. The last six encounters have all gone in Bayern’s favor, including that astonishing 8-2 victory in 2020, while the Bavarians have also won four in succession since then without conceding.
Another defeat here would see Barca match their club-record longest losing streak against a single opponent, an unwanted feat that dates back to the early 1960s against an all-conquering Real Madrid outfit. With 10 wins over Barca in the Champions League, Bayern could equal the record for the most wins any team has managed against a single opponent in the competition and become the first team to win seven straight games against a team since Real Madrid did so against Ajax throughout the 2010s.
Vincent Kompany will be hoping his side can respond after a disappointing defeat away to Aston Villa on matchday two, when Jhon Duran capitalized on Manuel Neuer going walkabouts to net an impressive late winner. That result ended Bayern’s 41-game unbeaten run in this stage of the Champions League, and it also means they could lose three straight away games in Europe for the first time in their history, after also falling to defeat dramatically at Real Madrid in last season’s semi-finals.
In the middle of September, Bayern won three games in the space of a week, scoring 20 goals in the process against Holstein Kiel, Dinamo Zagreb, and Werder Bremen. Since then, though, they have not found it quite as easy, drawing with Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt either side of the Villa defeat. The three-game winless run was ended at the weekend, as Harry Kane netted his sixth Bayern hat trick on their way to beating Stuttgart 4-0, keeping them top of the Bundesliga on goal difference over RB Leipzig.
Team News
Flick is set to keep faith with Inaki Pena in the Barcelona goal, despite the recent signing of Wojciech Szczesny, both for this game and the upcoming El Clasico, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen out for the season. Barca were able to welcome Dani Olmo and Gavi back to the matchday squad after injury at the weekend, with the latter getting a brief cameo in the final few minutes. Frenkie de Jong is also closing in on a full return, as he is yet to start since returning at the beginning of the month, but Marc Bernal is out long-term with a serious knee injury.
The hosts will also be without Ferran Torres due to a hamstring problem, and centre-back pairing Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen, so teenager Pau Cubarsi is set to start in another high-profile encounter. Bayern will be without Aleksandar Pavlovic after he broke his collarbone inside the opening five minutes at the weekend, with Joao Palhinha the likely candidate to come into the side.
Raphael Guerreiro has been utilized as a right-back of late, but Konrad Laimer could also come in in that position with Joshua Kimmich likely to remain in the midfield ahead of Leon Goretzka. Young talent Jamal Musiala will be the big injury absentee for the visitors if he is unable to get over a hip issue in time, while right-back duo Josip Stanisic and Sacha Boey are also currently sidelined, leading to Guerriero’s position switch.
Possible Starting Lineups
Barcelona: Inaki Pena; Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Dani Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Bayern Munich: Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Kimmich, Joao Palhinha; Olise, Muller, Gnabry; Kane
Barca have been near-perfect under Flick, and had it not been for the early red card against Monaco, they may be on maximum points, so will be confident of ending their awful run of results against the Bavarians here. In comparison, Bayern have been much less consistent since Kompany’s arrival, have dropped plenty of points domestically, and looked hapless at times against Villa in their last European outing, so they could face another difficult night.
