Barcelona v Bayern Munich – Backing The Germans Against The Catalan

Barcelona host Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night in the UEFA Champions League. The last time these sides met, Bayern destroyed Barca 8-2 in Lisbon in the quarter-finals on the way to lifting the trophy in 2020.

The Catalan club start life in Europa without Leo Messi whilst Bayern Munich is under new coach Julian Nagelsmann.

European Football Weekend Round-Up By Zach Lowy

Barcelona Form

Barcelona threw away the title last season after an end to the season with saw a home loss to Granada, a 3-3 draw at Levante, and a 2-1 home defeat to Celta Vigo. Considering the loss of Lionel Messi to PSG, Barca started this campaign relatively well.

They beat Real Sociedad 4-2 on an opening day as Martin Braithwaite scored twice. That was followed by a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao as Memphis Depay scored an equalizer. Their last match saw a 2-1 win against Getafe in Antoine Griezmann’s final match for the club. Barca did not play over the past weekend due to how many players arrived back from international duty late.

Barcelona Team News

Barca has a series of injuries to contend with. The forward options are depleted by injuries to Ousmane Dembele, Sergio Aguero, and Ansu Fati. Fullbacks Jordi Alba and Sergino Dest picked up knocks on international duty. Gerard Pique should return from the injury which ruled him out against Getafe. Eric Garcia is available after a suspension and should partner Pique at the back.

Martin Braithwaite is carrying an injury and may not return in time which could mean minutes for Luuk de Jong after he arrived from Sevilla. Philippe Coutinho should also return to the mix after nine months out injured. Since their last match, both Antoine Griezmann and Emerson Royal have been offloaded to balance the books.

Barcelona Motivation

Barca is struggling for options in attack for this one after Griezmann left and with Aguero, Dembele, and Fati out. They may need to set up pretty defensively with either a 3-5-2 shape or going with a 4-3-3 with makeshift wide players to track Bayern’s fullbacks.

Considering their situation and the summer they have had, a draw from this match would be seen as a very positive result.

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Bayern Munich Form

Bayern drew on the opening day of the season at Borussia Monchengladbach thanks to Robert Lewandowski’s equalizer. They followed that up with a 3-1 win in the German Super Cup at Dortmund. They then beat FC Cologne 3-2 at home thanks to Serge Gnabry’s winner.

A crazy 12-0 win at Bremer SV came next in the DFB Pokal as Eric Choupo-Moting scored four goals. A Lewandoski hattrick then sealed a 5-0 win against Hertha Berlin. This weekend, Nagelsmann’s team thrashed his former club RB Leipzig 4-1. They could even withdraw key players on the hour mark.

Bayern Munich Team News

Die Roten was without Kingsley Coman for this weekend’s match due to a back problem. He should be back on the bench for this match but it comes too soon for Corentin Tolisso. Nagelsmann was able to take off Robert Lewandowski and Leon Goretzka after 59 minutes over the weekend.

Marcel Sabitzer is still settling into the club and may again only be given an outing as a substitute. Serge Gnabry went off injured in the last match and if he missed out, then Jamal Musiala could start in his place.

Bayern Munich Motivation

With Dinamo Kiev and Benfica in their group, Bayern should qualify with ease. Barcelona is their main rivals to top the group so they will be fully motivated to try to win at the Camp Nou.
Having thrashed Barca in 2020, they will again continue to attack even if leading in the second half.

Key Stats

Bayern have seen over 2.5 goals in their last 5 matches

Bayern are 9 matches unbeaten in all competitions (W7, D2)

The last 5 meetings between these sides have seen over 2.5 goals

Bayern have won 4 of the last 5 matches against Barcelona

Barcelona have kept 1 clean sheet in their last 6 matches

Barca have lost 2 of their last 5 home matches

Verdict

Barca looks like a bit of a mess right now and has an injury crisis in the attack. Bayern is looking imperious and is a good bet to win this match. A clean sheet could also be a good tip considering the injuries in attack for Ronald Koeman’s side.

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