When Barcelona take on Bayern Munich, two teams with ambitions of finishing in the league’s top eight will meet despite a less-than-ideal Champions League tie. Each team has already dropped one game from the expanded UCL field and while they have no problem finishing in the top 24 at this stage, avoiding further games is everyone’s goal.
The similarities don’t end with the fact that both teams are led by new managers, following in the footsteps of some of the world’s best strikers in Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski. Former Bayern Munich players Hansi Flick and Lewandowski will no doubt be familiar with the German giants, despite how much has changed at Bayern over the past few seasons.
Lewandowski has 14 goals in 12 games in all competitions for Barcelona, and Kane has 13 goals in 10 games for Bayern, so this is a game where he can score a real goal. Their support systems are also very impressive, but both defenses will want to improve their performance.
Here’s the storyline, how to watch the game, and more.
How to watch and odds
- date: Wednesday, October 23 | hour: 3 PM (Eastern Standard Time)
- location: Lewis Company’s Olympic Stadium – Barcelona, Spain
- Live Stream: Paramount+
- multiplication: Barcelona +130; Draw +300. Bayern Munich +165
League Stage Schedule
Barcelona: Crvena Zvezda (a), Brest (h), Borussia Dortmund (a), Benfica (a), Atalanta (h)
bayern munich: Benfica (home), Paris Saint-Germain (home), Shakhtar Donetsk (home), Feyenoord (home), Slovan Bratislava (home)
team news
Barcelona: Gavi has returned from injury but it would be unfair to expect him to return to the starting XI. With Barcelona’s midfield fitter along with Frenkie De Jong, the team will have more options at the start of the match. They will have to keep an eye on their game against Real Madrid this coming weekend, but this is the time of the season to focus on the game at hand.
Barcelona predicted XI. Inaki Pena, Alex Balde, Ignigo Martinez, Pau Kuvarsi, Jules Kounde, Pedri, Marc Casado, Raphinha, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski.
Bayern Munich: Vincent Kompany’s men have been faltering recently, winning just one of their last four games. It was a strong performance against Stuttgart, but stopping Barcelona from scoring is easier said than done. Bayern have yet to show they can win a penalty shoot-out, so once Barcelona find the back of the net that’s when the real test begins.
Bayern Munich predicted XI. Manuel Neuer, Alphonso Davis, Minjae Kim, Dayot Upamecano, Rafael Guerreiro, Joao Palgna, Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Müller, Michael Olise, Harry Kane.
prediction
Despite strong performances in attack, defense will continue to be the downfall for these two teams as points will be shared in high-scoring matches. Select: Barcelona 2, Bayern Munich 2
