PREVIEW | Bayern Munich v FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona’s fate in continental competitions hangs on what happens this Wednesday. Beat Bayern Munich in the game that kicks off at 9.00pm CET in the Allianz Arena, and the team is guaranteed a place in the last sixteen of the Champions League.

The Catalans have never won away to Bayern, but anything other than that this time and they will need to hope that Benfica don’t beat Dynamo Kyiv in the game being played in Lisbon at the same time. Current form suggests that the Portuguese club will win that one. If they do indeed end up clinching second place, it means that when European football returns in 2022, Barça will be playing in the Europa League for the first time since it took on a new identity.

Due to new coronavirus restrictions, the game is being played behind closed doors. The Bundesliga side have inflicted some painful defeats on FC Barcelona in recent times, so it goes it without saying that winning in Bavaria is a huge challenge. However, the fact that Bayern are already through as group winners, and hence have nothing other than honour to play for on Wednesday, could be a factor that works massively in favour of Barça’s interests.

Form guide

Barça’s fine start under Xavi Hernández suffered a major dent on Saturday. Real Betis inflicted the first defeat on the new manager, and it happened at Camp Nou

Bayern, in contrast, had a very happy weekend indeed. They won 3-2 away to their main rivals in the German championship, Borussia Dortmund, to go four points clear at the top of the table.

Now coached by Julian Nagelsmann after Hansi Flick left to take charge of the national side, Bayern have been in ruthless form this season. But they can be beaten. FC Augsburg did so just a fortnight ago, Eintracht Frankfurt actually managed to win at the Allianz, and Borussia Mönchengladbach beat them 5-0 in the German Cup.

Team news

Goalkeeper Iñaki Peña and winger Ilias Akhomach are the only new additions with respect to the side that lost to Betis, with Ansu Fati, Martin Braithwaite, Pedri, Sergio Agüero and Sergi Roberto all still out, and Ez Abde also unavailable as he is not registered for the Champions League. 

Previous meetings

Barça's overall record v Bayern
P 12; W 2; D 2; L 8; F 16; A 29

1995/95 UEFA Cup Semi Final
Bayern 2 Barça 2 (Oscar, Hagi)
Barça 1 (De la Peña) Bayern 2
Bayern won 4-3 on aggregate and went on to beat Bordeaux in the final

1998/99 Champions League Group D
Bayern 1 Barça 0
Barça 1 (Giovanni) Bayern 2
Bayern qualified and went on to lose to Man United in the final; Barça failed to advance

2008/09 Champions League Quarter Final
Barça 4 (Messi 2, Eto'o, Henry) Bayern 0
Bayern 1 Barça 1 (Keita)
Barça won 5-1 on aggregate and went on to beat Man United in the final

2012/13 Champions League Semi Final
Bayern 4 Barça 0
Barça 0 Bayern 3
Bayern won 7-0 on aggregate and went on to beat Dortmund in the final

2014/15 Champions League Semi Final
Barça 3 (Messi 2, Neymar) Bayern 0
Bayern 3 Barça 2 (Neymar 2)
Barça won 5-3 on aggregate and went on to beat Juventus in the final

2019/20 Champions League Quarter Final (in Porto)
Barça 2 (Alaba og, Suárez) Bayern 8
Bayern went on to beat PSG in the final

2021/22 Champions League Group E
Barça 0 Bayern 3

Did you know?

Bayern have already become the first team to beat Barça three times in a row in European competition. Let’s not let it become four.

At the Allianz, Bayern put five goals past both Dynamo and Benfica, which has equalled their own record of eleven consecutive home games in the Champions League scoring two or more goals.

Robert Lewandowski, who is looking to match Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of scoring in ten consecutive UCL games, has scored 27 goals in all competitions this season – more than the whole FC Barcelona squad together.

But although ‘Lewa’ is always a man to watch, it’s Thomas Müller who has a knack of spelling trouble against Barça. With seven goals, he has scored more times against Barça than anyone else in European competitions.

What they're saying

Here's Memphis Depay with his views ahead of the game:

According to Gerard Piqué: "Given what's at stake we'll need to go out with knives between our teeth."