Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: UCL Group Stage Match Preview, Predicted Line-ups and Dream11 Predictions

Barcelona vs Bayern Munich is a crunch tie for Barca as their UCL survival hopes depend on the earlier match between Inter and Viktoria.

Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Match Preview:

Barcelona will know there's no margin for error when they welcome Bayern Munich to Camp Nou for Wednesday night's Champions League encounter.

Barcelona's Champions League future hangs in the balance as they go head-to-head with Bayern Munich at Spotify Camp Nou in a Champions League Group C encounter on Wednesday night.

The Blaugrana put their El Clasico setback behind them, thumping Athletic Club and Villarreal 4-0 and 3-0, respectively, to make it two La Liga wins in a row, giving everyone a timely reminder of what they're capable of when firing on all cylinders. Not only are they scoring goals for fun, but they are also very prudent at the back, having shipped only four goals in 11 games in their domestic league so far.

In Europe, it's been a whole different story as they are on the brink of crashing out of their Champions League group. Poor losses to Bayern and Inter had left them reeling, and a last-gasp equaliser in the reverse fixture against Inter two weeks ago was not enough to keep their fate in their own hands.

This means Xavi's men will have to fight tooth and nail against table-toppers Bayern at Camp Nou, knowing that anything but a win will result in them finishing in third place in the group and heading into the Europa League Round of 32. Even then, they will need a lot of help from elsewhere to even stay alive after this match.

Bayern Munich, meanwhile, will look to make a statement on Wednesday when they travel to Catalonia to lock horns with European rivals Barcelona in their penultimate Champions League group-stage encounter.

They enter this tie off the back of a 2-0 win against Hoffenheim over the weekend and are now unbeaten in their last four Bundesliga games. They are also one of just two teams in the Champions League to have a perfect group-stage campaign thus far.

The Bavarians have been assured a place in the knockout stages of the competition and could well qualify as Group C winners as they only need a positive result here, currently boasting four wins in as many games. The Hard Tackle will now run the rule over these two sides ahead of their blockbuster encounter at Camp Nou this midweek.

Team News:

Barcelona

Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez will be without the services of at least four players heading into this one, including the likes of Memphis Depay, Andreas Christensen, and Ronald Araujo while Sergi Roberto is the latest to join the treatment room after dislocating his shoulder over the weekend after an awkward landing in the win against Athletic Bilbao. Gavi was forced off in the first half against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday but should be fine to be in contention here.

Xavi Hernández has no option but to select a strong team against Bayern, regardless of the fact that Barça starts the game already out of contention to qualify for the next round, with home fans needing something to cheer about after a dismal week crushed all their European optimism.

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen will be in goal, with the Catalan club lining up in their traditional 4-3-3 setup. Xavi could go with Jules Kounde, and Eric Garcia at the heart of the Barca backline with Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso providing width, ball progression, and late runs at the back-post from the full-back positions.

Club captain Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong ran the show against Athletic Club forming an exciting pivot and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them both starting against Bayern. Pedri will operate as the third midfielder, with Gavi another option with his swashbuckling runs and buzz but will likely start on the bench.

There's no looking past Ousmane Dembele on the right flank. The tricky, fleet-footed Frenchman has the ability to create something out of nothing thanks to his pace and dribbling as he remains a key piece of Barcelona's attack. Ferran Torres may get the nod ahead of Raphinha, and Ansu Fati down the left.

Robert Lewandowski is the club's chief source of goals and is a mainstay in Xavi's starting lineup. The Pole will continue leading the Barca frontline.

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich will be missing three key players for the trip to Spain, with Manuel Neuer, Leroy Sane, Lucas Hernandez, and Bouna Sarr ruled out of action.

Nagelsmann is set to retain his 4-2-3-1 system, but his players will play roles rather than positions, making it an extremely fluid and flexible setup with occasional in-game tactical tweaks. In Neuer's absence, Sven Ulreich will continue in goal, with the backline of Benjamin Pavard, Dayot Upamecano, Matthijs de Ligt, and Alphonso Davies expected to start against Barcelona.

Joshua Kimmich is arguably the best number six on the planet in current form, and he will form a double midfield pivot alongside Leon Goretzka, who will look to boss the midfield with his physicality as well as help to control the tempo of the game on Wednesday.

Kingsley Coman, Jamal Musiala, and Serge Gnabry will offer a lot of pace, creativity, and movement to the Bayern attack. Sadio Mane was on the bench against Hoffenheim last weekend, but he should be back in the starting lineup this mid-week. Eric Choupo-Moting is also pushing for a chance to lead the line but may have to settle for a bench role here despite scoring four goals in his last three games.

Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Head to Head:

Bayern Munich have an excellent record against Barcelona and have won 11 out of the 16 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Barcelona's paltry three victories.

Barcelona have lost their last five matches against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League - their worst record against a single opponent in the competition.

Bayern Munich have won three of their five away games against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League - more than any other team in the history of the competition.

Key Stats:

• Bayern are unbeaten in their last 32 Champions League group games (W29, D3)—a current competition record.
• Bayern have won 8 of their last 9 matches versus Barcelona in all competitions, and have won three of their five away games against them.
• Barcelona have lost their past five UEFA Champions League meetings against Bayern Munich, with scores of 3-2 (home), 8-2 (neutral ground), 3-0(away), 3-0 (home), and 2-0 (home)—their worst record against a particular opponent in the competition.
• If Barcelona loses this game, they will be eliminated from the UEFA Champions League group stage in back-to-back seasons for only the second time in their history.
• The Bavarians have not lost in four of their last five away games against Spanish opponents but did lose their previous such game against Villarreal in the quarter-finals last year.

Predicted Line-ups:

Barcelona Predicted Lineup (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Bellerin, Kounde, E Garcia, Alonso; De Jong, Busquets, Pedri; Dembele, Lewandowski, Torres

Bayern Munich Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ulreich; Pavard, Upamecano, De Ligt, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Coman, Musiala, Gnabry; Mane

FCB vs BAY: Dream11 Predictions: