La Liga leaders Barcelona welcome Bundesliga toppers Bayern Munich to Spain for a mouth-watering clash in the third game week of the Champions League 2024/25 League Phase.
BAR vs BAY Match Details
Date: Wednesday, 23 October 2024/ Thursday, 24 October 2024
Time: 21:00 (CET), 00:30 (IST)
Venue: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona
BAR vs BAY Match Preview
Barcelona showed no mercy against Sevilla by thrashing them 5-1 at home, continuing their dominating start to the La Liga season of the visitors and maintaining the three-point lead at the top of the table. Their ninth league victory of the season came at a crucial time, as the Catalan giants face a tough week with Bayern Munich visiting them next in the Champions League midweek before the highly anticipated El Classico in the coming weekend. The clash with the Bavarians will be special as star striker Robert Lewandowski faces his ex-club for the first time since leaving them three seasons, carrying a sublime form. The Polish goal machine is the top scorer in La Liga with 12 goals, with a brace coming in the last game. Whereas, his double in the previous Champions League game earned his side a massive 5-0 victory over Young Boys to replace the opening-day shock loss to Monaco. The 36-year-old task is now to change Barcelona’s history against his former employees whom the La Liga outfit has lost 10 times out of 13 meetings although their only two wins came at home. Hansi Flick, also the former boss of the Bundesliga giants, will be desperate to end his side’s six-game losing streak in this fixture carrying the best winning ratio of any manager in Barcelona’s history presently.
Bayern Munich could continue their monopoly on this fixture if they pick up one more victory which will equal the record for the most wins any team has managed against a single opponent in the Champions League. Vincent Kompany’s men have every possibility of doing so having not lost this fixture since 2014 and triumphed 3-0 in each of the previous two visits to Barcelona. However, their current form will be concerning despite topping the domestic league chart. The incredible 9-2 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in their tournament opener quickly turned into horror as the incredible 41-match unbeaten run in the first stage was snapped with a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in the second game week. That plummeted Bayern’s standing to 15th in the 36-team table but the team found a much-required momentum with a 4-0 hammering of fellow participant Stuttgart in Bundesliga this past weekend. This was their first win since that defeat and draws against league holders Leverkusen and Frankfurt. Another encouraging sign for Bayern will be Harry Kane getting back to form netting his sixth hattrick for the club in the victory. Despite this, the team needs to be cautious of the home side as they present a significant challenge this time having won their last seven games in a row at Lluís Companys.
BAR vs BAY Recent Form (all competitions)
BAR: WLWWW
BAY: WDLDW
BAR vs BAY Recent Form (Champions League 2024-25)
BAR: LW
BAY: WL
BAR vs BAY Predicted Lineups
Barcelona
Inaki Pena; Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Dani Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Bayern Munich
Neuer; Guirrero, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Kimmich, Joao Palhinha; Olise, Muller, Gnabry; Kane
BAR vs BAY head-to-head (Champions League)
Played - 13
BAR won - 2
Drawn - 1
BAY won - 10
BAR vs BAY Dream11 Top picks
Captain Pick: Robert Lewandowski
Vice-captain Picks: Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Harry Kane, Thomas Muller
Other top-picks: Michael Olise, Dani Olmo
BAR vs BAY Dream11 Team Suggestion 1
GK: Neuer (Cr - 7.5)
DEF: Kounde (Cr - 9), Guerreiro (Cr - 8), Davies (Cr - 7)
MID: Yamal (Cr - 9), Pedri (Cr - 8.5), Olmo (Cr - 7), Olise (Cr - 9)
FW: Raphinha (Cr - 9), Kane (Cr - 9), Lewandowski (Cr - 9),
Vice-captain: Lamine Yamal
Captain: Robert Lewandowski
BAR vs BAY Dream11 Team Suggestion 2
GK: Neuer (Cr - 7.5)
DEF: Kounde (Cr - 9), Guerreiro (Cr - 8), Davies (Cr - 7)
MID: Yamal (Cr - 9), Kimmich (Cr - 8.5), Pedri (Cr - 8.5), Olise (Cr - 9)
FW: Raphinha (Cr - 9), Lewandowski (Cr - 9), Muller (Cr - 7.5)
Vice-captain: Lamine Yamal
Captain: Robert Lewandowski
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich Match Prediction
Bayern Munich has regained form at the right moment but Barcelona’s sensational start under Flick gives them the edge in this battle. We predict a 2-1 win for the home side.
