Barcelona vs Bayern Munich
Time – India: 12.30 AM (Saturday), UK: 8.00 PM (Friday)
Venue- Estádio da Luz (Portugal)
Referee- Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
The stage is all set for an epic encounter between Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the single-legged UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie on Friday at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.
Despite beating Napoli 3-1 in their Champions League Round of 16 second leg tie and trumping 4-2 in the overall aggregate, Barcelona have looked far from convincing with their overall display.
It was once again Lionel Messi, who inspired the Catalan giants with his sublime goal against Napoli to guide Barcelona to their 13th successive Champions League quarter-final appearance.
In contrast, Bayern Munich have looked by far the best team in this season’s Champions League. The Bavarians have shown very little mercy to their opponents and scored a total of 31 goals in the continental competition.
The Bundesliga champions, who have won all their matches in the Champions League in the present campaign, registered a thumping 7-1 aggregate win over Chelsea in the Round of 16 to book their place in the quarter-finals.
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Road to the Quarter-Finals
Barcelona
17 September, 2019: Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Barcelona (Group F fixture)
2 October, 2019: Barcelona 2-1 Inter Milan (Group F fixture)
23 October, 2019: Slavia Prague 1-2 Barcelona (Group F fixture)
5 November, 2019: Barcelona 0-0 Slavia Prague (Group F fixture)
27 November, 2019: Barcelona 3-1 Borussia Dortmund (Group F fixture)
10 December, 2019: Inter Milan 1-2 Barcelona (Group F fixture)
25 February, 2020: Napoli 1-1 Barcelona (Round of 16, 1st leg)
8 August, 2010: Barcelona 3-1 Napoli (Round of 16, 2nd leg)
Bayern Munich
18 September, 2019: Bayern Munich 3-0 Red Star Belgrade (Group B fixture)
1 October, 2019: Tottenham Hotspur 2-7 Bayern Munich (Group B fixture)
22 October, 2019: Olympiacos 2-3 Bayern Munich (Group B fixture)
6 November, 2019: Bayern Munich 2-0 Olympiacos (Group B fixture)
26 November, 2019: Red Star Belgrade 0-6 Bayern Munich (Group B fixture)
11 December, 2019: Bayern Munich 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Group B fixture)
25 February, 2020: Chelsea 3-0 Bayern Munich (Round of 16, 1st leg)
8 August, 2010: Bayern Munich 4-1 Chelsea (Round of 16, 2nd leg)
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Head-to-head record (last five meetings)
12 May, 2015: Bayern Munich 3-2 Barcelona (UEFA Champions League, Semi-Finals)
6 May, 2015: Barcelona 3-0 Bayern Munich (UEFA Champions League, Semi-Finals)
1 May, 2013: Barcelona 0-3 Bayern Munich (UEFA Champions League, Semi-Finals)
23 April, 2013: Bayern Munich 4-0 Barcelona (UEFA Champions League, Semi-Finals)
14 April, 2009: Bayern Munich 1-1 Barcelona (UEFA Champions League, Quarter-Finals)
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Recent form (In all competitions)
Barcelona: W-W-L-W-W (most recent first)
Bayern Munich: W-W-W-W-W (most recent first)
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Team News
Barcelona:
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi is expected to be fully fit for Friday’s mouthwatering encounter after taking a nasty knock against Napoli in the Round of 16 second leg tie.
Both Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal will return after serving suspensions to boost Barcelona’s midfield options.
However, Samuel Umtiti (knee) remains unavailable for the Catalans due to injury concerns. On the other hand, Ousmane Dembele has recovered from his injury and will travel with the squad to Lisbon.
Absentees: Samuel Umtiti
Doubtful: Ousmane Dembele (match fitness)
Bayern Munich:
The Bavarians will miss the service of wing-back Benjamin Pavard, who is yet to recover from a metatarsal ligament injury suffered back in July.
Meanwhile, left-back Alphonso Davies missed training on Wednesday due to adductor problems, but Bayern will be desperate to have the Canadian international on the pitch for Friday’s enticing encounter.
Absentees: Benjamin Pavard
Doubtful: Alphonso Davies, Kingsley Coman
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Predicted line-ups
Barcelona predicted XI: Marc Andre ter-Stegen, Jordi Alba, Clement Lenglet, Gerard Pique, Nelson Semedo, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, Ivan Rakitic, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann.
Bayern Munich predicted XI: Manuel Neuer, Alphonso Davies, David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Thiago Alcantara, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller, Ivan Perisic, Robert Lewandowski.
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Where to watch
India: Sony Ten 2/ Sony Ten 2 HD
UK: BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Live Stream details
India: Sony Network’s SonyLiv app
UK: BT Sport app
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Prediction
Barcelona will come into the game as an underdog despite having Lionel Messi in their ranks, such has been Bayern’s dominance in the Champions League this season.
Since the winter break in Germany, Bayern Munich have won 23 out of their 24 outings across all competition and are favourites to lift the Champions League trophy at the end of the season.
The Bavarians will hope for another stellar performance from their in-form striker, Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 13 goals in only seven Champions League appearances this term.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have to bring their A-game to Lisbon in order to stop a well-oiled Bayern Munich team.
However, Barcelona have got a magician of their own in the form of Lionel Messi, who can change the outcome of any tie in the blink of an eye.
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich final verdict: 1-2
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