Barcelona vs Bayern Munich predictions and match preview for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League fixture. Read on for the head-to-head, team news, predicted lineups and fantasy football picks as the Catalan giants begin their UCL campaign.
| Date | Tuesday 14th September 2021 |
| Kick-Off | 21:00 (local time) |
| Stadium | Camp Nou |
| Competition | UEFA Champions League Group Stage |
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich Preview
Barcelona’s latest European campaign kicks off on Tuesday night against familiar foes. Bayern Munich infamously scored 8 goals against the Catalan giants in the single-legged 2019/20 Champions League Quarter-Final and revenge will be on the minds of the Barcelona players who were involved that night here.
Executing that revenge may be somewhat trickier. While there were still moments of encouragement in last season’s competition, 3-0 and 4-1 defeats at Camp Nou against Juventus and PSG respectively suggest the famous old ground is by no means the European fortress of old. The departure of Leo Messi clearly doesn’t help Barca’s cause either but this game still represents a genuine chance for this Barcelona team to move on from the summer and make a real statement that they still mean business even without the legendary number 10.
Barcelona have had plenty of time to prepare for this game after their weekend league fixture was called off. They’ve not exactly set the world on fire so far in LaLiga but there have been some positives with Memphis Depay making an impressive start to his Barcelona career while 7 points from 3 games marks a decent return even if their last two performances haven’t been totally convincing.
There are still plenty of survivors on both sides from the 8-2 game and while Ronald Koeman wasn’t the coach then, he’ll surely have at least studied some of what went wrong and looked for a plan to counter Bayern’s high intensity approach. The German champions will travel to Catalonia hoping for three points in a group they will expect to win and it’ll be interesting to see just how bold they are here or whether they will still see a point as a good result away to their most likely rivals for top spot.
Bayern have started the Bundesliga season by collecting 10 points from their opening 4 games. Their last two performances have been particularly impressive as they thumped Hertha 5-0 before winning 4-1 away to possible title rivals RB Leipzig. They’ve certainly laid down a marker again when it comes to domestic matters and will be hopeful of doing likewise on the European stage again here.
Head to Head
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 3 Bayern Wins, 2 Barcelona Wins, 1 Draw.
- Bayern won the most recent meeting 8-2 in the Quarter-Finals in 2020.
- That was the first clash since the 2015 Final which Barcelona won 3-1.
- The sides haven’t met in the group stage since 1998/99 when Bayern won both clashes.
Team News
Barcelona are missing a host of forwards with Ousmane Dembélé, Ansu Fati, Sergio Aguero and Martin Braithwaite all expected to be sidelined. Luuk de Jong and Phillippe Coutinho may both start as a result.
Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso are out for the visitors.
Predicted Barcelona Starting Lineup:
Ter Stegen – Alba, Pique, Araujo, Dest – De Jong, Busquets, Pedro – Depay, De Jong, Coutinho (4-3-3)
Predicted Bayern Starting Lineup:
Neuer – Davies, Hernandez, Upamecano, Pavard – Goretzka, Kimmich – Sane, Muller, Musiala – Lewandowski (4-2-3-1)
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich Predictions
Score Prediction: Barcelona 1-3 Bayern Munich
It’s difficult to look at these two teams and come to any conclusion that doesn’t suggest Bayern are clearly superior. Barcelona still have individuals capable of opening up defences but they are a team in transition and they aren’t helped by some notable injury problems. The central strikers in this game are likely to be Robert Lewandowski and Luuk de Jong, just one position where Bayern are so much stronger. The Bavarians are a slick, pretty settled outfit that should leave Camp Nou with a few goals and all three points.
Fantasy Football Picks
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Mark Sochon is an experienced football writer and editor of LaLiga Expert. Based in Madrid, he has covered La Liga and Spanish football for many years. He also covers Spanish and European football for Goal and Betfred, while his work has previously been published by the Guardian and World Soccer.