Barcelona vs Bayern Munich. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more
FC Barcelona will host FC Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League 5th group-stage at the Camp Nou. The fixture will take place on October 27, beginning at 00:30 IST.
After a short break, the European competitions are back in action, with eight Champions League group-stage fixtures of the 5th round scheduled for the night of 26-27 October. One of the encounters will be between Barcelona and Bayern Munich at the legendary Camp Nou.
The Catalans need a miracle after a winless streak of three games. In fact, Xavi’s side can already say goodbye to the UCL before the starting whistle at the Camp Nou if the Czech Republic’s Viktoria fail to snatch points from Inter. Barça have practically condemned themselves to elimination by failing to beat the Neradzurri at least once in 2 face-offs. However, hope springs eternal.
For that matter, after a 3-3 draw with Inter Milan and a painful defeat in the El Clasico, the Catalans produced two magnificent games against Villarreal CF and Athletic. In both cases, the Blaugranas kept their goal locked, scoring as many as 7 goals. In the run-up to the Eurocup clash, Barça fans are not only praying for the club from the Czech Republic but also for Ousmane Dembele, who recorded an incredible 1 goal + 3 assists against Bilbao and is currently enjoying his best form in recent years.
Parimatchnews will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.
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Barcelona News & Current Form:
Barcelona are on the verge of a second consecutive Europa League relegation – given the financial leverage Laporta has applied and the cost of the squad they have assembled, it is a disaster for the club. However, the fatal mistake has already been made, with the Blue Granata picking up just one point in two games against Inter thereby signing a verdict for themselves. The only way to rectify the situation is a miracle – if the Milan side suddenly slip up against Viktoria Plezn.
Xavi’s team is undoubtedly powerful. Barcelona have had a great start to the season, sitting second in the Spanish championship 3 points behind leaders Real Madrid after 11 rounds. The Catalans are leading by every indicator in La Liga, but Los Blancos in turn have made their best start since 1968. Carlo Ancelotti’s team are still unbeaten. What let the Blaugrana down was the fact that they suffered a decline in October, which fell on a number of key matches.
During that stretch they showed the typical Catalan syndrome of recent years – complete helplessness in games against the grands. Games against Inter (0-1, 3-3), Bayern (0-2) and Real Madrid (1-3) have resulted in only one point. Against this backdrop, all other successes pale into insignificance.
After a disastrous draw against Inter, the Catalans pulled themselves together and won two games in a row by a combined score of 7-0. Except that the opponents were Villarreal and Athletic.
This did not make the fans happy or impressed them in any way. And, as practice has shown, those victories before a game against the football giants mean nothing. The only thing to rejoice about is Robert Lewandowski, as he is Barcelona’s top scorer (17 goals in 15 games), with 5+2 in his last four games. He failed to score against Bayern in the first leg but he will probably do so in the second. It should be noted that the Pole passed the mark of 600 goals in his career, becoming the third such player in the 21st century after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
In contrast to their future rivals, Barcelona, it must be admitted, have become more predictable. Virtually all of their game has been built around the acquired Polish striker. In meetings with underdogs and middleweights, it is quite effective, all you have to do is deliver the ball into the penalty box.
The dependence on the striker and the change of style to suit him is reflected in the percentage of Barca goals scored by him (47%) as well as some other indicators. For example, Barcelona are now the leader in La Liga in terms of crosses – 557, meaning that the Catalans are averaging 15.2 crosses per game, most of them are aimed at the opponent’s box. The technical striker leaves defenders out of action, regularly scores and picks up victories for his team. However, the main disadvantage of the reliance on such a strategy is the lack of variety in matches against strong opponents. After all, the top clubs know perfectly how to handle this one man centered tactic. Having top defenders in their squad they can easily neutralize and isolate the striker, which we’ve seen clearly in big matches.
Being centered on the 34-year-old ex-Bayern player could again let Barcelona down, the more so because Munich know exactly how to deal with this crucial link in the attack. In Germany, they thoroughly learned the Pole’s habits, down to the smallest detail, which was on display at the Allianz Arena, where Lewa managed just two shots on goal in 90 minutes.
It’s also very frustrating for Xavi that 3 important players will be absent from the match. Unfortunately for Barcelona fans, Sergio Roberto is out of action. He was injured in the match against the Basques. The loss of another defender (Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen are also out with injuries) is a very serious blow to the team.
The position of the Catalan captain, Sergio Busquets, also raises a lot of questions. In the meetings with Inter and Real Madrid CF, the midfielder performed frankly poorly, and was criticized for that. On the one hand, there is plenty to reproach the midfielder. On the other hand, the club has cut his wages and owes him a considerable sum. The footballer can be understood.
No matter how the game will end, the head coach is calm and says that his project is just under construction, and it is not the time to ruin everything. The club’s management also have full confidence in Xavi and believe that he can straighten things out.
Nothing irreversible in the case of relegation will also not happen, the UEFA Europa League is now also quite an interesting and valuable test, there Barcelona, most likely, will have to spend the spring part of the European competitions for the second year in a row.
Furthermore, the Catalans will certainly set themselves the task of winning the trophy, and if they manage to beat the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and AC Milan, they will certainly be able to cover all the reputational and financial costs after that.
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Bayern Munich News & Current Form:
Bayern have won all four of their previous Champions League group-stage games. They had beaten Inter 2-0 without hindrance, were stronger than a seemingly upbeat Barcelona (also 2-0) and won their two games against Viktoria Plzen (5-0 and 4-2). Thus, Munich have not only reached the play-offs of the UCL for the 15th time in a row, but also set a tournament record with 11 consecutive group-stage victories.
In their remaining 14 games in all official tournaments, Munich suffered only one defeat – a 0-1 draw against Augsburg in Week 7 of the German Bundesliga. They have also drawn four times. In all other matches, the Star of the South recorded victories. In total, Bayern have scored 60 goals in 18 games. Impressive, but at a club with such high standards, that’s not enough.
After their 2-0 win against Hoffenheim in the last round of the German championship, Julian Nagelsmann rightly pointed out that his side’s lack of realization is the reason why the Reds cannot consolidate in the top spot. In each of their 18 games, the Reds created a huge number of potential goal scoring chances, but missed half of them.
Things are a little worse in the Bundesliga than on the European stage, the German Machine cannot produce stability there, although they scored (32) and conceded (8) indicators are on par with the top teams, the best in the league.
A win against the stalwart Blues on Matchday 11 helped the Reds get a step closer to the Berlin leaders, and Union are now just 1 point ahead. Nagelsmann is confident that his side, having settled all the issues in the Champions League, will also make a bid for another domestic title, gradually reaching and cementing the top spot. The quality is there, they just need some more stability and pragmatism, less experiments.
It seems that the Bavarians have managed to overcome the crisis, with its culmination in mid-September to early October. Then there were even talks about Nagelsmann’s dismissal, because at first FC Hollywood suffered a defeat at the hands of a clearly weak opponent, and then suddenly they suffered a painful loss of points in Dortmund, where Bayern led 2-0 with 15 minutes to go, but allowed the Bumblebees to come back 2-2.
So far, the Reds have definitely rehabilitated themselves, with a winning streak of four games in a row with a total record of 16:4 during this stretch.
The management believes that the root of a certain slump and underperformance lies in the low conversion rate of goal-scoring chances. Against this background, there are rumors that Bayern will be looking to sign Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane in the winter. However, there are some important questions regarding the Englishman’s transfer. Will the Spurs executives let the top forward go and will he be willing to change his destination himself?
At the moment, the Englishman has very warm feelings towards Tottenham although Daniel Levy seriously spoiled the relationships when he was refusing to sell 28-years-old poacher for around €150m in 2021 to Manchester City.
In addition, he has less than 20 goals left in the EPL to surpass Wayne Rooney as the top scorer in the league’s history – striker has a real chance to become a legitimate legend of Spurs and EPL. And in general, does Bayern really need a profiled center-forward at all? Since the departure of Robert Lewandowski, they have become more varied in attack which makes them even more prolific long-term. The only aspect – finishing – is currently letting the team down. And this is logical given the fact the team is missing a top-notch poacher, such as Pole, for instance.
How to improve the situation with the available resources is another question. The team’s current top scorer in the European competition is Leroy Sane, currently with four goals. However, the player suffered a serious injury and may even miss the World Cup in Qatar. In addition to him, Manuel Neuer and Lucas Hernandez will not be available for the team. Leon Goretzka and Sadio Mane scored two more goals in the UCL.
What inspires optimism is the unfolding talent of Jamal Musiala, who has scored 9 goals and 8 assists in all competitions so far.
Now he is the team’s top assistant and top scorer at the same time. The 19 year old attacking midfielder has produced just 2 assists in UEFA Champions League, but he will certainly look to bag his season’s first European goal in the next game.
Barcelona fans have a slim hope that Bayern will come to the Camp Nou unmotivated, with the play-offs already secured. However, the Munich side usually do not throw their oars down even if they reach the last eight. They generally do not like to lose points in the group stage: the last time Bayern drew was in 2020 (against Atletico Madrid, 1-1). And the most recent defeat was in September 2017 against PSG (0-3).
Barcelona form guide: L-W-D-L-W-W
Bayern Munich form guide: W-D-W-W-W-W
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich Head-To-Head Record:
| Barcelona | Draw | Bayern Munich |
| 3 | 2 | 11 |
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich Predicted XI:
Barcelona possible starting lineup: Ter Stegen; Bellerin, Kounde, E Garcia, Alonso; De Jong, Busquets, Pedri; Dembele, Lewandowski, Gavi.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup: Ulreich; Pavard, Upamecano, De Ligt, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Coman, Musiala, Gnabry; Mane.
Statistical preview of the match Barcelona vs Bayern Munich:
- The teams are extraordinarily productive – Barcelona and Bayern have scored 51 goals combined in their last 10 games.
- Bayern have scored an average of three goals per game in their last ten games, while Barca average two goals per game in the same stretch.
- Barcelona conceded in both halves in 4 of the last 5 Champions League games against Bayern Munich.
- Barcelona have lost in each of their last 5 Champions League games against Bayern Munich.
- The reigning German champions had won six of their previous seven matches.
- Bayern Munich have scored over 1.5 goals in each of their last 7 games.
Bayern Munich have scored in 24 of the last 25 games.