UEFA Champions League Goals Reload - Episode 1
Sep 22When and where to watch Barcelona vs Bayern Munich
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich kicks off at 8pm on Wednesday 26 October.
You can catch all the action from Camp Nou exclusively live on BT Sport 5.
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich match preview
This game could be made redundant for Barcelona before it even begins.
If Inter Milan win away at Viktoria Plzen, the Spanish giants will be out of the competition. Milan kick-off at 5.45pm.
And even if the Czech champions can pull off one of the surprises of the Champions League so far, Barca still need to overcome the German giants to have any hope of progressing to the knockout stages.
If Barca are knocked out due to Inter's result, Robert Lewandowski will at least want to extend his goal tally in this competition before dropping into the Europa League.
He's currently five goals ahead of Karim Benzema and third in the all-time Champions League scorers chart - plus it would be satisfying for him to score against his old side.
On the other hand, Bayern have made light work of the group. Four matches and four wins sees them top of the table and a draw in Spain would confirm them as group winners bar Inter winning their remaining two matches and scoring a ton of goals.
If the Italians have won their match by the time this one kicks off, Bayern could really put Barca to the sword.
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich predicted lineups
Barcelona: (4-3-3) ter Stegen; Bellerin, Garcia, Pique, Alonso, Gavi, Busquets, de Jong, Dembele, Lewandowski, Raphinha.
Bayern Munich: (4-2-3-1) Ulreich; Pavard, de Ligt, Upamecano, Davies, Kimmich, Goretzka, Coman, Musiala, Gnabry, Mane.
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Injuries and suspensions
Barca suffered two injuries during their 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao at the weekend.
Teenage sensation Gavi left the field in tears after a hefty tackle to be replaced by Franck Kessie.
Xavi has since reassured fans that the injury wasn’t as bad as first thought, so the current Kopa Trophy winner – awarded to the best player in the world under the age of 21 – is likely to start.
Right back Sergi Roberto also had to come off near the end after dislocating his shoulder. Ex-Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin is most likely to replace him against Bayern.
Memphis Depay and Andreas Christensen remain out with long-term injuries.
Bayern Munich remain without goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and centre-back Lucas Hernandez, but they could welcome back Leroy Sane, who’s been out with an ankle injury since their last Champions League outing. If Sane isn’t risked, Serge Gnabry is back and available to play.
Kingsley Coman, who was subbed off at the weekend, is available as is Thomas Muller.
Form (last 6 matches)
Barcelona – WWWLWW
Bayern Munich – DLWDWW
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Form guide
Barcelona have been in fine form domestically. They drew the opening match of the season against Vallecano, but since then have won every match – except against rivals Real Madrid, who beat them 3-1 at the Bernabeu.
The Catalans currently sit second in La Liga, three points behind Real Madrid.
In the Champions League Barca have stumbled. In this year’s group of death, their fate was likely to be determined by how they got on in their back-to-back fixtures against Inter Milan.
After losing at the San Siro, they really needed a win at home. They could only manage a 3-3 draw. Inter Milan can knock Barca out of the Champions League with a win against bottom-of-the-table Viktoria Plzen.
When Munich won their first three league matches of the season, including 6-1 and 7-0 victories, everyone was probably thinking it was business as usual for Bayern in the Bundesliga.
But a sticky patch which saw the German giants draw three in a row and then suffer defeat to Augsburg put manager Julian Nagelsmann under a bit of pressure.
Since the end of September the German champions have only dropped points at Dortmund, where they managed a 2-2 draw.
They currently sit second in the table, a point behind league leaders Union Berlin.
In the Champions League they’ve been pretty faultless. Four matches, four wins. Thirteen goals for and only two against. A point at the Camp Nou should see them winning Group C.
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Last time they met
Bayern brushed aside Barca 2-0 in the first fixture at the Allianz Arena. The goals came in the second half through Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane, after a first 45 minutes where Barca had plenty of chances to take the lead.
The last time these two met at the Camp Nou was on Matchday 1 of last year's group stage. Bayern won 3-0 with two goals from Barca's current striker Robert Lewandowski and a Thomas Muller strike.
He said what?!
Barca boss Xavi on the prospect of being eliminated from the Champions League:
"We need more than a miracle, we have a small hope, although we are in a very uncomfortable situation. In football, sometimes the one who deserved it, doesn’t always win.
“Hope is the last thing to be lost. The misfortune is that we aren't dependent on ourselves anymore. The Champions League has been cruel to us this year."
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Players to watch
All eyes will be on Robert Lewandowski again when he faces his former club for the second time this season.
At the Allianz Arena the Polish striker had chances to put his new employers ahead, but ultimately didn’t take them.
That said, Lewandowski has scored five goals in the competition this season and is currently the third highest all-time scorer in Champions League history behind Ronaldo and Messi.
He’s five goals ahead of Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, but with Real Madrid safely through to the knockout stages the Frenchman should have a chance to catch up.
Another player recognised at the Ballon d’Or ceremony was Barcelona midfielder Gavi, who picked up the Kopa Trophy ahead of Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka. The award is given to the best player in the world aged under 21.
He was a doubt for this match after picking up an injury at the weekend, but the Spanish midfielder should be fit to start.
Another player who made the Kopa Trophy shortlist was Jamal Musiala.
The 19-year-old German international left Chelsea aged 16 to join Bayern Munich in 2019, becoming the youngest player to play for Bayern in the Bundesliga at just 17 years and 115 days.
He scored in a Champions League win against Barcelona last year and has continued to impress in the Reds’ midfield this season.
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Key stats
- Barcelona have lost nine of their 12 UEFA Champions League matches against Bayern Munich (W2 D1), including the last five in a row. Only Bayern Munich themselves against Real Madrid (10) have lost more games against a single opponent in Champions League history.
- Bayern Munich have won three of their five away UEFA Champions League matches against Barcelona (L2), the most of any side in the competition’s history. Along with Juventus and Real Madrid, they are one of three teams to have won more than they’ve lost away at Barça in the Champions League.
- Barcelona have lost their last two home games against German opponents in European competition – 0-3 v Bayern Munich in September 2021 in the UEFA Champions League and 2-3 v Eintracht Frankfurt in April this year in the UEFA Europa League. They have never previously lost three in a row at home to German opposition.
- Barcelona could be eliminated in the group stage in consecutive UEFA Champions League campaigns for just the second time, having previously done so in 1997-98 and 1998-99 under Louis van Gaal.
- If Bayern Munich win this game, it will be just the fifth time that Barcelona have been beaten twice by the same team in a UEFA Champions League campaign. Indeed, Bayern have been responsible for three of the previous four (1998-99, 2012-13 and 2021-22), with Dynamo Kyiv being the only other side to manage it (in 1997-98).
