In the last five years, Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona have faced each other no less than FIVE times, with the better FCB winning all five. The scoreline reads 19-2 on aggregate, an incredibly lopsided record for a game between two top teams in the UEFA Champions League.
This year, Barca are looking to change that record, and their hopes ride on the shoulders of one man — Hansi Flick. Yes, the same coach who handed the Catalans one of their worst ever defeats in 2020 (while in charge of Bayern, no less) now looks to get one over on his former employers (and maybe prove that they should have hired him instead).
For Bayern Munich and Vincent Kompany, this game is a proving ground, a chance to show that the team can actually beat high quality opposition. For Kompany personally, he has to show that the club bosses were right in hiring him instead of taking the option to bring back Hansi Flick.
Team news
Both teams have their fair share of injuries, but the headline names are all fit. On Barcelona’s end, Lamine Yamal is likely fit to start, while the likes of Dani Olmo and Gavi have returned to training and could be options from the bench. On the Bayern Munich side of things, Jamal Musiala participated in the final team training session before the game, which makes him a potential candidate for the starting lineup. However Hiroki Ito, Sacha Boey, Josip Stanišić, and Aleksandar Pavlović will all miss the game with various injuries.
If you’re looking for an in-depth analysis of what the respective coach’s lineups will be, and how the two teams really stack up against each other, you should check out our podcast. It’s available below or on Spotify (or ad-free if you check out our Patreon), and we go in depth on a bunch of topics.
Some of the major questions ahead of this game include:
- Will Vincent Kompany choose to bench Thomas Müller for the newly fit Jamal Musiala? Should he?
- Should we expect any surprises from Hansi Flick?
- Who’s actually the better player right now — Jamal Musiala or Lamine Yamal?
- The relative strengths and weaknesses of the two teams, and where they can hurt each other.
- The difference between Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane, and why certain traits fit their respective teams better.
- What it means if Vincent Kompany fails to win the game.
If any of that interests you, then check it out.
In terms of the Bayern Munich lineup, here’s what we expect:
Other options (in order of most to least likely) include:
- Konrad Laimer for Raphaël Guerreiro at right-back.
- Kingsley Coman for Serge Gnabry on the wing.
- Thomas Müller in the center with Musiala on the bench (if unfit).
- Bayern Munich quits football to focus on Fortnite.
- Jamal Musiala on the wing with Thomas Müller in the center.
