Two teams with ambitions of finishing in the top eight of the league phase will meet despite less-than-ideal starts to Champions League play when Barcelona host Bayern Munich. Each has already dropped a match in this expanded UCL field and while there won’t be issues for either finishing in the top 24 teams of this stage, avoiding additional matches is a goal for everyone.
The similarities don’t end there with both teams being led by new managers and riding behind the form of some of the best strikers in the world in Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski. Former Bayern Munich men Hansi Flick and Lewandowski will be familiar with the German giants despite how much things have changed at Bayern in the past few seasons.
It’s a match that could truly bring the goals as Lewandowski has 14 goals in 12 matches for Barcelona in all competitions and Kane has 13 goals in 10 appearances for Bayern. Their support systems are also quite impressive but both defenses will want to improve their performances.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Oct. 23 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys — Barcelona, Spain
- Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: Barcelona +130; Draw +300; Bayern Munich +165
League phase schedule
Barcelona: Crvena zvezda (a), Brest (h), Borussia Dortmund (a), Benfica (a), Atalanta (h)
Bayern Munich: Benfica (h), Paris Saint-Germain (h), Shakhtar Donetsk (a), Feyenoord (a), Slovan Bratislava (h)
Team news
Barcelona: Gavi is back in the squad from injury but it would be unfair to expect him to slot back into the starting XI. Alongside Frenkie De Jong, as Barcelona’s midfield gets healthy, the team will begin to have more options available with games picking up. They’ll have to keep one eye on an upcoming weekend match against Real Madrid but this is the time of the season to focus on the match in front of you.
Barcelona predicted XI: Inaki Pena, Alex Balde, Ignigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi, Jules Kounde, Pedri, Marc Casado, Raphinha, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski
Bayern Munich: Vincent Kompany’s men have wobbled as of late only winning one of their last four matches. It was a strong performance against Stuttgart but stopping Barcelona from scoring is easier said than done. Bayern haven’t shown that they can win in a shootout yet so when Barcelona find the back of the net, that’s when the real test begins.
Bayern Munich predicted XI: Manuel Neuer, Alphonso Davies, Kim Min-Jae, Dayot Upamecano, Raphael Guerreiro, Joao Palhnha, Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller, Michael Olise, Harry Kane
Prediction
Defense will continue to be the downfall for these two sides as, despite their strong performances in attack, the points will be shared in a high-scoring affair. Pick: Barcelona 2, Bayern Munich 2
