Barcelona vs Bayern: A duel to leave behind the 'ghosts' against the European 'black beast'

Published:22/10/2024 - 03:54h

Updated:23/10/2024 - 19:58h

Barça are looking to make a statement against Bayern Munich. The Catalans hope to beat the Bavarians for the first time in almost a decade

FC Barcelona host Bayern Munich this Tuesday at the Estadi Olimpic Lluís Companys, in the match corresponding to the third day of the 2024/25 Champions League. The ball will start rolling from 9:00 p.m. and will pit Hansi Flick's men against their great European 'black beast'.

The Blaugrana team, which has just given Sevilla a legendary thrashing (5-1), will seek to maintain the good feeling and achieve its second victory in the competition after 'crushing' Young Boys (5-0) and falling to Monaco (2-1).

The Catalans hope to take advantage of Montjuïc to leave the 'ghosts' behind and make a statement against one of the big favourites for the title. The Bavarians beat Dinamo Zagreb (9-2) in the first match of the championship, but were defeated by Aston Villa in the second match (1-0).

In the Bundesliga they maintain an almost perfect record, adding five wins and two draws in the first seven games of the season. In addition, they are one of the highest scoring teams so far this season, accumulating 33 goals in all competitions, although they have conceded another 10 goals, a 'weakness' that could be exploited by the Catalans.

Hansi Flick's big doubt in the starting eleven

In the last LaLiga match against Sevilla, Hansi Flick put on the field what is expected to be his starting eleven with one exception. Eric García was absent in the match against the Sevillians due to discomfort in his right adductor and everything indicates that he will not be available to the coach next Wednesday, so some change is expected in the starting eleven.

The Barça squad has been strengthened by the return of Gavi, Dani Olmo and Fermín López after recovering from their injuries, and everything points to the latter being the one in charge of replacing the '24' in midfield. Frenkie de Jong and Pablo Torre are also candidates to accompany Pedri and Casadó, but the doubts about the Dutchman's physical condition, added to the Cantabrian's inexperience in important matches, lead us to believe that the player from El Campillo will be Hansi's choice in the centre of the field.

The rest of the team would be made up of the usual suspects. Iñaki Peña will have a 'golden' opportunity to prove his worth between the three posts, while Koundé, Cubarsí, Iñigo and Balde will help him protect the Barça rearguard. Finally, the best attacking trident of the season, made up of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, will seek to end the four-match scoring drought of the Catalans against the Munich side.

Barça seek to reverse history against Bayern

Barça's great form allows us to hope for the possibility of ending the club's difficult streak against Bayern. In their last 10 matches, the Bavarians have imposed themselves brutally with a balance of 8 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in which they have scored 30 goals and have only conceded 8. To find the last victory of the Blaugranas, we have to go back to 2015, when they beat the Germans 3-0 in the first leg of the semi-finals on the day of Messi's famous 'waist break' on Boateng.

In fact, in the last five clashes between them, the Bavarians have a score of 2-19 against Barça, starting with the 2-8 on August 14, 2020 in Lisbon in the quarter-finals of the Champions League during the pandemic. Since that debacle against the team that, coincidentally, was managed by Hansi Flick, the Catalans have crossed paths with the Teutons four times again without even scoring a goal.

However, this Barça is different from the others and has proven to be a power in the making, so, if you add the incentive of Flick's reunion with his former team, the Catalans are more than motivated for this Wednesday's match with the aim of changing history in front of their fans and showing Europe that this team is a clear candidate for the title.