The city of Lisbon in Portugal will witness one of the biggest UEFA Champions League quarter-final match in the history of the competition when FC Barcelona meet Bayern Munich tonight at 20:00.
Barcelona are going into the game condemned to win the one-legged match because the Champions League is the only hope of the Spanish La Liga team to win a major club title in the outgoing 2019-2020 season.
The season has been disastrous for Quique Setién, the manager of Barcelona who has been under fire since he couldn’t guide the Spanish giants to defend the La Liga title they won in 2018-2019 season. They lost the title to their bitter rivals Real Madrid. It is reported that the only thing that can save his job as Barcelona manager is winning the UEFA Champions League title. To do that, he has to ensure that the club’s talisman Lionel Messi brings his A-game to the pitch tonight.
If Messi could pull the magic he pulled which helped Barcelona to knock out Italian club, Napoli in the round of 16 stage of the competition, then, his magic could be just enough to force the club into another semi-final stage of the prestigious European competition.
On the other hand, Bayern Munich have been enjoying a superb form both domestically and in the continent. The German Bundesliga side have already won the Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal in the outgoing season and they are looking forward to winning the Champions League in order to end the season with a treble.
They were so good that they didn’t have to struggle over Premier League club Chelsea as they beat them home and away to end their Champions League journey 7-1 on aggregate.
One man that contributed to all the seven goals Bayern Munich scored against Chelsea is Robert Lewandowski, the goals machine will be the biggest threat to Barcelona’s inconsistent defense line tonight. If coach Quique Setién don’t have answers to the goalscoring prowess of Lewandowski, the manager of Bayern Munich, Hansi Flick will have little or nothing to worry about.
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: The biggest talking point
Tonight match is not just between Barcelona and Bayern Munich but between Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski. These two have been having the best time of their careers so far in the 2019-2020 season in terms of their personal performance.
This season alone, Lionel Messi has scored 31 goals and has made 26 assists in 43 appearances. While Lewandowski has scored 53 goals and has made 8 assists in 44 appearances. That means that there are a whopping 84 goals and 34 assists between the two players prior to tonight’s match.
Hence, the world will want to see how well the two can control the match and probably win the match for their teams. And maybe, at the end of the match, the question of who deserves the canceled 2020 Ballon d’Or the most will be answered.
Head To Head
- Tonight’s game will be the 11th meeting between Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
- In the last 10 meetings between the two teams, Bayern Munich won 6 times, Barcelona won twice and they drew two times.
- The last time Barcelona won the Champions League, 2014-2015 season, Barcelona knocked out Bayern Munich in the semi-final stage.
- The last time Bayern Munich won the Champions League, 2012-2013 season, Bayern knocked out Barcelona in the semi-final.
- The last time they both met in the quarter-final stage of the competition in 2008-2009 season, Barcelona knocked the German club out of the competition.
Barcelona’s team news:
Coach Quique Setién will be without Samuel Umtiti who is out with a knee injury. But he will have Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal fully back for the must-win one-legged Champions League quarter-final match. Ousmane Dembele is also fit and available for Barcelona tonight.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Roberto, Busquets, Vidal, De Jong; Suarez, Messi
Barcelona Champions League form: WWWLWW
Barcelona form (all competitions): WDWWDW
Bayern Munich’s team news:
Hansi Flick will be without Benjamin Pavard who is out with an injury. Bayern’s center-back Jerome Boateng and Kingsley Coman may be available for the game as they have reportedly recovered from their minor injuries.
Though Thiago Alcantara wants to leave the club, he will be available for the match alongside Philippe Coutinho who is on loan at the club from Barcelona.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Kimmich, Boateng, Alaba, Davies; Thiago, Goretzka; Coman, Muller, Gnabry; Lewandowski
Bayern Munich Champions League form: WWWWWW
Bayern Munich form (all competitions): WWWWWW
