The one match that everyone has been waiting for kicks off Wednesday night. FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich meet up for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final round at the Camp Nou. The last time these two teams met up was in the Semi-Final of the 2013/14 season of the Champions League and saw Bayern Munich advance on an aggregate score of 7-0. The game ended in a score of 4-0. The second leg saw Bayern advance on a score of 3-0, in which they later won the final against Borussia Dortmund.
Two former teammates, Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique, will go head-to-head for the first time as head coaches. Bayern Munich came in to the semi-final round destroying FC Porto back in April on a score of 7-4. The first leg was a bit scary for the German team, as they lost 3-1 and looked like they were going to kiss the UEFA Champions League goodbye. Bayern will have a hard time getting through Barcelona on Tuesday night. Guardiola said, “Barcelona have the advantage of knowing me rather than me knowing them.” Guardiola coached the Catalan team for four years in which he brought the Champions League trophy twice in 2009 and 2011 against Manchester United. Barcelona know how Pep Guardiola’s tactics work and will use that as their advantage.
Bayern Munich also face some difficulties in the lineup as Holger Badstuber, David Alaba, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, and Sebastian Rode all face injuries for the upcoming match. Thiago Alcantara just came back from an injury and looks to be starting while Robert Lewandowski is doubtful due to a concussion he received a week ago but will look to start as well.
FC Barcelona seem to have the better advantage as mentioned above as they face their former Manager and know how his tactics work. They came into the Semi-Final round beating PSG 5-1 in aggregate score. They won the first leg 3-1 and advanced to the semi-final with a 2-0 win in the second leg. The only injury that Barcelona is facing on Wednesday night is Jeremy Mathieu, who is having a Achilles problem. Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez have been the unstoppable trio in Europe lately and will look to add to their total tally coming Wednesday night.
Barcelona will go into the game using their usual 4-3-3 tactic with Marc Andre Ter-Stegen starting in the goalkeeper position. Bayern Munich has used a 4-5-1 tactic in previous meetings with other teams and it looks like Guardiola will stick to this formation coming Wednesday night against Barcelona. Though these two teams are great, it is tough to decide who will win the first leg but I see Barcelona taking the first leg at the Camp Nou.
Final Score: FC Barcelona 2-1 Bayern Munich
Lineup Predictions:
FC Bayern Munich: Neuer, Rafinha, Boateng, Benatia, Bernat, Lahm, Alonso, Thiago, Muller, Gotze, Lewandowski
FC Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Busquets, Iniesta, Rakitic, Messi, Suarez, Neymar
