Champions League: Barca Must Beat Bayern…Simple As That!

Bayern Munich vs Barcelona

When Barcelona arrive at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night they have one goal in mind…to defeat the great Bayern Munich.

It sounds pretty straight forward. 11 against 11, the Catalans have all to play for while a defeat for the hosts would not alter their position. While Bayern are already through Xavi’s men are second in Group E and in real danger of heading to the Europa League, and that would be catastrophic for the fans of one of the most famous clubs in European football. If Benfica beat Dynamo Kyiv, which is the likely outcome, then Barca must beat Bayern. 

Champions League: Bayern vs Barcelona will be played behind closed doors due COVID restrictions in Germany and that might play into the visitors’ hands but they also need a sharp upturn in form while hoping that the Bavarians have an off night. Die Bayern won Der Klassiker on Saturday while Barca lost at home to Real Betis, a result which has left the Blaugrana in seventh place and a huge 16 points behind the La Liga leaders.  

The Bayern vs Barcelona betting odds don’t give the Catalans much encouragement with the Germans at 1.72 to win the game, but their manager will build his players up to believe they can do it.     

Talking Points

Will Nagelsmann shuffle his pack?

With top spot guaranteed, having won all five of their Champions League games, Bayern fans won’t be sweating on this result from their homes. So there may be a case for head coach Julian Nagelsmann to rest a player or two, with a tricky home game against Mainz on Saturday followed by a visit to Stuttgart on Tuesday.

But his star man Robert Lewandowski won’t be keen to spend the night on the bench. The lethal Pole is in phenomenal form once again; he’s scored 16 goals already in the Bundesliga campaign, including a brace in Der Klassiker, and with nine goals in five Champions League appearances he’s red hot favourite to win the European Golden Boot. And Lewandowski’s mate Thomas Muller has been in superb form too, leading the assists in the Bundesliga with 11.

Serge Gnabry was rested against Dortmund and he might step in to replace Leroy Sane, but I’d be surprised to see wholesale changes, and Lewi and Muller will likely line-up against the Blaugrana.

Can Xavi work his magic from the touchline?  

With former playing legend Xavi at the helm, Barcelona have seen an uplift in morale and, initially, results. Two La Liga wins, against Espanyol in the Barcelona derby and then away to Villarreal, sandwiched a goalless draw at home to Benfica, and that was a serious blow to their European hopes. And now the 1-0 defeat to Real Betis has stifled Barca’s momentum on the home front.

Xavi has clearly sparked something of a revival at the club, but it will be a long process and his medium term priority is to close the six point gap to fourth place and earn Champions League football again next season. But this week they can stay in the competition if they match Benfica’s result and Xavi will need his big players to stand up to the challenge. We may see Gerard Pique stepping back into the heart of defence alongside Ronald Aurojo with Clement Lenglet stepping aside.

Bayern have looked impressive but they are not invincible and if Barca don’t put in a big performance they only have themselves to blame. 

History

The Bayern vs Barcelona results currently stand at six to five in favour of the German giants and the Blaugrana must now level that up to make any more progress in the tournament. There has to be a big change since Bayern won 3-0 in Catalonia less than two months ago. The Bavarians were totally dominant as Lewandowski scored twice while Muller bagged his seventh goal against the Catalans. And the memory of Die Bayern’s 8-2 victory over Barca in the 2020 quarter final still looms large in the minds of everyone at the Camp Nou.        

Bayern have beaten Barca in their last three encounters and have won their last four games at the Allianz Arena, as well as winning nine of their last ten in the Champions League, and they have scored two or more goals in each of their five wins in Group E. 

Betting Tip

	Bayern Munich vs Barcelona	Barcelona Asian Handicap +0.75 @ 2.05
	December 09, 04:00 (GMT+8)

It’s a huge ask, but Barcelona simply have to win this game, though at SBOTOP odds of 4.30 it doesn’t look too good. The draw at 3.95 is a possibility and I’m backing the Blaugrana to pull this one out of the fire…somehow.  

For an alternative bet, take a look at Over 3.25 goals at odds of 1.85.

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.