It’s the pride of Bavaria up against Catalonia’s finest as FC Bayern take on Barcelona in the latest edition of a Champions League classic on Matchday 2 of the 2022/23 group stage on Tuesday at 21:00 CEST (coverage on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app with our live text and free webradio). Here’s all you need to know about the huge clash at the Allianz Arena.
Watch Bayern’s final training session before the game from Säbener Straße:
Situation for Bayern
A look at the facts is enough to understand why everything at the club is currently geared towards this game. Bayern’s convincing 2-0 win at Inter Milan and Barcelona’s 5-1 victory over Viktoria Plzen on the opening week; the thrilling history of this Champions League classic that has seen nine Munich wins from 13 meetings; or the return of Robert Lewandowski to his former home. The whole of Europe is looking forward to this one.
“It’s a nice standpoint against a top team that’s bolstered its ranks and wants to attack,” said Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann. His vice-captain Thomas Müller promised to “go to the limit” to win the game with “extra horsepower”. After three straight draws in the Bundesliga, Bayern now want to call on their performances in other competitions – beating Viktoria Köln 5-0 in the DFB Cup and the game in Milan – as they play their first home game of the European campaign.
Leroy Sane loves the Champions League and Müller faces his favourite opponent:
The opposition
Barcelona are five-time European champions but haven’t lifted the trophy since 2015. Last season they were even eliminated in the group stage. They haven’t been champions of Spain since 2018/19, coming up short to the two Madrid clubs all three seasons.
That has seen former midfielder and current coach Xavi Hernandez go on a spending spree over the summer. As well as bringing in former Bayern striker Lewandowski (Nagelsmann: “He was an important part of the Bayern family. I’m looking forward to seeing him again.“), the Catalans have also signed Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso. Things are currently also going well, with the Blaugrana on 13 points after five games in the league. Ousmane Dembele & Co. saw off Cadiz in a comfortable 4-0 win at the weekend and head to Munich full of confidence.
We took a closer look at Barcelona:
Player update
Kingsley Coman missed the weekend’s draw with VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga with a hamstring injury and will again sit out this game. Bouna Sarr is also sidelined with patella tendon issues. Otherwise Nagelsmann has a full squad to choose from. He confirmed at his press conference on Monday that Marcel Sabitzer will play alongside Joshua Kimmich in midfield, while Lucas Hernandez will also start.
Barcelona have travelled to Munich with the following 25-man squad: Ter Stegen, Bellerin, Pique, Araujo, Sergio, Dembele, Pedri, Lewandowski, Fati, Torres, Memphis, Christensen, Alonso, Alba, Kessie, Roberto, De Jong, Raphinha, Kounde, Eric, Peña, Balde, Gavi, Torre, Tenas.
The best photos from the day before the game:
What the coaches say
Julian Nagelsmann: “We know Barcelona. They‘ve got a number of new signings. Some of them have immediately taken on a key role, like Robert Lewandowski. They have a whole new spirit. You can delete the recent clashes with Barca from the hard drive. They’re very active, their gegenpressing reminds you of the days when Xavi himself played. They’ve developed well and have a number of very interesting players like Pedri and Gavi. They want to attack again. They’re a tough opponent.”
Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona head coach): “I’ve experienced both sides against Bayern. I’ve won here and lost here. But football goes in cycles. We’ve never won in Munich, it’s only two wins overall against Bayern. We know of the challenge ahead of us but are capable of prevailing. We’re in good form and want to prove that.”
Watch the pre-match press conference with Nagelsmann and Müller in full:
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