Prediction: Barcelona vs Bayern Munich

Verdict: Draw

Best odds: 57/20

Bookmaker: ZetBet

In one of the marquee matchups of Champions League matchday three, five-time champions Barcelona will welcome six-time winners Bayern Munich.

Both teams currently sit on three points after two games, and with the revamped league format, another defeat could leave either side at risk of falling out of the top 24, jeopardizing their progression to the knockout stages.

Barcelona

Hansi Flick’s impressive start as Barcelona manager continued over the weekend, as they stormed to a 5-1 victory against Sevilla, maintaining their three-point lead at the top of La Liga.

Domestically, the only blemish on Flick’s record so far is a defeat away to Osasuna, while his only other loss came against a strong Monaco side after Barcelona were reduced to 10 men early in the game.

In Europe, Barcelona bounced back on matchday two with a dominant 5-0 win over Young Boys, setting the stage for the highly anticipated clash against Flick’s and top scorer Robert Lewandowski’s former club, Bayern Munich.

Flick’s Champions League record is extraordinary—he has won 17 of his first 20 matches in the competition, the best win ratio of any manager in its history, and the most wins in a manager’s first 20 games.

However, Barcelona’s history against Bayern Munich is daunting. The Catalans have won only two of their 15 previous meetings, with Bayern dominating the last six, including the infamous 8-2 thrashing in 2020. Since then, Bayern have won four consecutive encounters without conceding.

A loss on Tuesday would see Barcelona equal their longest losing streak against a single opponent, a record dating back to the early 1960s when they were repeatedly bested by Real Madrid.

Team News

With Marc-Andre ter Stegen out for the rest of the season, Flick is expected to continue placing his trust in Inaki Pena as Barcelona’s starting goalkeeper, despite the arrival of Wojciech Szczesny, for both the Champions League match against Bayern Munich and the upcoming El Clasico.

Barcelona received a boost over the weekend with the return of Dani Olmo and Gavi to the matchday squad, with Gavi making a brief appearance in the closing minutes. Frenkie de Jong is also nearing full fitness, though he has yet to start since his return earlier this month. However, Marc Bernal is sidelined with a long-term knee injury.

The hosts will be missing Ferran Torres due to a hamstring issue, as well as centre-backs Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen. As a result, teenager Pau Cubarsi is set for another high-profile start in defence.

Bayern Munich

With 10 victories over Barcelona in the Champions League, Bayern Munich are on the verge of matching the record for the most wins by any team against a single opponent in the competition. They could also become the first team to secure seven consecutive victories over another side since Real Madrid’s dominance over Ajax throughout the 2010s.

Vincent Kompany will be eager for his Bayern side to bounce back following their disappointing defeat to Aston Villa on matchday two, where Jhon Duran took advantage of Manuel Neuer’s misjudgment to score a late winner. That loss ended Bayern’s remarkable 41-game unbeaten run in this stage of the Champions League, and now, they face the prospect of losing three straight away matches in Europe for the first time in their history, having also lost dramatically to Real Madrid in last season’s semi-finals.

In mid-September, Bayern appeared unstoppable, winning three matches in a week and scoring 20 goals across fixtures against Holstein Kiel, Dinamo Zagreb, and Werder Bremen. However, since then, they have encountered more resistance, drawing with Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt either side of their loss to Aston Villa.

Bayern’s three-game winless run ended over the weekend, as Harry Kane notched his sixth hat-trick for the club, helping them to a 4-0 victory over Stuttgart and keeping them atop the Bundesliga standings on goal difference over RB Leipzig.

Team News

Bayern will be missing Aleksandar Pavlovic after he sustained a collarbone injury in the opening five minutes of their weekend match, with Joao Palhinha expected to take his place in the lineup.

Raphael Guerreiro has recently been playing as a right-back, but Konrad Laimer might also slot into that position, with Joshua Kimmich set to stay in midfield alongside Leon Goretzka. The team’s biggest concern is the potential absence of young star Jamal Musiala, who is dealing with a hip issue and may not recover in time for the match.

Additionally, right-back options Josip Stanisic and Sacha Boey are both sidelined, which has prompted Guerreiro’s shift to the back line.

Conclusion

Barcelona have been on terrific form this term, and they’re fully capable of breaking the string of poor results against Bayern. On the other hand, the Bavarians will surely have their say as well, and it should be a close contest. A share of the spoils seems as likely as any other outcome, but with Lewandowski and Kane in the same match, goals at both ends are extremely likely.

Verdict: Draw

Best odds: 57/20

Bookmaker: ZetBet