There has been a lot of talk about an El Clasico in the final of the
Champions League, but Barcelona have the small matter of getting past
Bayern Munich in the semifinals. Real Madrid also have a difficult tie
against Borussia Dortmund, but Barcelona would not have wanted Bayern in
the semifinals. The German club have already won the Bundesliga title
with several matches remaining, while many consider them as the
strongest team left in the competition.
Bayern Munich will want to give themselves a great opportunity to play in the finals by securing an advantage in the aggregate score. Barcelona have failed to score only three times in the last 10 European away matches. They can be backed to find the back of the net at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern will have certainly looked back at PSG’s matches against Barcelona in the quarter-finals. The French team outplayed Barcelona on many occasions and were extremely unlucky to go out of the competition. They adopted a very direct style of football with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the pivotal point. The presence of a physical striker like Mario Gomez can help Bayern adopt a similar style.
Both teams have injuries and suspensions to several key players. Bayern Munich will be without Mario Mandzukic and Toni Kroos, who have been influential for them this season. Barcelona are likely to have a much changed defence due to the absence of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Puyol.
Barcelona home form in the Champions League has been near perfect with the team suffering their last defeat more than four years ago. Therefore, the German giants must take advantage of the home leg to give themselves a breathing space in the away leg.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes, Alves, Pique, Bartra, Alba, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, Villa
Bayern Munich will want to give themselves a great opportunity to play in the finals by securing an advantage in the aggregate score. Barcelona have failed to score only three times in the last 10 European away matches. They can be backed to find the back of the net at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern will have certainly looked back at PSG’s matches against Barcelona in the quarter-finals. The French team outplayed Barcelona on many occasions and were extremely unlucky to go out of the competition. They adopted a very direct style of football with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the pivotal point. The presence of a physical striker like Mario Gomez can help Bayern adopt a similar style.
Both teams have injuries and suspensions to several key players. Bayern Munich will be without Mario Mandzukic and Toni Kroos, who have been influential for them this season. Barcelona are likely to have a much changed defence due to the absence of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Puyol.
Barcelona home form in the Champions League has been near perfect with the team suffering their last defeat more than four years ago. Therefore, the German giants must take advantage of the home leg to give themselves a breathing space in the away leg.
Projected Lineups:
Bayern (4-3-2-1): Neuer; Lahm, Dante, Van Buyten, Alaba, Martinez, Schweinsteiger, Muller, Robben, Ribery, GomezBarcelona (4-3-3): Valdes, Alves, Pique, Bartra, Alba, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, Villa
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