Bayern Munich
The Bavarians have absolutely dominated Group E the past three months and they have done more than what was required to finish at the top of the group. They have picked up five wins from five matches and have managed to score a league-topping 19 goals in the UCL Group Stage – that’s nearly four goals per match! Domestically things are also going extremely well for Julian Nagelsmann’s team and they are fresh off of a 3-2 victory against arch rivals Dortmund which saw them move four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table. It’s still unclear whether or not Nagelsmann will opt for a weaker team against Barcelona with Round of 16 qualification already secured, but the chances are good that even if he decides to go this way their depth is strong enough to still overcome the Spanish giants. History is also firmly in favour of the hosts in this one with Bayern winning the last three encounters between the two sides which includes a 3-0 win at the beginning of the group stage, as well as a massive 8-2 win back in April last year.
After starting off their UCL Group Stage with a 3-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, the Bavarians were back in Germany for their Round 2 clash against Dynamo Kiev. After two first half goals by Lewandowski that gave them a 2-0 lead at half-time, Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane rubbed further salt into Kiev’s wounds with a further two goals around the 70 minute mark. An 87th minute goal by Maxim Choupo-Moting was the final nail in the coffin and gave the hosts a 5-0 victory. Next up in Round 3 Bayern took on Benfica in Lisbon, Portugal. The visitors got off to a slow start and after VAR denied them a goal late in the first half they had to settle for a 0-0 scoreline at half-time. The Bavarians decided to leave things late but once the breakthrough came in the 70th minute through Leroy Sane the floodgates opened and three more goals were scored in the next 15 minutes to give them a 4-0 win. In Round 4 Bayern took on Benfica once again, this time in Germany, and the story was not much different from the first clash between the two sides. Although Bayern conceded their first goals of the group stage they were still able to win comfortably thanks to a hat-trick by Lewandowski which contributed to a 5-2 win.
In their second-last clash of the UCL Group Stage Bayern travelled to Ukraine for their second clash with Dynamo Kiev. Conditions weren’t great for this match, but the Bavarians did not let that deter them from securing another victory. It only took 14 minutes for Lewandowski to find the net, while Kingsley Coman added the second a couple of minutes before the break. The visitors weren’t able to add to their tally in the second half and got a slight scare when Kiev pulled a goal back with 20 minutes left to play. Bayern were however able to hold on for the win and make sure that they left Kiev with three points and maintained their perfect group stage record.
Barcelona
It has not been the best season for Barcelona so far. In Spain they are struggling and are currently outside of the Top 5 in La Liga, while in the UCL they have put in one of their worst performances of recent years. With one match to play in Group E they find themselves in second place with seven points, just two points ahead of Benfica. Benfica are set to take on Kiev in this round and assuming that they will pick up all three points, it leaves Barcelona with the mammoth task of needing to secure a win against Bayern to book their place in the Round of 16. A draw with the German giants would give the same amount of points as Benfica, but their lack of goalscoring during the group stage has given them a horrible goal difference that would push them down into third place should they finish on the same amount of points as the Portuguese. Dynamo Kiev could of course do them a favour and they could get lucky, but I think this is unlikely and their best option is to secure their spot in the next stage of the competition with a victory on Wednesday night. If they fail to qualify for the Round of 16 it would be the first time in over 20 years that they fail to do so.
Barca started off the UCL Group Stage at the Camp Nou against Bayern and were completely outplayed in the opening match of their campaign. The Bavarians’ defense completely shut down their attack and they only managed five attempts on goal in the entire match. They ended up conceding once in the first half and twice in the second half and went down 3-0. In Round 2 things didn’t go much better for Barcelona in Portugal against Benfica and once again they would fail to pick up any points. The Spanish would concede after just the third minute and would fail to equalize despite eight attempts on goal throughout the match. A further two goals in the final quarter of the match would see Barca go down 3-0 and head back to Spain still in search of their first points of the group stage. In Round 3 Barca hosted the weakest team in the group Dynamo Kiev at the Camp Nou. They would only score one goal in the match through Gerard Pique and it would be enough to give them a vital 1-0 victory. However, it was a pretty unconvincing win and after going into the match as huge favourites they were expected to win by a much larger margin. Round 4 saw Barcelona up against Dynamo Kiev once again, but this time they did not have home advantage. Generally matches in the Ukraine are tough for any visiting team and Barca were happy to pick up three points thanks to Ansu Fati’s 70th minute goal which gave them a 1-0 win.
In Round 5 Barca hosted Benfica and were eager to get revenge at the Camp Nou for their loss in the reverse fixture. It was a fixture that Barcelona desperately needed to win to make their path to the Round of 16 an easier one, while Benfica appeared to be happy with a draw or a win in the match. The pressure was certainly on the home team and despite 14 attempts on goal throughout the match they were unable to convert any of them into goals. There were a number of close calls but an excellent performance from the visiting keeper meant the match would end in a 0-0 draw.
Prediction
In the past Barcelona have pulled off some remarkable comebacks in the Champions League, but I don’t think Wednesday night is going to be another one. It’s been a horrible group stage for them and with so many of their top players out with injury they have been unable to live up to expectations. Their attack has just managed to score two goals the entire group stage and it’s very unrealistic to think that they will be able to suddenly start scoring goals against a top side like Bayern in their own backyard. I believe Wednesday night will be another loss for Barca and more than likely the end of their Champions League this season. I don’t expect them to find the net in this match and more than likely we will see another dominating performance by the hosts that will feature at least two or three goals. I am more than happy to back Bayern to win and over 2.5 goals, while I expect Lewandowski to add to his nine group stage goals so I will have a crack at him to be the first goalscorer in the match.
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