Barcelona vs Bayern Munich...CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Barcelona will host Bayern Munich at Camp Nou on Wednesday night, trying to remain in contention for a place in the Champions League knockout phase.
The Catalans sit third in Group C, three points behind second-placed Inter Milan, who would qualify if they defeat Viktoria Plzen earlier in the evening, while Bayern leads the section with 12 points, having won all four of their section matches to advance to the round of 16 with two games to spare.
Ousmane Dembele, Sergi Roberto, Robert Lewandowski, and Ferran Torres scored as Barcelona thrashed Athletic Bilbao 4-0 on Sunday
Barcelona’s Champions League group-stage campaign has been underwhelming. They have just four points from four matches and are three points behind Inter before Wednesday’s game.
A victory for Inter against Viktoria Plzen will ruin Barcelona’s prospects of reaching the round of 16. Xavi’s side finished third in the group, slipping into the Europa League for the second straight season.
La Liga heavyweights need a favour from Plzen and then to overcome Bayern, but they have just one point from their past three games in the tournament, losing back-to-back games to Bayern and Inter before drawing 3-3 with Inter at Camp Nou on October 12.
Barcelona overcame Villarreal 3-0 and Athletic Bilbao 4-0 in their past two home matches, but they fell 3-1 to Real Madrid in El Clasico on October 16 and have struggled in Europe this season. Xavi’s side will now face one of the best teams in Europe.
Bayern have won their past four games in all competitions, including a 2-0 win against Hoffenheim on Saturday. They are presently second in the Bundesliga, one point behind Union Berlin.
Munich, which has won the European Cup six times, lost in the quarterfinals to Villarreal last season and to PSG on away goals in 2020-21.
Bayern haven’t lost to Barcelona since the 2014-15 Champions League semi-finals when they fell 3-0 at Camp Nou in the first leg. With a win on Wednesday, they’ll be confirmed as group champions, or first if Inter loses to Plzen.
