Barcelona looks to confirm its superb start to the season and secure three points in the Champions League when it hosts arguably its biggest continental nemesis of recent times: Bayern Munich.
It's not the first time Hansi Flick is on the sideline of this European rivalry. During his time managing the Germans he gave Barcelona one of its most embarrassing nights in Europe, defeating the Blaugranas 8–2 en route to a UCL title in 2020. Less than half a decade later and Flick will hope to end Barcelona's six game losing streak against his former team, one that dates back to 2015.
After falling to Monaco to open up the UCL season, Barcelona defeated Young Boys to kickstart its European campaign. Vincent Kompany's men are looking to bounce back after a defeat to current league phase leaders Aston Villa, marking the end of Bayern's 41-game unbeaten streak in the UCL group/league stage.
Barcelona recovered important players to its squad in the 5–1 win against Sevilla over the weekend. Gavi and Fermin López played their first minutes of the season, and Dani Olmo made the squad for the first time in over a month. Flick now has alternatives as he faces the biggest test of his young tenure with the Catalans.
Here's how Barcelona could lineup in its attempt to defeat Bayern Munich for the first time in nearly a decade.
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Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1)
GK: Iñaki Peña—Flick said "there's no reason to change" the goalkeeper situation and confirmed Peña as the starter against Bayern Munich over new signing Wojciech Szczęsny.
LB: Alejandro Balde—It's been a quiet but solid start of the campaign for the 21-year-old. Whether it's Michael Olise or Leroy Sane, Balde will face his biggest defensive test of the season so far.
CB: Pau Cubarsí—"One of the future defensive leaders in world soccer" as described by Kompany gets the start as he continues to put in impressively mature performances at 17-years-old.
CB: Iñigo Martínez—Along with Cubarsí they'll have their work cut out trying to contain Harry Kane.
RB: Jules Koundé—Fresh off his 100th cap for the club, the Frenchman will look to stop any German incursion on Barcelona's right-flank.
CM: Marc Casadó—Casadó has been very impressive since Flick took over. He's usually charged with doing the invisible work in a team full of big name players and he's excelled in the defensive midfielder role. La Masia might've produced another gem.
CM: Pedri—Pedri played possibly his best game of the season in the victory over Sevilla. If injuries let him, it's clear he's still got the talent and potential to be one of the best midfielders in the sport.
LW: Raphinha—After playing centrally in recent games, Raphinha returns to the wing and will look to have a goal contribution for the fourth straight game with the Blaugranas.
AM: Dani Olmo—Although he didn't feature over the weekend, Olmo is fit and could slide right back into the XI after a very promising start to his Barça career. Olmo has four goals against Bayern Munich in his career, the most he has against any team.
RW: Lamine Yamal—Yamal will have to deal with the speedy Alphonso Davies in one of the most attractive duels that could occur in the game. He's in the hunt for his second UCL goal.
ST: Robert Lewandowski—The Polish striker faces his former team where he scored 344 goals in 375 games.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Bayern Munich: Champions League.
