The business end of the Champions League gets underway this week, as the top clubs in Spain and Germany face off against each other. For Barcelona, a daunting trip to Bavaria beckons, as they head for the Allianz Arena where Bayern Munchen lie in wait.
Barcelona are boosted by the news that Lionel Messi travels with the squad, and will most likely start the match. He sat out the league win against Levante on Saturday completely, although the talk was that if there had been something riding on that match, he would have been at least a substitute. Interestingly, he has not yet been given the all clear by the club’s doctors, yet he is almost certainly going to play. Unfortunately, Tito Vilanova will once again have a defensive crisis on his hands, as Javier Mascherano and Carles Puyol are injured, while Adriano is suspended. The full squad, as published on Barcelona’s website, is as follows:
Valdés, Pinto, Dani Alves, Piqué, Fàbregas, Xavi, Villa, Iniesta, Alexis, Messi, Thiago, Dos Santos, Bartra, Sergio, Pedro, Jordi Alba, Montoya, Abidal, Song, Tello and Oier.
While a reshuffled Barca side needed a late Cesc Fabregas goal to see off Levante, Bundesliga champions Bayern had no such problems, recording a big 6-1 victory at Hannover. Top scorer Mario Mandzukic didn’t feature, and is a doubt for the first leg as he struggles with a hamstring injury. Mind you, Mario Gomez and Claudio Pizarro scored twice each!
Head To Head
These two have played each other four times before, with Bayern enjoying two wins to Barca’s one. Bayern won both meetings in the group stage of the 1998-99 tournament, as they made it to the final against Manchester United at Camp Nou. In 2008-09, Barca triumphed 5-1 on aggregate in the quarter final, on their way to winning the trophy. In the four games, Barca have scored six (including a 4-0 home win in that quarter final) and Bayern four.
Predicted Lineup
The defensive injuries will certainly dominate Vilanova’s thoughts over the next day or two, and that isn’t the only dilemma he faces. Playing Messi when he hasn’t been officially cleared is a huge gamble, and if he does and it backfires, it could have catastrophic consequences. Having said that, the player knows his body better than anyone, and if he feels like he’s capable, then it’s a no-brainer. Here’s my lineup:
Valdes, Alves, Pique, Busquets, Alba, Song, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Messi, Alexis.
Central defence is a real problem. With no Puyol, and Eric Abidal still some way off full fitness, it leaves just Marc Bartra as a fit and recognised centre back. His inexperience must surely count against him in such a huge match. For that reason, I’ve gone for Busquets in central defence, with Alex Song in the holding midfield role. David Villa may pay the price for his penalty miss against Levante, but I’ve gone for his experience, and picked Alexis over Pedro as he is in pretty good form recently.
Score Prediction
Pick a number! Seriously. This could be any score. One team has regained their title, and the other will do in the next couple of weeks. Both have fabulous attacking players. If there’s one deciding factor, it could be in defence. As we all know, they aren’t the tightest ship at the best of times, and with players out injured they might find themselves in trouble at times.
I would always back Barca to score, and I have no reason to think otherwise here. However, they will concede, and it could be a case of how many. If Bayern get an early goal, Barca could be in trouble. However, I have confidence in them, and even though they are probably not favourites for the tie, I think they could get a score draw here. I’m going to go for 2-2.
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