Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona: Team News, Preview, Live Stream & TV Info
Barcelona travel Bayern Munich for the second leg of their Champions League semifinal with designs on confirming their spot in the final.
A magnificent performance by the Blaugrana at Camp Nou has left Pep Guardiola's side with a mountain to climb but Barca only need remind themselves of the scoreline the last time they pitched up at the Allianz Arena.
While Luis Enrique's side are a much different proposition to that 2013 vintage, it only takes a little complacency and an early goal from the hosts to set the nerves jangling.
And as he showed against Porto, if there is anyone that can mastermind a comeback from a seemingly impossible position, it's Guardiola.
After not scoring for three games running—the first time ever this has happened in Pep's managerial career—you can be assured that Bayern's entire staff will be champing at the bit and ready for war.
Date: Tuesday, May 12
Time: 7.45 p.m. BST/2.45 p.m. ET
Venue: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
TV Info: ITV1/ITV1 HD (UK only)/Fox Sports 1 (USA only)
Live Stream: ITV Player (UK only)/Fox Soccer 2 Go (USA only)
Form Lines
| Bayern Munich | Barcelona |
| L 0-1 vs. Augsburg | W 2-0 vs. Real Sociedad |
| L 0-3 vs. Barcelona | W 3-0 vs. Bayern Munich |
| L 0-2 vs. Bayer Leverkusen | W 8-0 vs. Cordoba |
| L 1-1* vs. Borussia Dortmund (*lost on pens) | W 6-0 vs. Getafe |
| W 1-0 vs. Hertha Berlin | W 2-0 vs. Espanyol |
| W 6-1 vs. Porto | W 2-0 vs. Paris Saint-Germain |
Predicted Formations
Barca are so close to the final they can taste it.
It's an enviable position to be in, but an early Bayern goal really sets the scene and changes the landscape somewhat.
If the goal were to come from the away side, you fear that the Germans, goalless in their last three outings, would struggle to find a minimum of four goals against this standard of opposition.
Luis Enrique will go in for the kill. Even though Jeremy Mathieu has been declared fit again, per FourFourTwo, Lucho is unlikely to change the team from that which handsomely won the first leg.
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez will attempt to add to their club-record 112-goal season. With Guardiola noting that the Argentine is "impossible to stop," per BBC Sport, he may direct his defence to look after the other two members of the trio.
Given that a starting back three in Barcelona endured a torrid opening quarter-hour, it's a safe bet that the hosts will start with a four of Rafinha, Juan Bernat, Jerome Boateng and Mehdi Benatia.
Manuel Neuer will do his best sweeper-keeper impression in goal, Marc-Andre ter Stegen mirroring his excellence at the opposite end of the pitch.
Midfield could be where this particular game is won or lost. Xabi Alonso will sit and hold whilst Philipp Lahm and Thiago Alcantara attempt to make in-roads against the effervescent presence of both Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic.
Sergio Busquets had one of his best games for a while in the first fixture and another solid 90 minutes will be needed if the Catalans want to book their place in Berlin.
Thomas Muller was none too pleased to be substituted in Barcelona judging by his reaction, and such a blatant show of disobedience could see him benched in favour of his replacement on the night, Mario Gotze.
Bastian Schweinsteiger will attempt to make more of an impression with Robert Lewandowski leading the line.
Barca's back four of the impressive Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba remain unchanged.
Player to Watch
Robert Lewandowski was superbly marshaled by Gerard Pique in the first leg of this titanic European tussle, but there were one or two occasions when the Pole escaped his marker and should've finished better.
Such profligacy won't happen again, and the tall centre-forward will be much more of a handful in front of an adoring Bavarian public.
With nothing to lose, Bayern and Lewandowski in particular can afford to get in amongst it, to mix it up a little and draw unnecessary fouls in dangerous positions.
The Germans need to get their crosses in to him earlier and then ensure that the support play is forthcoming much quicker than it was in the reverse fixture.
Wearing a mask again, Lewandowski will go to hell and back to ensure that Pique doesn't get a moment's peace this time. A real handful.
Key Battle
We saw how effective Ivan Rakitic was in the first leg. So successful in the role he was that Thiago Alcantara was unable to enjoy his natural game and was at times reduced to a mere bystander.
Only once did the former Barca man get anywhere close to striking range, and even then his shot was heading well wide before a deflection took it to the safe hands of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The young Spaniard will be looking to open up play at every opportunity, bringing as many of his colleagues into play as possible, drifting across the lines of play at will.
If Rakitic can continue getting into the spaces between those lines and cutting off the supply at source, then Alcantara is in for another long night.
Particularly if the Croatian is as effortless with his distribution as he was in the first leg. A real battle royale this one.
Odds
The following pre-match odds are available, per Odds Shark:
Home Win: +135
Away Win: +194
Draw: +252
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