Barcelona vs Bayern Munich Preview

Barcelona will renew their great European rivalry with Bayern Munich this Wednesday when both sides meet in the third round game of the 2024/25 expanded Champions League.

Both sides have squared up many times in the past, with this game being their 16th meeting in Europe. Barcelona, managed by former Bayern coach Hansi Flick, come into this tie flying high at the top of La Liga.

But despite their form and the fact that Flick was the manager when Bayern Munich handed Barca their heaviest defeat in this tournament, the Catalan side’s poor historical record against the Bavarians suggests that this will be no easy task.

The hosts have won just two of those previous meetings (D2, L11), so they will have to do something extra special to end their seven-game winless run against Bayern (D1, L6). The signs are good for Barca going into this fixture though, as no Champions League side can boast of scoring consecutively in the tournament more than Barcelona who have done so eight times (W4, D1, L3).

Meanwhile, the last away side to keep a clean sheet in European action against Barca was none other than Bayern. The Germans did so in a 3-0 win which brought their record to an incredible six-game winning run of H2Hs. Having dispatched Stuttgart at the weekend to stay top of the table with Harry Kane netting his sixth hat-trick for the club, Bayern may well expect to continue their dominance in this fixture which has seen them score 15 unanswered goals against Barcelona.

However, despite the good mood around the Allianz Arena, things have not been completely rosy for Vincent Kompany and Co. The Bavarians suffered defeat in their last continental clash at Villa Park. That defeat abruptly ended a run of 41 unbeaten matches in group and league phase matches in the Champions League (W37, D4) and also left them at risk of losing three straight-away games in Europe for the very first time.