Harry Kane has now scored 45 goals in 43 Bundesliga appearances after his hat-tick against Stuttgart. - © DFL/Getty Images/Sebastina Widmann / DFL/Getty Images/Sebastina Widmann

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Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich: UEFA Champions League team news, match stats and LIVE blog!

21.10.2024

Vincent Kompany's new-look Bayern Munich are firing again with a fresh Harry Kane hat-trick ahead of an eagerly awaited reunion with former coach Hansi Flick and strike legend Robert Lewandowski in Barcelona on Wednesday (kick-off: 9pm CEST).

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Bayern look to be back at their blistering best in time for their trip to Spain, with Kane's triple in a thumping 4-0 win over runners-up VfB Stuttgart sending a statement of intent and securing the league lead after the October international break. A staggering 24 goals in their first seven Bundesliga ties is confirmation that the Bavarians mean business this season in Germany, just as their 9-2 humbling of Dinamo Zagreb in their UEFA Champions League opener showed they can also dismantle continental opposition. While Bayern coped comfortably without playmaker extraordinaire Jamal Musiala against Stuttgart, a recovery from his hip problem in time for the trip to Barcelona would boost Bayern's chances. Aleksandar Pavlović will definitely miss out after sustaining a broken collarbone in the win over Stuttgart. That may well give summer signing João Palhinha the chance to impress in holding midfield.

Former Bayern coach Flick's tenure at Barcelona has got off to a good start, with a 2-1 loss in Monaco and a 4-2 defeat to Osasuna in September being the only hiccups in a season in which they have won all of their remaining 10 matches. Munich strike legend Lewandowski appears to have returned to the peak of his powers too, with 12 goals in 10 LaLiga matches so far and a brace in the 5-0 win over Young Boys on the second Champions League matchday. The injury to former Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeeper and German number one Marc-André ter Stegen has been a blow, while Lamine Yamal - the teen sensation who starred in this summer's Euros in Germany - is among the list of Golden Boy nominees that includes Bayern's Pavlović and Mathys Tel.

Watch: Kane hat-trick as Bayern breeze past Stuttgart

Match stats

Thomas Müller has eight goals and two assists in his nine Champions League encounters with Barca. No other player who hasn't played in Spain has scored so many goals against the Catalans.
Bayern have won 11 of their 15 meetings with Barcelona, losing just two.
Barcelona have failed to win any of their previous seven meetings with Bundesliga opposition, losing six. That includes defeats in the last three on home soil.
Bayern have lost just five of their last 36 Champions League away matches, although they have been beaten in the past two.
Ex-Munich head coach Flick boasts the best win percentage (81.9 per cent) of any Bayern boss in history, winning seven trophies during a 19-month spell.
Lewandowski is second on Bayern's all-time scoring chart with 344 goals. He is yet to find the back of the net in two games for his current club against his previous employers.

Probable teams

Bayern: Neuer (c) - Guerreiro, Kim, Upamecano, Davies - Kimmich, Palhinha - Olise, Müller, Gnabry - Kane
Out: Boey (knee), Pavlović (collar), Stanišić (knee)
Doubtful: Ito (ankle), Musiala (hip)
Coach: Vincent Kompany

Barcelona: Peña - Koundé, Cubarsi, Martínez, Balde - Casadó, Pedri (c), De Jong - Lamine, Lewandowski, Raphinha
Out: Ter Stegen (cruciate ligament), Torres (thigh), Bernal (cruciate ligament), Christensen (achilles), Araújo (hamstring)
Doubt: -
Coach: Hansi Flick

LIVE blog!

Barcelona

Wed, 23.10 19:00

Bayern

Champions League
League phase, Matchday 3 League phase, Matchday 3 Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona

2:03

Watch: Bayern 4-0 Stuttgart

Harry Kane hit a hattrick as Bayern overwhelmed Stuttgart in the second-half.

A familiar face

Kompany and Bayern will face off against former coach Hansi Flick, who won this tournament during his trophy-laden spell as head coach in Bavaria. This will be Flick's first time facing his former side.

Kompany on the loss to Villa

Following his side's loss in the previous round, coach Kompany was naturally disappointed but aware that sometimes these things happen in football: "We had big chances that we didn't take... it's bitter, but this is football. But this doesn't decide the Champions League today, we have to keep going."

Domestic form

Bayern have won three of their last five league games, while drawing the other two. Barcelona have won four of their last five, losing the other. Both have won their most recent league fixtures against Stuttgart (4-0) and Sevilla (5-1) respectively.

Bayern looking to bounce back

Bayern come into this game on the back of a defeat in their previous Champions League tie against Aston Villa. Barcelona on the other hand, come into this fixture on the back of a 5-0 victory against Swiss side Young Boys.

2:24

Olise tearing it up

With question marks over Jamal Musiala's fitness for this huge showdown, one man who could definitely bring the spark going forward for Bayern is Michael Olise, who has been on a tear since leaving Crystal Palace for Bavaria - via a silver medal with France at the Paris Olympics. With is goals and three assists across all competitions, the 22-year-old winger is certainly one to watch.

The fateful eight

Lewandowski is one of just eight men to have played for both of these European giants, and what a list it is: Thiago Alcántara, Arturo Vidal, Pepe Reina, Philippe Coutinho, Mark van Bommel, João Cancelo and Patrik Andersson.

Ties that bind

One of those eight goals was scored by the inevitable Robert Lewandowski who, despite having swapped the Allianz Arena for the Camp Nou in 2022, remains Bayern's all-time top scorer in the Champions League with no fewer than 69 goals. And Bayern's coach on that night in Lisbon, Hansi Flick, is now the string-puller in the Barcelona dugout.

Advantage Bayern

Despite the decidedly rich nature of the pedigrees on either side of this heavyweight fixture at the Camp Nou, the German giants carry a large head-to-head advantage into the clash: 10 wins, one draw and just two defeats against the Catalans, scoring 33 goals in the process - eight of which came in just one match (8-2 in Lisbon in the 2019/20 quarter-finals).

Welcome!

Thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of Bayern Munich's third UEFA Champions League game of the 2024/25 league phase away at Barcelona on Wednesday.