UEFA Champions League: Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich Preview, News, Odds, Prediction

Barcelona and Bayern Munich will open their UEFA Champions League campaigns at Camp Nou. This is without a doubt the biggest derby of the opening round and a delight for fans all around the world. The hosts are in serious trouble, mostly because of off-field factors. Debt, the shock because of Messi’s departure, and many other things pressure the players, creating a very negative atmosphere. Meanwhile, Bayern comes to Spain after a convincing win over their big rivals, RB Leipzig, whom they smashed on the road, 1-4.

Preview

Barcelona (+210) didn’t play this weekend. Blaugrana’s match against Sevilla has been postponed due to the late arrival of the South American players. Both these clubs have very important players coming from that region.

Barca has played three competitive matches so far this year, and in all of them, we’ve seen both teams scoring. The first was a win over Sociedad, 4-2, then a draw on the road against Athletic Bilbao, 1-1, and in the latest one, a win over Getafe, 2-1.

Only one of their previous seven games, including the preseason ones, didn’t end with three or more scores, meaning that we can still expect to see efficient matches once Barcelona plays. Also, it is pretty obvious that the defensive line isn’t solid as before, making ter Stegen exposed a lot.

Bayern Munich (+110) didn’t win the season opener in Monchengladbach, and after that, the Bavarians became very angry. They would record five straight victories, in each one scoring at least three times, with the most recent wins being highly impressive.

At first, Nagelsmann and the crew eliminated Bremer from the DFB Pokal, 0-12, after that, they trashed Hertha BSC at home, 5-0, and eventually rolled over one of their main competitors in the past few years, RB in Leipzig, 1-4. It was a brutal demonstration of power and sending a message to all other rivals.

The German champions didn’t change too much in their game, even though Nagelsmann replaced Hansi Flick. They are still machinery for scoring goals, and despite allowing more than last year, the attack easily covers everything up.

Latest News

Ousmane Dembele, Sergio Aguero, and Ansu Fati are out for Tuesday night. Martin Braithwaite is questionable, the same as Dest, who should be in the protocol according to the latest intel. Ousmane Dembele is questionable as well, while all other players should be ready to play, including Pique.

In Bayern, Kingley Coman is out, as well as Corentin Tolisso.

Head to Head Games

You all probably remember the unreal humiliation from two years ago when Bayern thrashed Barcelona in the UCL, beating them 8-2. That was the last time these two teams met.

Overall in 11 direct encounters, Bayern has seven wins, while Barca posted just two, with two draws.

Prediction

For us, this is over 2.5 goals for sure, and that is our primary pick here. The odds are low -205, but they are at least safe. On the other side, we are strongly recommending going with Bayern’s win because we can’t see Barcelona resisting their incredible pressure and attack. Plus, the hosts are much weaker than before.

Pick: Over 2.5 goals
           Bayern Wins +110

Here are the previews for more UEFA Champions League games:

• Chelsea vs. Zenit
• Besiktas vs. Borussia Dortmund
• Club Brugge vs. PSG
• Manchester City vs. RB Leipzig
• Inter Milan vs. Real Madrid
• Liverpool vs. Inter Milan