Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona preview: Team news and predicted lineups
Barcelona travel to Bayern in the Champions League group stage for the second consecutive year, as Robert Lewandowski's highly anticipated return to Bavaria awaits.
| Robert Lewandowski. | Photo: Sven Mandel / CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
After resting several starters in their third straight Bundesliga draw, trainer Julian Nagelsmann is expected to throw everything at the Spanish side. Leroy Sane and Sadio Mane will return to the starting lineup, while Marcel Sabitzer should replace Leon Goretzka in midfield.
In-form Benjamin Pavard will likely start in defense alongside Lucas Hernandez, where they will try the nearly impossible task of stopping a healthy Ousmane Dembele. Xavi has tinkered with his squad all season, making many of his starting lineup selections rather unpredictable.
In his press conference, Thomas Mueller hilariously said that, "Sadio has been jokingly telling me for the last 10 days to be careful not to accidentally pass the ball to Lewy. We have to play our game tomorrow and not focus too much on Lewy."
Coming off their 2-0 away win over Inter Milan to open Champions League play, Nagelsmann stated that, "I will be happy if our fans give (Lewandowski) a good reception. That would be normal, when someone has done so much for the club. He was an important part of the Bayern family. I am looking forward to seeing him again."
Team News
Kingsley Coman and Bouna Sarr will not be in the squad due to their respective injuries.
Barcelona have a fairly healthy team heading into the game.
Click here to check out our predicted lineups.
