Barcelona take on the visitors Bayern Munich in the round 3 match of UEFA Champions League group stage. The match will be played on Wednesday, October 23rd at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (Barcelona).
Barcelona prematurely lost their La Liga title last season (and didn’t retain the Supercopa either), while also underperforming in other competitions — just think back to their exit against PSG in the Champions League. The decision to bet on Xavi didn’t pay off, and it was intriguing to see what a more experienced coach like Hansi Flick could achieve under nearly the same conditions. Essentially, the addition of Dani Olmo as the only newcomer is balanced out by the number of players that had to be offloaded just to register him. Then, injuries started piling up, and Marc-André ter Stegen is out until the summer — fortunately, Szczęsny answered the call. Meanwhile, Lewandowski has been scoring plenty of goals. Overall, there’s been progress, and it’s no surprise that Barça currently tops the La Liga table. However, there have already been setbacks, like the 2-4 loss to Osasuna. And earlier, Monaco quickly capitalized on their numerical advantage to beat the Catalan giants in the first round of the Champions League. Barça bounced back with a 5-0 win, but it was against a struggling Young Boys side at home.
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Bayern Munich had a disastrous previous season. The warning signs were already there when Borussia Dortmund’s blunder in 2023 allowed Bayern to snatch the Bundesliga title at the last moment. Bayern responded by strengthening the squad, most notably by signing Harry Kane for over €100 million. Kane has brought his goals and assists from Tottenham — and he’s performing well in Germany — but also seems to carry the "loser" tag with him, as he remains without a trophy even at his new club. Understandably, Thomas Tuchel couldn’t stay on as head coach, but the choice of his successor was surprising — Vincent Kompany, whose Burnley had been relegated to the Championship (along with the signings of Olise and Palhinha). Kompany started brightly, securing several spectacular wins, not just domestically — they demolished Dinamo Zagreb 9-2. However, Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt have already taken points off Bayern in the Bundesliga, and Unai Emery’s Aston Villa gave the young Belgian a lesson with a 1-0 victory in Birmingham in the Champions League.
Bayern currently holds a six-game winning streak over Barcelona, including the unforgettable 8-2 thrashing, and the last four matches have been won by Bayern with clean sheets. Barcelona enters this match as the favorites. However, with a Lewandowski vs Kane showdown on the cards, betting on "over 3.5 goals" seems like a solid choice.
Prediction for the match: Over 3.5 scored goals.
