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Bayern Munich are flying high after beating their long time rivals Borussia Dortmund in der Klassiker as a controversial Bayern penalty sealed the deal in the final quarter of play.
The refereeing was definitely a talking point for this game, with Dortmund Jude Bellingham bravely calling out official Felix Zwayer in his post-match interview. Bayern won’t have any issues with how the game was handled though, and will take confidence from the victory heading into this tie.
On the other hand, Barcelona are still struggling to find a decent run of form after losing 1-0 to third-place Real Betis at the weekend. After just 16 gameweeks, they are currently sitting 16 points behind their El Clasico rivals, Real Madrid, which is unprecedented in the modern era of Spanish football.
The Catalonians will have to put their first loss under new manager and club legend, Xavi, behind them if they want to have a chance to beat one of the best teams in European football at the moment.
Bayern won the reverse fixture by a comfortable 3-0 margin, and the clash prior to that was the memorable 8-2 thrashing in the 19/20 season.
The Bavrians were by far the best team in the world that year and they were on course to set the record for most UCL goals in a single season until two legged ties were scrapped owing to Covid protocols, and we are seeing the same elements of dominance in the current team that we saw in the 19/20 Bayern side.
Both Teams To Score (No)
With Benfica likely to beat Dynamo Kyiv, it is imperative that Barcelona get a win here if they want to make sure that they reach the knockout stages. If they draw here and Benfica win, they will be knocked out into the Europa League, a competition they haven’t featured in since 2003 when it was under the UEFA Cup title.
The odds are heavily against the Catalans here, and it’s easy to understand why considering they have only scored two goals so far in the UCL, both in 1-0 wins versus Dynamo Kyiv.
Barca are looking void of output at the moment, with Ansu Fati out injured and Sergio Aguero set for an early retirement, and that’s been their downfall this season.
The Spanish Giants have really struggled to score goals this year, with Memphis Depay not performing up to his abilities and Aguero out with a heart condition it's a struggle to see where their goals are going to come from.
Not to mention that Golden Boy winner Pedri, who is their most creative midfielder, also remains out with a muscle injury.
PREDICTION:
BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE (NO)
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