As big as it gets: Two European powerhouse go head to head

Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich: How Messi, Barca ended up Champions League underdogs, How will Champions League fixture play out tonight?

Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona in the Champions League. Has any game epitomized the elite world of football any better than a match between Die Roten and the Blaugrana? The clubs have met eight times before in the grandest stage of European football, each meeting a classic. History favors Bayern, as they have won six of these meetings while Barca has only won two. However, both teams have their fair share of accomplishments.

Why are Barcelona the underdog?

It's quite simple, really. Barca have been inconsistent since play resumed in June while Bayern have been the strongest team in the world, which obviously makes them the favorite. Forget that Bayern have won 19 games in a row -- they are actually unbeaten in their last 24 games and are conceding 0.54 goals per game while scoring 65 goals in those games. They've been dominant, have blown opponents out of the water and are arguably the strongest team left standing. While Bayern have been perfect, Barca have lost to Osasuna and drawn Celta Vigo down the stretch to concede the league title to their bitter rivals. Bayern can break you down if you play fantastic defense, but if you give them space, they will ruthlessly hurt you. Barca must be careful.

What must Barca do to beat them?

Defensively, Barca have to be very cautious because Bayern can beat you in a variety of ways. Keeping shape, staying compact defensively and tracking runners will be crucial. Just look at the positioning of Jordi Alba here in the 3-1 win over Napoli last week in the round of 16 second leg. Do that against Bayern, and they will exploit it. He's in the red circle, and the blue circle is where he should be.

But of course, you can't win if you don't score. Barca should feel confident in seeing a good bit of the ball, but it won't come easy. While Lionel Messi has the magic to turn a game on its head at any moment, chances are something else will have to give. Be it an unexpected, strong showing from Antoine Griezmann or Luis Suarez playing like it's 2016, who will step up alongside Messi? For that to even matter, the defense must come to play. It's hard to envision a Barca team having to focus on defense first, but Bayern posses more of a threat than any team Quique Setien's team has faced this season. Barca will get their chances, and they'll get forward to impose their will, but Bayern will probably get more opportunities, and Barca's defense has to be perfect. Barca have to limit mistakes and play with caution to have any chance of moving on.

PREVIEW

The only two previous winners of either the Champions League or European Cup still left in this year’s competition are Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Both have been crowned champions of Europe five times and they face off at the Estadio da Luz in Friday’s hotly-anticipated quarter-final.After a disappointing 1-1 draw with Napoli in the first leg of the last-16 tie Barcelona were able to show their class with a 3-1 win in the second leg last week, thanks to a goal and an assist from their talisman. However with a trophy-less season looming, rumours suggest that defeat to Bayern Munich on Friday could be the final nail in the coffin for Setién.

The first part of Bayern Munich’s 2019/20 season followed much of the same pattern as the Blaugrana's. The Bavarians picked up the DFB-Pokal in their last competitive game of the season with a 4-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen and are now just three matches away from the treble. Barcelona are currently the only club to have won two European trebles but Bayern could draw level with them if Flick can match the feat of Jupp Heynckes’ 2012/13 side.Central to their chances is the form of Robert Lewandowski, who was a losing Champions League finalist for Borussia Dortmund in 2013. The Polish striker is playing the best football of his life at the age of 31 and has an incredible Champions League record this campaign. He has scored 13 goals in just 7 games to leave him four short of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2013/14 record for most goals in a single Champions League season. With three goals and four assists against Chelsea in the last round he was involved in all seven of Bayern’s goals and he has looked unplayable at times this year.

The two sides with most European pedigree come head-to-head on Friday and history suggests that the winner has a good chance of being crowned champions of Europe again. They met in the quarter-finals in 2008/09 and in the semi-finals in 2012/13 and 2014/15. On each of those occasions, the victor has gone on to lift the trophy.

Injuries and suspensions

Barcelona

Barcelona were without midfielders Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal for their second leg match against Napoli but both should be available for selection against Bayern, with the former very likely to start. Samuel Umtiti has definitely been ruled out due to a knee injury while Ousmane Dembele faces a race against time to be fit enough for a place on the bench. Martin Braithwaite was left out of Setién’s Champions League squad list so will not feature.

Barcelona Champions League form: W-W-W-L-W-W

Barcelona form (all competitions): W-D-W-W-D-W

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich have been boosted by the return to training of Kingsley Coman and Jerome Boateng, who both missed last weekend’s win over Chelsea. Boateng will almost certainly return to the heart of the defence alongside David Alaba, while Coman will compete with Ivan Perisic for a place on the left of Bayern’s attack. Benjamin Pavard is out of this game due to a ligament injury but Bayern hope to have him fit to play some part in their Champions League campaign, should they progress past Barcelona.

Bayern Munich Champions League form: W-W-W-W-W-W

Bayern Munich form (all competitions): W-W-W-W-W-W

 Prediction : Barcelona 1-2 Bayern Munich 

This is an incredibly difficult match to call for a number of reasons, and a lot will depend on how both teams cope with the newly-structured competition. Both managers will feel that they can cause problems in the final third, but Bayern's form is staggering - unbeaten in all competitions since early December  and I am finding it difficult to back against Hansi Flick's side, ultimately backing them to record a 2-1 success. Lionel Messi has proved too much for Bayern to handle in the past but it is an enormous ask for him to turn the tie in Barcelona’s favour. Bayern remain the logical choice, but with Messi there is always a chance.