Barcelona will revert to a stronger lineup to face Bayern Munich, with Robert Lewandowski set to spearhead the attacking unit.
Xavi Hernandez will be able to call upon several of his recognised starters for the challenge against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night. The Barcelona manager benched many first-choice players for the win over Cadiz over the weekend, with Robert Lewandowski chief among those.
The Barcelona manager clearly had Bayern Munich at the forefront of his thoughts this past weekend and will name his strongest lineup to face the German champions. It is a crucial game to keep up the momentum in the group, and Xavi will be desperate to get a positive result.
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The Catalan wants a big victory and spoke briefly in his pre-match press conference about the need for the right mentality for a game of this magnitude. Xavi said, “There are a lot of things, but the key is the mentality. We are Barca; here, we run and show our personality and our character and give it all on the pitch.”
“Our mentality has changed. Of course, we want to impose our standard on the pitch because we are Barca. So we have changed our personality and mentality, and of course, the transfers have helped, while the recent wins give us more confidence.”
Xavi will have a fully-fit squad to choose from as only Sergi Roberto did not feature in the team at the weekend. The Spanish international is back within the strong 25-man travelling squad to take on Bayern Munich but will likely be placed on the bench.
Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia will return to the backline, while there could be a place for the experienced Jordi Alba. The veteran left-back will come in place of Alejandro Balde, who recently has garnered a wonderful few performances under his belt.
Sergio Busquets will anchor the midfield, with Gavi on his right side. Pedri will return to the tea in place of Frenkie de Jong, which points towards Xavi’s preferred midfield partnership this season. The likes of Memphis Depay and Ferran Torres will only be considered for a bench role.
Robert Lewandowski is the headline name returning to the lineup as many will be hoping for the Polish forward to score against his former club Bayern Munich. Raphinha will support Lewandowski from the right flank, with Ousmane Dembele, who has been gaining his form recently, coming in from the left-hand side of the Barcelona attack.
Predicted Barcelona XI: ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Garcia, Alba; Gavi, Busquets, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Dembele
