Matchweek 2 of the UEFA Champions League is upon us and the feature match on Tuesday sees Bayern Munich tackle FC Barcelona.
These two European giants have met a handful of times in years gone by, most recently in last year’s Champions League group stage as Bayern beat Barca, 3-0, both home and away. Prior to that the two sides faced off in the quarter-finals two years ago when the Bavarians demolished La Blaugrana by eight goals to two.
They also played one another in the 2012/13 semifinals – when Bayern won 7-0 on aggregate on their way to capturing a fifth European cup – before Barca returned the favour two years later en route to winning a fourth UCL title.
Needless to say Barcelona have undergone a substantial rebuild over the past year and one of their most pivotal additions has been ex-Bayern talisman Robert Lewandowski. The 34-year-old has hit the ground running since signing at the Camp Nou this summer, netting nine goals in his first six appearances for the Catalans.
6 – Robert Lewandowski 🇵🇱 has scored 6 goals in 5 games in LaLiga, making him the fastest player to reach that figure in the competition in the 21st century (André Silva 🇵🇹 scored 6 goals in his first 6 games for Sevilla in 2018). Unstoppable. pic.twitter.com/L8P68RCjRw
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 10, 2022
Lewandowski bagged three goals in Barca’s Champions League opener against Viktoria Plzen last week and in doing so he became the first player to score a Champions League hat-trick with three different clubs, as well as the oldest player to score on European debut with Barcelona – aged 34 years & 17 days.
Besides in the 5-1 victory over Plzen, Lewa has also been firing in the goals domestically with six strikes in his first five matches in LaLiga. Up until now the forward is averaging a goal every 52 minutes in a Barcelona jersey.
Now, Lewandowski returns to his old stomping ground and his influence could be telling. His presence alone means this evening’s fixture may not be as one-sided as the last three meetings between Bayern and Barca were. The Bundesliga champions look a totally different side without the prolific Polish striker, and they currently sit 3rd in the league table having taken only three wins from their opening six matches.
In his eight years at Bayern, Lewandowski scored a mega 344 goals in 375 games, including 69 goals in 75 appearances in the Champions League, averaging a goal every 92 minutes for the German club. Versus Barcelona alone, Lewa has netted four goals in five clashes against his current club, including a brace at the Camp Nou last year.
Barca are at full strength with no players missing through injury while Bayern winger Kingsley Coman is doubtful with a muscular strain. Both teams have three points in Group C after Bayern won 2-0 at Inter Milan last week.
Bet365 have Lewandowski at 5.50 to score the first goal this evening, and 2.20 to score any time during the match. Bayern are priced 1.90 to win the match, Barca 3.40 to win, and 4.20 for a draw.
Kick-off at the Allianz Arena is at 21:00 CET.
Barca all the way!