One of the biggest clashes of the midweek round of Champions League matches takes place at the Estadi Lluis Companys, the temporary home of Barcelona where they will host German giants Bayern Munich.
The fixture sees Hansi Flick facing his former side, with both teams top of their respective domestic leagues – Barca with one defeat in 10 in LaLiga, Bayern unbeaten after seven in the Bundesliga.
In Europe it hasn’t been quite as smooth sailing for either, though they will doubtless be fine and at the very least top-half material by the time all eight matches are completed; so far though, it’s a win and a defeat apiece after Aston Villa shocked the Bavarians last time out, while the Catalan side were beaten by Monaco in the first round of games.
Both sides have injury concerns at the start of this new campaign but good depth to cope with it – and, in the case of Barcelona in particular, another clutch of youngsters who have shown a capacity to perform at a high level when called upon.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the game.
When is Barcelona v Bayern?
The match kicks off at 8pm BST on Wednesday 23 October.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown on TNT Sports 5 and subscribers can stream the game on the discovery+ app.
You can purchase a TNT Sports subscription via discovery+ here, for only £30.99 per month.
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What is the team news?
Barcelona are still without Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, the latter being a long-term injury. Ferran Torres is out and so too is Marc Bernal, who has impacted in midfield this term. Gavi is finally back from injury though and Frenkie de Jong is available.
For Bayern, it’s a similarly long list, but fewer potential starters are out - Jamal Musiala is the one big miss, however, if he fails a fitness test. Aleksandar Pavlovic will miss out along with Hiroki Ito and Josip Stanisic.
Predicted lineups
Barcelona XI: Pena, Kounda, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde, Casado, De Jong, Yamal, Pedri, Raphinha, Lewandowski
Bayern Munich XI: Neuer, Guerreiro, Upamecano, Min-jae, Davies, Palhinha, Kimmich, Olise, Sane, Gnabry, Kane
Odds
Barcelona 11/8
Draw 3/1
Bayern 9/5
Prediction
Hansi Flick to get one over his former club and perhaps hand a lesson to Vincent Kompany about the demands of top-level tactical coaching in the process. Barcelona 2-1 Bayern Munich.
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