FC Bayern Munich vs. FC Barcelona – Guardiola faces familiar faces

Guardiola faces a familiar foe

After their 7-0 ambush by Bayern, Barcelona is going to be facing them once again, only this time in a pre-season friendly. This match also sees Pep Guardiola face his former team, who now despite having a new manager, will travel to the Allianz Arena without a permanent coach. Jordi Roura and Rubi will be leading the club for what maybe their last time.

The absence of Tito Vilonova will most definitely impact the players and Barca will also be without Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Piqué, Neymar or Dani Alves. All of these played in the Confederations Cup and are yet to return to the club. Barring Lionel Messi and Alexis Sanchez, Barcelona will also be without their captain, Carlos Puyol who’s out due to injury.

Pinto, Montoya, Bartra, Mascherano, Adriano, Song, Sergi Roberto, Dos Santos, Tello, and finally Oie (if you consider him to be a first team player) are all at Jordi Roura’s disposal. A number of players from Barcelona’s B team will be called up for the match.

If we’re to consider the recent history between these two teams, Jose Manuel Pinto is surely going to have a busy night in the Barcelona goal. The Catalan midfield too, without its regular heavyweights looks extremely weak. Alex Song and Sergi Roberto are two of the strongest options, but line them up against Bayern’s midfield and it’s not going to be a pretty sight.

Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich have started their pre-season on a high. Six out six pre-season victories, 35 outstanding goals and a 5-1 Telekom Cup victory over Borussia Monchengladbach.

There’s no “tiki-taka” involved here; Pep’s given them a new formation and captain Philip Lahm is all too happy with his new role in the midfield. Whether they play a 4-1-4-1 formation or a 4-2-3-1, this game is a sort of a dress rehearsal for Saturday’s German Super Cup match against Borussia Dortmund.

Manuel Neuer, who hasn’t featured in the past three games might start the game, playing a pivotal role in Bayern’s defense. Despite playing in the midfield, Lahm might make his way back to the right-hand side of defense, while David Alaba or Diego Contento will play as the left-back.

Pep’s got a lot of options for the Bayern midfield and leaving out Bastian Schweinsteiger won’t matter much. Toni Kroos and Thiago Alcântara will most definitely start; it’ll be interesting to see how Thiago does against his former team. Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery could be the other names included on the Bayern Munich team sheet.

Will we see a striker finally? Hard to say. Guardiola’s been pretty well off without one, but Mario Mandzukic might get a chance to feature if Pep decides not to cram everyone in the midfield.

Possible Line-ups

Barcelona (4-3-3): Pinto; Montoya, Bartra, Mascherano, Adriano; Song, Ilie, Roberto; Alexis, Messi, Roman

Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Lahm, Van Buyten, Dante, Alaba; Thiago, Kroos; Robben, Müller, Ribery; Mandzukic

Prediction: If Bayern Munich pick up from where they left off against Barcelona in the Champions League, there will definitely be a goal-scoring spree. Messi might be able to weave his magic against the Bayern midfield and get past their defenders and score a goal. Bayern has a lot of options while Barcelona are short of options, therefore, it may not be a really close game, but it’ll be an interesting one for sure. 4-1 to Bayern Munich