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Venue: Allianz Arena Stadium
Probable starting line-ups:
Bayern Munich Starting XI: Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Daniel van Buyten, Jerome Boateng, Diego Contento, Toni Kroos, Martinez, Thiago, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry, Thomas Müller
FC Barcelona Starting XI: Pinto, Montoya, Bartra, Mascherano, Adriano, Tello, Fàbregas, Song, Sergi Roberto, , Messi, Alexis
Predicted Score: Bayern Munich 3-1 Barcelona
Wednesday’s club friendly features Pep Guardiola’s new club and European champions Bayern Munich, as they host ghis former club Barcelona at the Allianz Arena.
On Tuesday, Barcelona named former Paraguay and New Wells Old Boys manager Gerardo Martino as the head coach to replace Tito Vilanova, who resigned as he battles against throat cancer. However, Gerardo Martino, known by his nickname ‘Tata’ will not be present during the match.Instead, Rubi and Jourdi Roura will be overseeing the team as they look forward to halt the success of the Bavarian Giants.
Under the new leadership of Guardiola, Bayern have scored 22 goals in five matches. Former Barca player, Thiago Alacantara will be eager to meet his former team mates during the club-friendly. The 21 -year old sensation reunited with his former coach Pep, and has managed to shine in his first two games.
Guardiola has introduced a 4-1-4-1 system, a change from the 4-2-3-1 formation under Henyckes, which won last season’s treble.He has switched Ribery to the middle and Germany captain Philipp Lahm from the right-back position into the midfield.It looks like the 42-year old has arrived with lot of fresh ideas as he continues to experiment with his squad using different tactics.
The Barcelona squad on the other hand, has only 12 players from the first team squad available as the rest of them are on vacation, especially the players who have participated in the Confederations Cup. They will have to shuffle their squad and pick out the best XI as the only available players are Pinto, Montoya, Bartra, Mascherano, Adriano, Song, Sergi Roberto, Dos Santos, Messi, Tello, Alexis and Oier. Captain, Carles Puyol is still ruled out, while Isaac Cuenca is still close to regaining full fitness. Thiago Alacantara’s departure is seen as a golden chance for Barca youngster, Sergi Roberto to show his real talent.
Moreover, Barcelona have something to prove against Bayern after they got thrashed 7-0 on aggregate during the semi-finals of Champions League 2013.
