Why bayern munich will win

The French international is undoubtedly one of the best players to have ever worn the Bayern jersey and is quite simply one of Guardiola's greatest assets. The year-old midfielder has missed much of this season but should be back and raring to go by the time Shakhtar rolls around this month. Bayern have an extra gear in store for Europe, and it will be coming in the form of this talented Frenchman. According to Transfermarkt , forward Robert Lewandowski has 19 goals and 11 assists in just 34 Champions League games for both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern over the course of his career.

This tally rounds out to a healthy goal or assist every Compare this to similar stats in the Bundesliga, which show the striker scoring or assisting every As we've seen during his time at Dortmund, this towering striker truly knows his way around some of Europe's best teams and will undoubtedly be a key figure in any success Bayern have in the competition this season. Bayern and Guardiola currently have a problem with their defence—it simply doesn't seem to work against good counter-attacking sides.

We've seen this at times throughout the Bundesliga campaign with the likes of Wolfsburg and Dortmund posing very real threats to Bayern's high line. A game scoring run in the Bundesliga briefly came to an end before Lewandowski's brace in victory over Leverkusen, and the year-old has netted in each of his last seven UEFA Champions League outings, grabbing a total of 10 goals.

That includes five in three this season, with doubles against Barcelona and Dynamo Kyiv and a goal in the triumph over Benfica on Matchday 3. Meanwhile, even central midfielder Joshua Kimmich has three. Sane in particular has been a standout performer with a direct hand in 14 goals in 14 appearances. The year-old looks reborn under Julian Nagelsmann and now playing out on the left more.

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To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Benfica, in a stadium they know all too well. It seems Bayern Munich will forever have a curse that follows them: The curse of the woodwork. I counted no less than three separate occasions during this match where Bayern had an excellent shot or opportunity get stifled by the pesky-woodwork. Messi's move to Paris Saint-Germain ripped the heart right out of Barca, at a time when Bayern 's is beating stronger than ever, in the form of only the third man after Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric to deprive Messi of the world's best player award in over 11 years: Lewandowski.

Bayern continue to build around their talisman, as Barcelona have just lost theirs. And while the Catalan club said farewell to a player whose goalscoring achievements may never be matched, Bayern are enjoying historic returns from a man who just recently smashed a record deemed unbeatable — until last May.

That is most certainly not the first and likely it will not be the last record Lewandowski will break. In fact, he's recently claimed another from Der Bomber by surpassing his club-best run of scoring in 15 straight appearances in all competitions. Lewy has now done 17 in a row after his goal against RB Leipzig at the weekend. With Bayern benefitting from a player in the form of his life and Barcelona bereft of their goalscoring guarantee of the past 17 years, the German champions already boast a huge advantage pre-match.

A two-time UEFA European Cup winner as a player and a shoe-in for any all-time XI in Europe's premier continental club competition, Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has met Bayern twice as a player and two more times as a coach, without ever tasting success.

Bayern's overall record against Barca also sits in the German team's favour, with the Munich outfit leading the overall head-to-head record with seven wins to the Catalans' two, as well as two draws.