Xavi has revealed Barcelona’s line-up for the final game of the Champions League group stage against Bayern Munich. Ousmane Dembélé is in the starting line-up for the first time this season at Barça, which also has Frenkie de Jong back in the starting lineup. Bayern is already assured of the lead, but Julian Nagelsmann still opts for big names such as Robert Lewandowski, Leroy Sane and Thomas Müller. The game in the Allianz Arena starts at 9 p.m. and is led by referee Ovidiu Hategan.
Dembele came back in early November from a lingering knee injury, which had kept him sidelined from the European Championship. In his first appearance, the Frenchman suffered a hamstring injury, which again kept him on the sidelines for two games. In the last three games, Dembélé came in for about half an hour. For the crucial squatter against Bayern, the right winger is therefore considered fit enough to start. Jordi Alba, who traveled to Germany with minor complaints, also starts in the base.
That also applies to Frenkie de Jong, who was spared against Real Betis (0-1 loss) and played only half an hour. Xavi opts for a five-man defense with Sergiño Dest as right back. Gerard Piqué, Ronald Araújo and Clément Lenglet are the centre-backs. In midfield, Gavi is preferred over Nico González, while Busquets and Frenkie de Jong are also lined up in that line. Dembélé plays up front with Memphis Depay around him.
The Bayern team has only changed in two places compared to last Saturday’s top match against Borussia Dortmund (2-3 win): Lucas Hernández and Leon Goretzka are given a rest and are replaced by Niklas Sule and Jamal Musiala. Lucas is also on the bench for a possible substitute. Bayern therefore starts with the well-known vanguard consisting of Lewandowski as striker and Sané and Kingsley Coman as wing attackers.
Barcelona need a win to keep it in their own hands. In all other cases, the Catalans are dependent on the result at Benfica – Dynamo Kiev. The Portuguese are third in Group E and are two points less than Xavi’s team. Where Bayern is working on a flawless Champions League campaign with five wins from five matches, Barcelona threatens not to survive the group stage for the first time in 21 years. If Barcelona loses or draws on a visit to the German record champion and Benfica beats the already played out Kiev in the other group match, it is finished in the highest European club tournament and the Europa League remains.
The last time Barcelona failed to make it to the eighth finals of the Champions League was in 2000/01, when a third place was achieved. In the 2003/04 season, the club failed to qualify for the billion-dollar ball. President Joan Laporta took extensive time in the run-up to the Bayern game to address the Spanish press present in southern Germany. “Barcelona is a club with a great track record in the Champions League,” Laporta said in conversation with Mundo Deportivo in five titles in club history. “We want to qualify. We know there is the will of everyone in the club. These are the games in which you have to show the pride to play for this club. I have every confidence that Barca have pride and dignity today will show. There are no excuses now.”
Line-up Bayern Munich: Neuer; Pavard, Sule, Upamecano, Davies; Tolisso, Müller, Musiala, Sane, Lewandowski, Coman
Barcelona line-up: Ter Stegen; Dest, Pique, Araújo, Lenglet, Alba; Gavi, Busquets, F. de Jong; Dembele, Depay