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Bayern on brink of Wembley showpiece

FC Barcelona are unbeaten at home in Europe for four years but need to make UEFA Champions League history to overturn a 4-0 first-leg defeat at FC Bayern München.

Background: FC Barcelona v FC Bayern München ©Getty Images

Having won the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against FC Barcelona 4-0, it will take something spectacular to deny FC Bayern München a third final appearance in four seasons.

• Barcelona are targeting a third Wembley final having already played in, and won, European Cup finals there in 1992 and 2011. The Spanish side also have a four-year unbeaten home record in Europe and beat AC Milan 4-0 at home in the last 16, but will need something extra special to oust a Bayern team who inflicted their heaviest UEFA competition away defeat in the first leg and have already won at Arsenal FC and Juventus in the knockout rounds.

• Only three clubs have managed to recover a four-goal first-leg deficit in UEFA competition – as current Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes may know. He was coach of the VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach side that beat Real Madrid CF 5-1 at home in the 1985/86 UEFA Cup third round, only to lose the return 4-0. Leixões SC (against FC La Chaux-de-Fonds, 1961/62 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round) and FK Partizan (Queens Park Rangers FC, 1984/85 UEFA Cup second round) overturned 6-2 away losses with 5-0 and 4-0 home victories respectively.

• RC Deportivo La Coruña hold the record for the biggest first-leg deficit overturned in the UEFA Champions League era, recovering from a 4-1 home loss to Milan with a 4-0 home win in the 2003/04 quarter-finals.

• Barcelona and Bayern are chasing a fifth European crown and have another connection in Josep Guardiola. A UEFA Champions League winner with Barcelona as player and coach, he left last summer after overseeing their 2009 and 2011 European triumphs. He will replace Heynckes – once coach of Real Madrid – at Bayern this summer.

Past meetings
• This season's semi-final is in complete contrast to the 2008/09 quarter-finals when Barcelona won the first leg 4-0 at the Camp Nou thanks to goals from Lionel Messi (9, 38), Samuel Eto'o (12) and Thierry Henry (43). Bayern earned a 1-1 draw against the eventual champions in the return, Franck Ribéry (47) and Seydou Keita (73) scoring.

• Ottmar Hitzfeld's Bayern beat Louis van Gaal's Barcelona home and away in the 1998/99 group stage en route to reaching that season's final, which they lost at Camp Nou to Manchester United FC. Stefan Effenberg (45) earned a 1-0 victory in Munich while in Barcelona, Alexander Zickler (48) and Hasan Salihamidžić (87) struck to overturn Giovanni's 29th-minute penalty. It was the last time Barcelona failed to beat a German side at home.

• Bayern won the clubs' only previous semi-final meeting 4-3 on aggregate on their way to lifting the 1995/96 UEFA Cup, Otto Rehhagel's side drawing 2-2 in Germany before winning 2-1 away to Johan Cruyff's team. Barcelona's lineup included Guardiola and goalkeeper Carles Busquets, father of Sergio.

Match background
• Barcelona have won their last ten home games against German visitors and have an overall home record of W19 D1 L6 against Bundesliga sides. Messi hit five goals – a UEFA Champions League record – when Barcelona overran their most recent German guests, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 7-1 in last season's last 16.

• Barcelona's record against German sides in two-legged contests in UEFA competition is W13 L4; Bayern's record against Spanish opponents is W8 L6.

• Bayern drew 1-1 at Valencia CF in this season's group stage and won 2-0 at Villarreal CF in last season's – their first victory in Spain since 2001. Bayern's record away to Liga teams is W5 D5 L10.

• This is a record sixth successive semi-final for Barcelona. They have won six of their previous 13 last-four ties in the European Cup:
2011/12 Chelsea FC, lost 2-3 (0-1 a, 2-2 h)
2010/11 Real Madrid CF, won 3-1 (2-0 a, 1-1 h)
2009/10 FC Internazionale Milano, lost 2-3 (1-3 a, 1-0 h)
2008/09 Chelsea FC 1-1, won on away goals (0-0 h, 1-1 a)
2007/08 Manchester United FC, lost 0-1 (0-0 h, 0-1 a)
2005/06 AC Milan, won 1-0 (1-0 a, 0-0 h)
2001/02 Real Madrid CF, lost 1-3 (0-2 h, 1-1 a)
1999/2000 Valencia CF, lost 3-5 (1-4 a, 2-1 h)
1993/94 FC Porto, won 3-0 (h)
1985/86 IFK Göteborg, 3-3, won 5-4 on penalties (0-3 a, 3-0 h)
1974/75 Leeds United AFC, lost 2-3 (1-2 a, 1-1 h)
1960/61 Hamburger SV, won replay 1-0 (1-0 h, 1-2 a)
1959/60 Real Madrid CF, lost 2-6 (1-3 a, 1-3 h)
* The Spanish side advanced to the 1991/92 final as group winners.

• Bayern's European Cup semi-final record is nine wins and five defeats:
2011/12 Real Madrid CF 3-3, won 3-1 on penalties (2-1 h, 1-2 a)
2009/10 Olympique Lyonnais, won 4-0 (1-0 h, 3-0 a)
2000/01 Real Madrid CF, won 3-1 (1-0 a, 2-1 h)
1999/2000 Real Madrid CF, lost 2-3 (0-2 a, 2-1 h)
1998/99 FC Dynamo Kyiv, won 4-3 (3-3 a, 1-0 h)
1994/95 AFC Ajax, lost 2-5 (0-0 h, 2-5 a)
1990/91 FK Crvena zvezda, lost 3-4 (1-2 h, 2-2 a)
1989/90 AC Milan 2-2, lost on away goals (0-1 a, 2-1 h)
1986/87 Real Madrid CF, won 4-2 (4-1 h, 0-1 a)
1981/82 PFC CSKA Sofia, won 7-4 (3-4 a, 4-0 h)
1980/81 Liverpool FC, 1-1, lost on away goals (0-0 a, 1-1 h)
1975/76 Real Madrid CF, won 3-1 (1-1 a, 2-0 h)
1974/75 AS Saint-Étienne, won 2-0 (0-0 a, 2-0 h)
1973/74 Újpest FC, won 4-1 (1-1 a, 3-0 h)

• Barcelona's shoot-out record in UEFA competition is:
5-4 v KKS Lech Poznań, 1988/89 European Cup Winners' Cup second round
0-2 v FC Steaua Bucureşti, 1985/86 European Cup final
5-4 v IFK Göteborg, 1985/86 European Cup semi-final
4-1 v RSC Anderlecht, 1978/79 European Cup Winners' Cup second round
3-1 v Ipswich Town FC, 1977/78 UEFA Cup third round
5-4 v AZ Alkmaar, 1977/78 UEFA Cup second round

• Bayern's shoot-out record is:
3-4 v Chelsea FC, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League final
3-1 v Real Madrid CF, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semi-final
5-4 v Valencia CF, 2000/01 UEFA Champions League final
9-8 v PAOK FC, 1983/84 UEFA Cup second round
4-3 v Åtvidabergs FF, 1973/74 European Cup first round

• The winners will face Borussia Dortmund or Madrid at Wembley on Saturday 25 May.

Team ties
• Heynckes suffered two defeats against Barcelona in his solitary campaign as Madrid coach in 1997/98, losing 3-2 at home and 3-0 away in a season where the Merengues finished fourth and Barcelona first. However, he did steer Madrid to that season's UEFA Champions League title, their first for 32 years. Heynckes also had spells coaching Athletic Club (1992-94 and 2001-03) and CD Tenerife (1996/97). His combined Liga record against Barcelona is P12 W4 D3 L5.

• Bayern's 2011/12 semi-final victory against Madrid was Heynckes' first in two-legged European ties against Spanish opposition as a coach. His four defeats include a 7-0 loss at RC Celta de Vigo with SL Benfica in the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup and that incredible 1985/86 UEFA Cup tie against Madrid where his Mönchengladbach side won 5-1 at home but still lost on away goals after a 4-0 defeat in Spain.

• Arjen Robben was a Madrid player from 2007-09, winning one Liga title and scoring against Barcelona in a 4-1 league win on 7 May 2008. The Dutchman suffered last-16 elimination with Chelsea FC against Barcelona in 2005/06.

• Robben's Netherlands were beaten by Spain in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final. Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Busquets, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, David Villa, Pedro Rodríguez and Cesc Fàbregas all featured for Spain.

• Puyol headed the only goal of Spain's 2010 World Cup semi-final past Manuel Neuer. Germany's team also featured Philipp Lahm, Mario Gomez, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos. Lahm, Gomez and Schweinsteiger also suffered a 1-0 UEFA EURO 2008 final loss to a Spain side including Puyol, Iniesta, Xavi and Fàbregas.

• Thomas Müller scored in Germany's 4-0 win against Messi and Javier Mascherano's Argentina in the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals.

• Mario Mandžukić was in the Croatia team eliminated from UEFA EURO 2012 after losing 1-0 to Spain in their final group fixture.

• Javi Martínez is an international team-mate of Barcelona's Spain contingent. With Athletic, Martínez faced Barcelona 15 times but was never on the winning team, suffering Copa del Rey final defeats in 2009 and 2012.

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