Bayern v Barcelona preview
Monday, May 11, 2015
Article summary
Few are giving FC Bayern München much hope of overturning a 3-0 defeat by FC Barcelona but Josep Guardiola certainly has not given up – and Luis Enrique knows it.
Article top media content
Article body
• Barcelona go into second leg 3-0 up after Lionel Messi-inspired win last Wednesday
• Josep Guardiola says Bayern "can't do everything in 20–25 minutes"
• Xavi Hernández could become first player to play 150 UEFA Champions League games
• Bayern beat Barcelona 4-0 in Munich at last-four stage two years ago
• Barcelona on verge of first final since Guardiola led them to 2011 title
Possible lineups
Bayern: Neuer; Rafinha, Benatia, Boateng, Bernat; Xabi Alonso; Müller, Lahm, Thiago Alcántara, Götze; Lewandowski.
Out: Badstuber (thigh), Alaba (knee), Robben (calf), Ribéry (ankle)
Doubtful: Rode (hamstring)
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Jordi Alba; Rakitić, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suárez, Neymar.
• Out: none
Josep Guardiola, Bayern coach
We are happy we are in the semi-finals. We are 3-0 down and we are up against the best team of the last 15 years. We have to defend well first and foremost and then see how the game goes. You never know what might happen – for 77 minutes it was 0-0 in Barcelona.
Of course we have to score goals. We have to make use of the few chances we will probably get, but with our ability, the game will show what we can do. We did not expect to win by such big margins against Porto or Shakhtar Donetsk. We have to be patient. We can't do everything we need to do in 20–25 minutes.
I am happy here and I want to do my best for the club and my players. I have done my best for Bayern from my first day here in Munich. If it is not good enough then I am sorry. It is a dream for me to be here. Of course I want to win this tie, but my life will not change if we do not win.
Everything comes down to the players – I am not fighting for my own reputation, I am here for the players. We are Bayern and I never think we have no chance. It is not a game we cannot win, but we have to use our heads and our hearts.
Luis Enrique, Barcelona coach
Yes, we are the best counterattacking team. If Pep said that, we accept it – we don't want to have a crazy game. We want to have the ball and create chances, as Bayern will too. We will need to focus on attacking and defending because if we just defend, we have no chance of scoring goals.
You can't be too confident as you have to respect your opponent, so we will need to keep our players calm. We know how big Bayern are so we will try our best not to allow them too many chances. They will have their fans behind them, so we will try to keep possession and create as much as possible up front.
If we take the lead it will be good for us. However, Bayern have the quality to score and did cause us problems in Barcelona. The common goal is to reach the final. The most important thing is to be motivated; of course we have a very good result from the first leg, but it's important the players trust themselves.
Bayern will go on the attack and try to create chances – I know what [Guardiola] is going to try to do and I'm looking forward to a really nice game.
Weekend results
Bayern 0-1 FC Augsburg (Bobadilla 71)
Barcelona 2-0 Real Sociedad de Fútbol (Neymar 51, Pedro 85)
Match fact
• Neymar has now scored 50 goals for Barcelona – how many games did it take him to reach that total? Find out in our extensive match background.
You can listen to the game on Matchday Live via the UEFA.com MatchCentre or on the updated version of the official UEFA.com app from 19.30CET