The third midfielder, take advantage of the spaces and other keys of the Barça-Bayern

After a great game against Sevilla, Barça faces the first really big game in the Champions League. A meeting that will measure the Barça forces. And a Barça-Bayern Munich match is a historic match and one of the best duels that can be seen on the world football scene. A maximum level challenge with many tactical derivatives. Here my keys for this great meeting:

1) The third medium

The possible doubt about the goal was dispelled when Flick assured the starting position for Iñaki Peña both against Sevilla and tonight. So the big question in the eleven is who will accompany Pedri and Casadó in the middle of the field. With De Jong, Dani Olmo and Fermín recovered but without competitive rhythm, there are still three possibilities. The first, with many options, is to introduce Fermín as an attacking midfielder, maintaining the structure of the last games. The second, less likely, is that it is directly Dani Olmo who will start in the midfield. If he doesn’t start, we’ll see him for sure in the second half. And the third, with certain probabilities of also occurring, the entry of Frenkie De Jong as six to advance the positions of Casadó and Pedri respectively. The Barça coach’s decision is interesting since, although it is true that there is a classic on the horizon, today’s match is also decisive.

2) Move Kane before progressing

Unless Vincent Kompany decides to change today, the German team plays in a 4-2-3-1. Try to press up high by bringing out the midfielder to accompany the pressure up high in an intense manner. By contract, Harry Kane conditions the center backs with his presence, without much desire to recover. On the sides, the extremes, they are good pressers. So the favorable area for progress will be the central axis. Especially if he moves previously with a couple of passes between centre-backs to knock out the striker.

3) Remove Kim Min-Jae from the zone

Defensively, Bayern plays with very “jumping” centre-backs. Especially the Korean Kim Min-Jae. A player who always responds to the support or breaking movements of the opponents. He does not hesitate to follow his peer. What’s more, he feels comfortable in it. But when you leave your zone, spaces appear. And this is one of the things that Barça must take advantage of by combining Lewandowski’s unchecking with entries from behind into the clear zone. Furthermore, this is an aspect of the game that the Barça forward knows how to do best.

4) Move in favor and move against

The German team is a team very similar to the current Barça. Not only because of how it is arranged on the field (many forwards, a positional midfielder and offensive freedom for the full-backs) but also because of the way of playing. And the German team is also a very scoring team that also generates scoring chances. It is no coincidence that, with 24 in seven games and nine in two, they are the highest scoring team in the Bundesliga and the second in the Champions League. But he has also conceded goals in all games. So there are going to be some spaces that Barça has to know how to take advantage of, choosing well the activation of the counters and running with the maximum possible numbers to finish the play. Furthermore, Pavlovic’s loss helps the Catalans have more options. On the contrary, another of the key points of tonight’s game will be to minimize the possibility that Bayern can also run into space. And to do this, the level of activation in the immediate pressure after losing the ball has to be high. Decisive aspect without the ball.

5) Michael Olise, Kane and Coman

Like any top-level team, Bayern’s dangers are many. As a collective they have the level, idea and talent to cause harm in various ways. At the individual level there are also many proper names. The best known are Harry Kane, Kimmich and Gnabry, but we must highlight the potential of two young people. On the one hand, the talent of Michael Olise. The French playmaker, signed this summer, is a very special footballer. He can play on the wing or in the center and has an exquisite left foot. He has dribbling, the ability to make the last pass and score. Obligatory to talk about Kane. The English striker has just scored a hat trick in the last Bundesliga match and already has 12 goals between the Bundesliga and the Champions League. He is not a very plastic attacker, he has not quite achieved the successes that his level presupposes but it is impossible to ignore it. We will see what his physical condition is because he has been low in the last few games, but also pay attention to the already more accredited Jamal Musiala. It is pure talent to play football. His creativity, his ability to improvise quickly and his handling with the ball are spectacular. Not everyone fits in the eleven so it will be interesting to see who Kompany opts for. So the level of attention, concentration and intensity that Barça’s defense will need tonight will be the highest.