Audio By Carbonatix
Factfile on Barcelona and Bayern Munich ahead of the Champions League semi-final, first-leg, tie on Wednesday.
Suarez scored his first hat-trick for the club as Luis Enrique’s team maintained their two-point lead ahead of Real Madrid with three games to play thanks to an 8-0 demolition of Cordoba at the weekend. That victory extended Barca’s unbeaten streak to 16 games and they have won 26 of their last 28 matches in all competitions.
Bayern already have a 25th Bundesliga title wrapped up, but Guardiola’s side have been rocked by injuries in recent weeks.
An under-strength Bayern side were beaten for just the third time this season on league duty 2-0 by Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, but have now lost four of their last 10 in all competitions after being knocked out of the German Cup on penalties by Borussia Dortmund last week and losing 3-1 at Porto in the first-leg of their quarter-final.
Striker Robert Lewandowski should be fit to play with a protective face mask despite breaking a cheekbone against his old club Dortmund, but Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, David Alaba and Holger Badstuber all miss out through injury.
Coaches:
Barcelona – Luis Enrique Martinez Garcia (ESP) — 44 yrs
Bayern Munich – Pep Guardiola (ESP) – 44 yrs
Leading scorers in all competitions:
Barcelona – Lionel Messi (51 goals)
Bayern Munich – Robert Lewandowski (23 goals)
Domestic league performance:
Barcelona – Top of La Liga, two points ahead of Real Madrid and an insurmountable 11 clear of defending champions Atletico Madrid in third.
Bayern Munich – Champions of Germany for a third consecutive year, they lead Wolfsburg by 14 points with three games remaining.
Road to semi-finals
Barcelona – Winners of Group F ahead of PSG. Beat Manchester City 3-1 on aggregate in the last 16 and eased past PSG once more 5-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.
Bayern Munich – Winners of Group E ahead of Manchester City. Beat Shakhtar Donetsk 7-0 in Munich in the last 16, second leg clash after a goalless draw in Ukraine and needed an even more remarkable performance at home in the quarter-finals by thrashing Porto 6-1 having lost 3-1 in Portugal a week previously.
European Cup/Champions League best performances:
Barcelona – winners 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011
Bayern Munich – winners 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013
Other honours:
Barcelona – 22 x Spanish champions, 26 x Copa del Rey winners, 4 x Cup Winners’ Cup winners, 3 x Inter-Cities Fairs Cup winners, 4 x UEFA Super Cup winners, 2 x Club World Cup winners
Bayern Munich – 25 x German champions, 17 x German Cup winners, 1 x UEFA Cup winners, 1 x UEFA Super Cup winners, 1 x Club World Cup winners, 2 x Intercontinental Cup winners
Previous European Cup/Champions League meetings:
Bayern Munich 1 Barcelona 0 – 1998/99 Champions League group stage
Barcelona 1 Bayern Munich 2 – 1998/99 Champions League group stage
Barcelona 4 Bayern Munich 0 – 2008/09 Champions League quarter-final, first-leg
Bayern Munich 1 Barcelona 1 – 2008/09 Champions League quarter-final, second-leg
Bayern Munich 4 Barcelona 0 – 2011/12 Champions League semi-final, first-leg
Barcelona 0 Bayern Munich 3 – 2011/12 Champions League semi-final, second-leg
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