Barcelona vs Bayern Munich combined XI | UEFA Champions League 2019-20
German champions Bayern Munich are set for one of the biggest clashes of the season as they take on former LaLiga Santander kings Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
The two teams head into the fixture after contrasting fortunes in the 2019/20 campaign. Bayern Munich, who appeared to begin stagnating under former coach Niko Kovac were sparked to life by a charismatic Hansi Flick. Since Flick's appointment at the helm, the Bavarians look a different side altogether as they're sleeker, sharper, and have played with more purpose with or without the ball.
Bayern romped their way to their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title, ultimately winning the league by 13 points despite a couple of scares earlier on in the season. Additionally, they also won the DFB-Pokal after an emphatic 4-2 victory over Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the final.
Barcelona, on the other hand, have had to endure a challenging season in LaLiga, particularly since the restart. The Catalans went into the lockdown period with a two-point lead over challengers Real Madrid, who came out to play every remaining game as it were a UCL final.
Los Blancos eventually capitalised on Barcelona's slip-ups, overturning the two-point deficit and inflicting a title defeat with a five-point lead.
Apart from relinquishing their Spanish crown, the Blaugrana have also faced several other issues. Their season was plagued with controversies such as the war of words between Eric Abidal and club captain Lionel Messi, the sacking of Ernesto Valverde and appointment of Quique Setien, and the latter's future coming into question.
Messi and co ensured that such issues didn't inflict further damage upon a trophyless season so far. They did so by beating Napoli by a scoreline of 3-1 (4-2 on aggregate) to book a date for their dance with the Germans.
Ahead of this high-profile clash, here, we take a look at the best possible combined XI from the available players from both teams.
Goalkeeper: Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Marc-Andre ter Stegen is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, yet still ends up playing second fiddle to Bayern Munich legend Manuel Neuer for Germany. However, that is not the case for this XI as Ter Stegen is the preferred keeper after another season where he has seen him be the shining light for Barcelona's backline.
Despite the 28-year-old conceding 36 goals in 36 games, Ter Stegen has bailed Barcelona out with several clutch and gravity-defying saves. In total, the German has faced 110 shots on target, and he's managed to save 78 of them, which brings his save percentage to 72.7. Much like his compatriot Neuer, Ter Stegen has also proven to be an excellent goalkeeper with the ball at his feet, as well as while carrying out the role of a sweeper-keeper.
There is a very compelling case for Ter Stegen being Barcelona's second-most valuable player after Lionel Messi. He's kept 14 clean sheets in LaLiga this season, and perhaps could have kept more, if Barcelona didn't defend as questionably as they did for large parts of the season.
Also read: UEFA Champions League best XI according to ratings