5 things that will decide the outcome of Barcelona vs Bayern Munich

Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique will face off in the Champions League semi-final Barcelona welcome Bayern Munich to Camp Nou in one of the Champions League’s classic matchups in this season's second semi-final.To add a little more spice to the occasion, Pep Guardiola returns to the Camp Nou for the first time in a competitive fixture and naturally the narrative in the build up to this one has almost exclusively been written by the man from Santpedor.Barca will still have their 7-0 aggregate drubbing at the hands of the Bavarians fresh in their minds, but this is an entirely different Blaugrana to the one which was comprehensively outplayed on those two occasions.Luis Enrique inherited a tired looking and out-of-sorts Barca from Tata Martino, but he has turned them into something approaching Guardiola vintage. In the process, he has surpassed Pep with the most amount of wins in his first 50 games as manager.42 wins from his first 50 games is an astonishing return and if he manages two more he will put the ghost of Guardiola firmly to bed. Game on!We take a look at five key factors that will decide the tie.

#1 Bayern\'s injury crisis

You can have the best players in the world and the best team in the world, but if you are beset by injuries then you become just as vulnerable as any other side. Whilst they are not necessarily the cause of an under par performance per se, injuries have to be a factor.

For example, when Bayern last played Barcelona in the Champions League, Lionel Messi had been struggling with injuries for a while and he was far from the player that everyone knew he could be. One or two other first-teamers were also not at their best.

On this particular occasion, Bayern will be without Arjen Robben for both legs of the tie. One of the chief destroyers of Barcelona last time out has a hamstring injury that rules him out for the season.

David Alaba too is definitely out whilst Franck Ribery is unlikely to make the first leg and Robert Lewandowski will only be able to do so by wearing a protective mask, to aid his broken nose and broken cheekbone. Hardly the best way to prepare for your biggest match of the season.