One powerhouse is moving on, and one is going home. Follow along as Lionel Messi's Barcelona tangles with Robert Lewandowski's Bayern Munich for a place in the UCL semis.
One European powerhouse is moving on, while one will be going home.
Those are the clear stakes for Barcelona and Bayern Munich, a pair of five-time European champions pitted against one another in Friday's Champions League quarterfinal in Lisbon, Portugal.
On one side there's Lionel Messi's Barcelona, a club that hasn't been nearly as sharp or devastating as in past years but still boasts its game-changing Argentine maestro, who scored one of his all-time great goals vs. Napoli in the round of 16.
On the other, there's Robert Lewandowski's Bayern Munich, a side looking to win a treble for the first time since 2013 after already claiming the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal titles. Lewandowski has 53 goals in 44 games across all competitions this season, a tally that would have made him the favorite to win the Ballon d'Or, had the award not been canceled this year on account of the pandemic.
The duo headlines a matchup teeming with star power–with Barcelona welcoming Ousmane Dembele back from a long-term injury layoff at a convenient time. He begins on the bench–as does Antoine Griezmann, with last summer's marquee signing not fitting into Quique Setien's tactical switch to a 4-4-2.
Stay tuned here for live updates and highlights of goals and key plays throughout the match (refresh for most recent updates).
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Here are the lineups for both teams:
The winner will advance to face either Manchester City or Lyon in the semifinals on Wednesday, with the victor of that match reaching the Aug. 23 final against either PSG or RB Leipzig.