FC Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: 3 battles to watch out on UCL matchday 3

João Palhinha vs Pedri

Bayern suffered a big blow during the win against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday as Aleksandar Pavlović broke his collarbone due to a nasty fall. The young German midfielder is expected to be out for at least three months. In his absence, João Palhinha will be the first-choice option to partner Joshua Kimmich in the center of the park.

The Portuguese midfielder can break up play with interceptions and strong tackles. His astute defensive awareness provides the perfect shielding to the back four. Palhinha seamlessly slotted in midfield against Stuttgart and did a fine job at keeping Stuttgart quiet in the center of the park.

However, the challenge against FC Barcelona will be greater for Palhinha. He is likely to be tasked with keeping Pedri quiet in the midfield. The Spanish midfielder has been in fine form for Barcelona this season. He provides creativity from the center of the park and allows Barcelona to dominate the opposition. Pedri also has a knack for scoring crucial goals, as he did against Sevilla on the weekend.

Bayern need to keep Pedri quiet in midfield to cut off the creative supply to Barcelona’s forwards. Palhinha will have to give Pedri less space and time on the ball to disrupt Barcelona's game plan. A good performance in Spain on Wednesday will further boost Palhinha’s confidence after enduring a slow start to the season.