Well established as European royalty, Barcelona and Bayern Munich have 11 Champions League titles between them, with the Bavarians the most recent winners in 2020.
Hugely important meetings between the two were commonplace in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and while they have never met in a final in European competition, there have been plenty of tournament-defining moments in games between them.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
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Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 16
Barcelona wins: 3
Draws: 2
Bayern wins: 11
Against no opponent have Barcelona suffered such greater hardship than Bayern Munich, as a remarkably poor record has seen the Catalan club win just three times in 16 encounters.
In recent times especially, Bayern have been in the dominant force, but the last meeting went emphatically in Barcelona's favour, as a Raphinha hat-trick helped the Catalans to a 4-1 win in the Champions League.
However, in the six meetings prior, Bayern came out on top on each occasion, with the German club scoring 22 times, and keeping a clean sheet in four games in succession.
Home and away 3-0 wins went Bayern's way in 2021, before they won by the same scoreline away from home the following season, and 2-0 at the Allianz Arena.
The meeting that preceded those group stage meetings was comfortably the most famous between the two, though, as an absolutely astonishing 90 minutes saw Bayern annihilate Barca 8-2 in the one-legged quarter-final behind closed doors in 2020.
Current Barca boss Hansi Flick was the man in the Bayern dugout for the thrashing, and Philippe Coutinho came on against his parent club to add a seventh and an eighth late on, in a game where Bayern had four inside half an hour.
It has not always been disastrous for the Blaugrana though, as their two other wins over Bayern were both hugely important.
Under Pep Guardiola, Barca swept Bayern aside 4-0 in the first leg of their UCL quarter-final in 2009, on their way to winning the competition, sparking an era of unprecedented success.
In 2015, Guardiola was in the opposite dugout when Lionel Messi scored one of the all-time Champions League goals in the first leg of their semi-final, putting Jerome Boateng on the floor before dinking Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal, also on their way to lifting the trophy at the end of the season.
That victory saw Barca avenge Bayern for the crushing victory the Bavarians enjoyed in the 2013 semi-finals, when Jupp Heynckes's side won 7-0 on aggregate, thanks to a 3-0 victory at the Nou Camp during a difficult time for the Spanish giants, whose manager, the late Tito Vilanova, was suffering severely health-wise.
With 10 wins over Barca in the Champions League, the Bavarians are just one victory away from equalling the record for most wins against a single opponent in the competition, which is currently owned by Real Madrid against Bayern.
The first win Bayern enjoyed over Barcelona actually came in a different competition - the UEFA Cup back in 1996 - and that also had huge implications, as the 4-3 aggregate success advanced the Germans to the final, where they defeated Bordeaux to take the crown.
Previous meetings
Oct 23, 2024: Barcelona 4-1 Bayern (Champions League League Phase)
Oct 26, 2022: Barcelona 0-3 Bayern (Champions League Group Stage)
Sep 13, 2022: Bayern 2-0 Barcelona (Champions League Group Stage)
Dec 08, 2021: Bayern 3-0 Barcelona (Champions League Group Stage)
Sep 14, 2021: Barcelona 0-3 Bayern (Champions League Group Stage)
Aug 14, 2020: Barcelona 2-8 Bayern (Champions League Quarter-Finals)
May 12, 2015: Bayern 3-2 Barcelona (Champions League Semi-Finals)
May 06, 2015: Barcelona 3-0 Bayern (Champions League Semi-Finals)
May 01, 2013: Barcelona 0-3 Bayern (Champions League Semi-Finals)
Apr 23, 2013: Bayern 4-0 Barcelona (Champions League Semi-Finals)
Apr 14, 2009: Bayern 1-1 Barcelona (Champions League Quarter-Finals)
Apr 08, 2009: Barcelona 4-0 Bayern (Champions League Quarter-Finals)
Nov 04, 1998: Barcelona 1-2 Bayern (Champions League Group Stage)
Oct 21, 1998: Bayern 1-0 Barcelona (Champions League Group Stage)
Apr 16, 1996: Barcelona 1-2 Bayern (UEFA Cup Semi-Finals)
Apr 01, 1996: Bayern 2-2 Barcelona (UEFA Cup Semi-Finals)
Last 10 Champions League meetings
Oct 23, 2024: Barcelona 4-1 Bayern (League Phase)
Oct 26, 2022: Barcelona 0-3 Bayern (Group Stage)
Sep 13, 2022: Bayern 2-0 Barcelona (Group Stage)
Dec 08, 2021: Bayern 3-0 Barcelona (Group Stage)
Sep 14, 2021: Barcelona 0-3 Bayern (Group Stage)
Aug 14, 2020: Barcelona 2-8 Bayern (Quarter-Finals)
May 12, 2015: Bayern 3-2 Barcelona (Semi-Finals)
May 06, 2015: Barcelona 3-0 Bayern (Semi-Finals)
May 01, 2013: Barcelona 0-3 Bayern (Semi-Finals)
Apr 23, 2013: Bayern 4-0 Barcelona (Semi-Finals)
Andrew Delaney
