Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich.

There are so many stories to follow in this matchup. Pep Guardiola vs. Luis Enrique. The 7-0 thrashing in the 2013 semifinals. Bayern's injuries against Barcelona's resurgence. Which side wins the possession battle?

And on and on and on.

But the players will ultimately decide the game, and in this tie, the backline will be the one with the greatest pressure. Which holds serve? Which implodes? Latin Post takes a look at the goaltenders and defenders for each side in this tie:

Bayern Munich - Manuel Neuer, Bernat, Jerome Boateng, Rafinha, Dante, Holger Badstuber

It will be interesting to see if Guardiola opts for Babstuder or Dante in this tie. The former got a big chance in the second leg against Porto because the former was atrocious in the first game against the Portuguese side. That decision will be interesting to see, but in all likelihood, Guardiola turns back to Dante, who has had a solid year for the club.

The backline rarely sees the ball because Bayern is so good at retaining the ball in the Bundesliga; the team has maintained the ball around 70 percent of the time in domestic competitions. For some comparisons, Barcelona averages 69.2 percent of the possession in its domestic games, but in the Champions League, Bayern has the edge with 65.9 percent of possession while Barcelona has 63.6 percent of possession.

Bernat and Rafinha are speedy on the flanks and are solid at defending as well. However, they do get exploited on the counter, when in fact there are counters to be dealt with. These players will likely have to deal with Neymar and Lionel Messi in this game; their play could tip the scales one way or another.

In goal, there is likely no goalie better than Manuel Neuer at the moment and he is a major reason why this team is so good at retaining the ball. He likes to take the role of a sweeper-keeper, running out to challenge players on the break. It is a risky proposition, but he is so poised that it rarely costs the team.

Barcelona - Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Jeremy Mathieu, Gerard Pique, Dani Alves, Jordi Alves

This is the likely set-up for Blaugrana in this game, assuming health holds up. Javier Mascherano could get a look over Pique, as well.

The reality is that statistically, Barcelona's defense is far better. As a group, the backline averages more tackles per game, more interceptions and more clearances as well. For comparison, Pique leads Barcelona with 4.5 clearances per game while Boateng leads Bayern with three clearances per game. Of course, this also means that Barcelona is faced with more opportunities that demand clearances, something that bodes well for Bayern Munich.

The defense is set up in a similar manner to Bayern's with the Alba and Alves playing like wingbacks. Both players are great moving forward, but leave space to exploit on counters. As is the case with Bayern, Alves and Alba will need to be at their best to take down Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery on the flanks.

Whereas Bayern might have to worry about the inexperience of Rafinha and Bernat, Barcelona has to worry about Alves' declining form. He can still put up major moments, as evidenced in the second leg against PSG, but he is slowing down and has been exposed more consistently in recent years.

Even their goaltender is German with ter Stegen looking to oust countryman Neuer in this competition. Ter Stegen is a solid keeper, but he has had his share of gaffes in this tournament and is nowhere near the finished product that Neuer is.

Edge -- On defense these sides are as even as they come. The fullbacks on Bayern might not have as much experience as those of Barcelona, but Alves' weaknesses compensate for this.

And in goal there is no doubt which side has the better German keeper -- Munich.