By IVES GALARCEP

The UEFA Champions League match-up many would have pegged as the best pairing for a final will take place in the semifinals, as FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich square off starting today with the first leg at the Camp Nou (2:45pm, Fox Sports 1).

Pep Guardiola returns to Barcelona to face the club he spent most of his life with before leaving and eventually resurfacing with Bayern. He will lead the German champions into the Camp Nou as slight underdogs against a Barcelona side playing some of its best soccer since Guardiola’s departure.

Bayern will be without a handful of stars, including Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, David Alaba and Holger Badstuber, but still has plenty of firepower to cause problems for a Barcelona side featuring a full-strength squad.

SBI will be providing live commentary on today’s semifinal first leg, so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Today’s SBI Live Commentary is after the jump):