The UEFA Champions League has reached the business stage of the competition as only 16 teams remain. Bayern Munich sneaked past Celtic 3-2 in the play-offs via a stoppage-time winner from Alphonso Davies, and their reward was a first ever European match-up against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, with the first leg taking place Wednesday night [20:00 GMT, 21:00 CET.]
This season’s final is scheduled to take place at the Allianz Arena for the first time since their infamous penalty shootout defeat to 2012 winners Chelsea. Bayern would relish the opportunity to be among the finalists and right the wrongs of their 2012 heartbreak. However, their European journey sees them take on Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen whom they have not beaten since 2022.
Bayern sit top of Bundesliga table, while Leverkusen sit eight points adrift in second. Die Werkself got the better of their rivals in December at the Allianz Arena in a 1-0 victory in the DFB Pokal. They will be hoping to cause more cup heartbreak and dent the Bavarian outfit’s UEFA Champions League aspirations.
The Stats
Alonso’s side have had the better of the head-to-heads as of late, with Bayern’s last win against Die Werkself coming in 2022. The sides have faced each other on three occasions this season with both Bundesliga meetings ending in draws, while a DFB Pokal cup tie in December saw Leverkusen advance through a 1-0 win at the Allianz Arena.
This will mark the first ever meeting between Bayern and Leverkusen in a European competition.
Bayern come into the fixture in good form, winning four of their last five Bundesliga ties, and they sit eight points clear at the top of the table. The outlier was a 0-0 stalemate against tomorrow night’s opponents. Their last defeat came in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Feyenoord in January.
The Bavarian side finished in the play-off positions in the league table and had the task of taking on Scottish champions Celtic. They advanced through to the round of 16 courtesy of a last-gasp Alphonso Davies winner as they avoided extra time in a 3-2 aggregate win.
Embed from Getty ImagesLeverkusen are Bayern’s title rivals and reside in second place in the Bundeliga table. They have won three of their last five league matches. Just like their rivals, their last defeat in all competitions came in the UEFA Champions League, this time against Atlético Madrid.
Unlike Bayern, Alonso’s side finished sixth in the league table and therefore automatically qualified for the round of 16.
Team News
Bayern will be sweating over the fitness of Joshua Kimmich, as he only returned to light training over the weekend. Eric Dier and Aleksandar Pavlović both missed team training with minor illness on Sunday, while Jamal Musiala, João Palhinha and Davies were absent with minor knocks, but all five players should return for tomorrow evening’s clash.
Harry Kane is fit and will be the danger man for the hosts. Kane has contributed to more UEFA Champions League goals than any other player since the start of last season, with 15 goals and five assists to his name.
That said, Florian Wirtz is giving the England captain a run for his money this season in his first UEFA Champions League campaign, contributing with six goals and an assist in the league phase. This feat leaves the wonderkid just two shy of Michael Ballack’s club record of nine goal involvements in one European season, that set when they reached the final in 2002.
Embed from Getty ImagesPiero Hincapié will be available again after he was suspended at the weekend, but fellow defender Jeanuël Belocian remains a long-term absentee for the visitors. Martin Terrier is the only other injury concern at present.
TV Guide
Coverage of the UEFA Champions League has been split across TNT Sports and Amazon Prime in the United Kingdom. The all-German affair is available on TNT Sports 2 and can be streamed via Discovery+, with coverage starting from with kick off scheduled for 20:00 GMT.
For supporters in Germany, the match will be available to watch via DAZN 1 with kick off at 21:00 CET.
FromTheSpot Prediction
In the UEFA Champions League anything can happen, especially with the elite European powerhouses now left in the competition. Recent history between the two sides would suggest a draw is the most likely result, however due to the nature of the competition we envisage that Bayern will have 2-1 advantage heading into the second leg in Leverkusen.
While we believe Bayern will have the advantage, Leverkusen will prove to be stubborn visitors and pose a major counter-attacking threat that will leave both sides with game firmly in the balance heading into the second leg next week.
With the final set to be staged at Bayern’s iconic Allianz Arena for the first time since 2012, Kompany’s side will be hoping to make amends for their notorious penalty shoot-out defeat to Chelsea. The question is: is it written in the stars that this could be their year?