Liverpool will travel to the Allianz Arena to take on Bayern Munich on Wednesday night after only managing to secure a scoreless draw at Anfield in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie last month. Both teams come into this game in red-hot form and will fancy their chances of progression in midweek.
Niko Kovac will likely opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation to counter Jurgen Klopp’s 4-3-3 set-up for the Merseyside club.
Team News
Bayern Munich
Both Thomas Muller and Joshua Kimmich are suspended for this upcoming European contest while Arjen Robben (calf) and Corentin Tolisso (knee) are also sidelined with injuries. Kingsley Coman is also a significant doubt for this match so Franck Ribery will feature in Niko Kovac’s starting XI.
Liverpool
Klopp will keep his fingers crossed that Trent Alexander-Arnold would be declared fit for this European encounter after coming off with an injury against Burnley last weekend. James Milner is also a significant doubt for this clash which means that either Jordan Henderson or Naby Keita might get a start in the Reds midfield.
Lallana featured heavily against the Clarets on Sunday so he is expected to begin this game on the Liverpool bench as Klopp tries to manage his game time so that he can stay fit for a sustained period.
Predicted Lineups
Bayern Munich
Manuel Neuer; Rafinha, Niklas Sule, Mats Hummels, David Alaba; Javi Martinez, Thiago Alcântara; Serge Gnabry, James Rodríguez, Franck Ribery; Robert Lewandowski
Liverpool
Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk, Andrew Robertson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane
Key Men
Bayern Munich
Lewandowski has been quite productive in front of goal this season and has a stellar goal-scoring record in the UEFA Champions League as well. The Polish striker has found the back of the net eight times in Europe this term which should give him a lot of confidence going into this home clash against the Reds.
Manuel Neuer is expected to be tested during the game, so he needs to put in a big performance on Wednesday night.
Liverpool
Both Van Dijk and Matip need to find a way to keep Lewandowski quiet on the night so the performance of the two Liverpool centre-backs will be crucial in determining the outcome of this match. Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino also need to have a good game as they try to share the goal-scoring workload with Mane up top.
Odds
Bayern Munich win – 11/10
Draw – 27/10
Liverpool win – 13/5
