Bayern Munich will aim to close in on a place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals when they face Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday.
The UEFA Champions League has resumed with the competition’s knockout stages this month, with the Round of 16 kicking off on Tuesday. Two matches will be on show on Wednesday, with Bayern Munich locking horns with Red Bull Salzburg at the Red Bull Arena Salzburg in one of those fixtures.
Red Bull Salzburg qualified for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 by finishing as runners-up in Group G behind LOSC Lille. The Austrian giants have enjoyed a superb run of form lately, losing only one of their last nine games across all competitions while cruising to the Austrian Bundesliga title again this season.
On the other hand, Bayern Munich reached the UEFA Champions League knockout stages by clinching the top spot in Group E ahead of Benfica and Barcelona by winning all their six group stage games. But the Bavarian giants come into Wednesday’s game on the back of a shock 4-2 defeat to VfL Bochum and will be eager to bounce back to winning ways this midweek.
Red Bull Salzburg and Bayern Munich were drawn together in the UEFA Champions League group stage last season, with Bayern winning both games. Ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter.
Team News & Tactics
Red Bull Salzburg
… who is back in training though, thankfully, after his long injury break. Luka #Sucic still has some training to do after illness." #SALFCB
— FC Red Bull Salzburg EN (@FCRBS_en) February 15, 2022
Matthias Jaissle has several pressing injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of the visit of Bayern Munich. On Wednesday, the Red Bull Salzburg manager could be bereft of the services of as many as six first-team players.
Bernardo (knee), Zlatko Junuzovic (heel), Sekou Koita (knee), Junior Adamu (knee), Nicolas Seiwald (knee) and Benjamin Sesko (muscular) are all on the sidelines due to their respective fitness issues. But Jaissle still has plenty of quality in his squad to cover for the absence of the sextet.
Philipp Kohn will take his place between the sticks for Red Bull Salzburg, who will line up in a 4-3-1-2 formation against Bayern Munich. Jerome Onguene and Maximilian Wober will pair up at the heart of the Red Bull Salzburg defence, with Rasmus Kristensen and captain Andreas Ulmer being the two full-backs.
Up ahead in midfield, Mohamed Camara will have the onus on him to keep things tight in the middle of the park, keeping a lid on Thomas Muller’s output. Luka Sucic and Nicolas Capaldo will provide defensive support to Camara while also pushing Red Bull Salzburg forward at every opportunity.
Brenden Aaronson will have a free role in midfield, with the American playmaker tasked with pulling the strings higher up the pitch. Noah Okafor and Karim Adeyemi will form the strike partnership for Red Bull Salzburg, with the latter having the spotlight on him amid links with Borussia Dortmund.
Probable Lineup (4-3-1-2): Kohn; Kristensen, Onguene, Wober, Ulmer; Sucic, Camara, Capaldo; Aaronson; Adeyemi, Okafor
Bayern Munich
Like his counterpart in the Red Bull Salzburg dugout, Julian Nagelsmann will have plenty of pivotal players unavailable for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg tie. On Wednesday, the Bayern Munich manager will miss out on the services of three first-team players.
Manuel Neuer is the major absentee for Bayern Munich due to a knee injury. In addition, Leon Goretzka (knee) and Alphonso Davies (heart) are also sidelined, forcing Nagelsmann to make key changes to the starting eleven against Red Bull Salzburg.
⭐ Our squad for #SALFCB ⭐#packmas #UCL pic.twitter.com/p0fnCTdwdJ
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) February 15, 2022
In Neuer’s absence, Sven Ulreich will deputise between the sticks for Bayern Munich. The hosts will line up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation against Red Bull Salzburg, with Dayot Upamecano and Niklas Sule forming the central defensive partnership, while Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez will be the two full-backs.
Up ahead in midfield, Corentin Tolisso could get a chance to impress in the absence of Goretzka, with Marcel Sabitzer missing out. Tolisso will be the box-to-box midfielder in the double-pivot, with Joshua Kimmich taking charge of the midfield from a deep-lying position.
Thomas Muller will reprise the No. 10 role, with veteran playmaker also donning the armband for Bayern Munich in Neuer’s absence. Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry will supplement Muller higher up the pitch, with Robert Lewandowski spearheading the Bayern Munich attack against Red Bull Salzburg.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ulreich; Pavard, Upamecano, Sule, Hernandez; Kimmich, Tolisso; Gnabry, Muller, Sane; Lewandowski
Key Stats
- Red Bull Salzburg’s only previous meetings with Bayern Munich came in the UEFA Champions League last season, with the German side winning both games in the group stage (6-2 away and 3-1 at home).
- Wednesday will be the fourth time Bayern Munich will face an Austrian team in the knockout stages of a European competition, while they have progressed on each of the previous three occasions (vs SK Rapid Wien in the 1966/67 Cup Winners’ Cup and FK Austria Wien in consecutive European Cup campaigns in 1985/86 and 1986/87).
- Red Bull Salzburg have only won one of their last six games against German opponents in European competition (D1 L4), although that did come in the most recent home game against a German side (3-1 vs Wolfsburg in the group stage). They have conceded 18 goals across these six games, at an average of three per match.
- Bayern Munich are unbeaten in their last 21 away games in the UEFA Champions League (W17 D4) since losing at Paris Saint-Germain back in September 2017. This is the longest run of consecutive away games without losing for any team in the history of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League.
- Robert Lewandowski has made 49 away appearances in the UEFA Champions League, netting 37 goals in these games. Ahead of what would be a half-century of away games in the competition, Lewandowski already holds the record for the most goals scored within a player’s first 50 games on the road in the UEFA Champions League (37, three more than Lionel Messi’s 34).
Player to Watch
Robert Lewandowski
Who else but the prolific Pole? Robert Lewandowski has been, by far, the most consistent striker in Europe for a long time, with the Polish international, also taking his form into the UEFA Champions League with a vengeance.
Only Sebastien Haller (10) has scored more goals than Lewandowski (9) in the Champions League this season, with the veteran striker averaging a goal every 57 minutes. And if Bayern Munich are to make short work of Red Bull Salzburg, Lewandowski’s output will be crucial.
The 33-year-old will also be keen on turning the tide in favour of Bayern Munich after a shock defeat to VfL Bochum this past weekend, and a big performance will go a long way in ensuring that on Wednesday.
Prediction
Red Bull Salzburg 1-3 Bayern Munich
The two games involving Red Bull Salzburg and Bayern Munich last season proved to be goal fests, and the same can be expected this season, too. The Bavarian giants have shown a soft underbelly in defence this season, and they could be put under pressure by the tricky Karim Adeyemi.
But the in-form Bayern Munich attack should be too strong for the hosts, with Leroy Sane and Robert Lewandowski expected to run riot at the Red Bull Arena Salzburg on Wednesday. The Hard Tackle predicts a closely-contested affair before the Bundesliga champions take control of the proceedings, to end up 3-1 winners.