After clinching a 1-0 win over PSG on enemy territory, Bayern Munich will look to get the job done and book their ticket to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich will welcome PSG to the Allianz Arena for a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash on Wednesday, hoping to flex their European dominance and dump one of the pre-tournament favourites out of the competition in the early rounds itself.
The Bavarians have their noses in front ahead of the crucial Round of 16 second leg in Germany. A stunning volley from former PSG winger Kingsley Coman was enough to fire the German heavyweights to a nervy 1-0 first-leg win three weeks ago. That put the hosts in the driver’s seat heading into Wednesday’s highly-anticipated encounter.
The hosts come into this game off the back of a 2-1 win over Bruno Labbadia’s VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. However, it was their comprehensive 3-0 victory against unlikely Bundesliga title challengers Union Berlin just over a week ago that felt like a statement that they are still the juggernauts despite suffering a few bumpy results since the turn of the year.
Many thought Die Eisernen would frustrate the defending German champions, having earned a reputation for being awkward, annoying, and stubborn opponents who are deadly in transitions. But Bayern simply blew them away. They could not cope with the intensity and attacking intent of Julian Nagelsmann’s troops, who ran out 3-0 victors on the day.
PSG should expect a similar kind of siege on Wednesday as they themselves barely had a sniff for 75 minutes or so on their home turf in the first leg until they unleashed Kylian Mbappe. The game could potentially decide the fate of Christophe Galtier’s tenure in the Paris Saint-Germain hot seat, with Les Parisiens already ringing elite managers across the continent, if recent reports are anything to go by.
PSG head into this game in fine form, having won three games on the bounce since their Champions League defeat against Bayern. Most recently, they dispatched Nantes to clinch a 4-2 victory in Ligue 1 at the weekend. But they have conceded five goals in that winning streak.
With their backline still showing fragility and ageing, Les Parisiens face an uphill task in the second leg, given that Bayern Munich have turned their Allianz Arena into a real fortress, going unbeaten in their last 14 competitive games (W9 D5). The Hard Tackle will now run the rule over these two sides ahead of this eye-catching encounter at the Allianz Arena this midweek.
Team News & Tactics
Bayern Munich
Working hard ahead of #FCBPSG 👊#packmas pic.twitter.com/KnVYhiFbuK
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) March 6, 2023
Lucas Hernandez, Manuel Neuer, and Noussair Mazraoui remain long-term absentees for Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, Benjamin Pavard will be suspended for the home side. But, Sadio Mane will again be an impact option on the bench, having recently recovered from a lengthy layoff.
Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann is likely to stick with his recent 3-4-2-1 system, with Kingsley Coman and Alphonso Davies set to start as the wing-backs ahead of Joao Cancelo, who will be an exceptional option off the bench thanks to his versatility and ability to add plenty of thrust down the flank.
Manuel Neuer is still watching on from the sidelines. So January signing Yann Sommer will start between the sticks in his absence. Pavard’s late red card for a second bookable offence was the only blemish on an otherwise near-perfect evening for Bayern in the first leg.
Josip Stanisic, who has started two back-to-back games in the back-three, is expected to fill in for the Frenchman alongside Dayot Upamecano and Matthijs de Ligt. As ever, Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka will form the double pivot in the middle of the park, looking to dominate and overwhelm their PSG counterparts.
Nagelsmann could opt for rotation in his attacking setup that started against Stuttgart, with Leroy Sane coming on to replace Thomas Muller to form a creative duo along with wonderkid Jamal Musiala. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting will spearhead the frontline, operating just ahead of the inside forwards. Serge Gnabry will have to settle for a spot on the bench.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Sommer; Stanisic, Upamecano, de Ligt; Coman, Kimmich, Goretzka, Davies; Sane, Musiala; Choupo-Moting
Paris Saint-Germain
PSG boss Christophe Galtier will be without the services of several key players. These include Neymar, Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles), Achraf Hakimi (thigh), and Renato Sanches (hamstring), for Wednesday’s trip to Munich.
Neymar is set to miss the remainder of the season as he prepares to undergo ankle surgery. The Brazilian ace is a fantastic footballer when on song. But the French champions have often struggled in big European games when fielding a front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Lionel Messi.
This is the type of game in which PSG’s strikers will have to work hard off the ball. None of the trio excels at that aspect of the game. So the absence of one of them may actually benefit Galtier’s side in a way.
From 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬 to 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐡 🏆🔴🔵
🔜 #FCBPSG | @qatarairways
#GoingPlacesTogether pic.twitter.com/QFnVp3gmvM— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) March 6, 2023
Having used a four-man backline in the first leg in Paris and being outplayed for most of the game, Galtier may revert to a three-man defence to mirror Bayern’s formation. So Danilo Pereira will feature alongside Sergio Ramos and Marquinhos at the back in front of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Galtier is likely to call upon Nordi Mukiele and Nuno Mendes for wing-back slots. The latter will hope to use his pace to offer the width in attack, while his crosses could also prove to be useful.
In midfield, Marco Verratti will be back from a domestic suspension and will most likely replace soon-to-be 17-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery, who produced an impressive cameo in the first leg in Paris. Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz will feature on either side of Verratti, while Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are set to form a lethal front two in the final third.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Donnarumma; Pereira, Marquinhos, Ramos; Mukiele, Vitinha, Verratti, Ruiz, Mendes; Messi, Mbappe
Key Stats
- Bayern Munich and PSG meet for the 13th time in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, with each winning six of the previous 12.
- Bayern Munich have come out on top in three of their last four home games against PSG, though they did lose the most recent one in the 2020/21 quarter-finals (2-3).
- The Bavarians have won 15 of their last 17 UEFA Champions League home games (D1 L1), with the solitary defeat coming in the 2020/21 quarterfinal against PSG.
- Kylian Mbappe has scored in both of his UEFA Champions League away encounters against Bayern Munich, netting three goals in total.
- Lionel Messi is only one goal away from becoming the second player to score 50 goals in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League (49 goals in 76 games), behind Cristiano Ronaldo (67 goals in 85 games).
Player to Watch
Kylian Mbappe
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. PSG certainly need a goal to stay alive in this tie and advance into the quarter-finals. So the onus will once again be on Kylian Mbappe to step up and produce the goods.
Kylian Mbappe has come a long way 😤 pic.twitter.com/DjtwFk5qMr
— GOAL (@goal) March 6, 2023
Such is Mbappe’s quality that a 1-0 advantage over PSG at the halfway stage is hardly a reason to celebrate, especially given that they rode their luck in the latter stages of the first-leg and were only saved by two offside Mbappe goals.
Fresh from becoming PSG’s new all-time leading goalscorer with 201 goals, Mbappe will look to turn the momentum singlehandedly. The 2022 FIFA World Cup finalist has the skills to trouble Bayern’s defence again in the second leg, and the 24-year-old could shine again.
Prediction
Bayern Munich 2-2 PSG (Bayern win 3-2 on aggregate)
Both managers have formidable firepower at their disposal. History tells us that high-profile matches can quite often fail to live up to expectations. However, that might not happen, given the array of attacking talent that will be on display and what will be on the line at the Allianz Arena.
With Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe on fire and PSG in rampant form since the first leg at Parc des Princes, the visiors will fancy their chances to overcome the deficit. However, Bayern have been nearly unstoppable at home this season and should have enough quality to hurt a fragile PSG backline to win the tie on aggregate in what could prove a high-voltage clash in Munich.
