Bayern Munich and PSG will aim to get their UEFA Champions League campaigns on track when they clash at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
The UEFA Champions League resumes this week with Matchday 5 of the first phase. Tuesday will bring many eye-catching fixtures, but none more so than Bayern Munich vs PSG at the Allianz Arena, with both teams desperately looking to find a stable footing in European football.
Bayern Munich would have hoped for a better start to the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League campaign after a dreadful time last season. However, the Bavarian giants have won and lost two games, going down to Barcelona and Aston Villa. That run has left Die Roten in the 17th spot in the standings.
As for Paris Saint-Germain, the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League has produced a campaign to forget for the Ligue 1 champions. The French giants have won only one of their last four outings, with the horrendous run leaving them 25th in the standings.
However, the visitors come into the game on the back of a comfortable 3-0 win over Toulouse, warming up well for the midweek European fixture. On the other hand, Bayern Munich beat FC Augsburg by the same margin, with Harry Kane scoring a match-winning hat-trick.
Bayern Munich and PSG last locked horns in the UEFA Champions in the 2022/23 season, with the Bundesliga outfit beating Les Parisiens 2-0 at the Allianz Arena. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Bayern Munich
Vincent Kompany has greeted positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Bayern Munich manager will be bereft of the services of five first-team players vs PSG on Tuesday.
Hiroki Ito is the long-term absentee, with the Japanese international recovering from a long-term foot injury. Meanwhile, Sven Ulreich is unavailable due to personal reasons, while Kompany is sweating over the fitness of Mathys Tel (knock). Josip Stanisic (knee) and Aleksandar Pavlovic (collarbone) have resumed training but might not be ready to return yet.
Manuel Neuer is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Bayern Munich lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs PSG on Tuesday. The backline should feature Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae, and Alphonso Davies.
As for the midfield unit, Leon Goretzka should pair up with Joshua Kimmich in the double pivot. Jamal Musiala will reprise the no. 10 role, with Serge Gnabry and Michael Olise being the two wide attackers. Finally, there is no looking past Harry Kane as the central striker.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Olise, Musiala, Gnabry; Kane
PSG
Like his counterpart in the Bayern Munich dugout, Luis Enrique does not have any new issues hampering his preparations ahead of the trip to the Allianz Arena. The Paris Saint-Germain manager might be without as many as five first-team players.
Senny Mayulu (calf), Lucas Hernandez (knee), and Presnel Kimpembe (ankle) remain on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Enrique is sweating over the fitness of Nuno Mendes and Goncalo Ramos, with the duo recovering from ankle injuries.
Gianluigi Donnarumma should take his spot between the sticks, with PSG lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him vs Bayern Munich on Tuesday. The backline should feature Achraf Hakimi, Marquinho, Willian Pacho, and Lucas Beraldo.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Warren Zaire-Emery, Vitina, and Joao Neves. While Vitinha and Neves will look to keep things tight in the middle of the park, Zaire-Emery should provide the creative impetus. Finally, Marco Asensio should be the makeshift strike, with Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele completing the numbers in the offensive trifecta.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Beraldo; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Neves; Dembele, Asensio, Barcola
Key Stats
- Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have met on 13 previous occasions in the UEFA Champions League, with this the most-played fixture between the two sides in the competition. Bayern Munich have won their last three games vs PSG in the Champions League, with Les Parisiens failing to find the back of the net in those outings.
- Bayern Munich rank first in the UEFA Champions League this season for the fewest opposition passes allowed per defensive action (PPDA). On average, Vincent Kompany’s charges have allowed just 7.4 passes by their opponent before intervening with a defensive action.
- Joshua Kimmich has made more line-breaking passes than any other midfielder in the UEFA Champions League this season (59). Twenty of those have been line-breaking passes into the final third, which is also the most by a midfielder thus far this term.
- Achraf Hakimi has created more chances (37) and chances from open play (36) than any other player in the UEFA Champions League. Despite that, Hakimi only has one assist to his name from the 37 times he has assisted a teammate’s shot (Vitinha vs Barcelona in April).
- Manuel Neuer has only saved one of the six shots on target he has faced for Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League this season (17%). Based on the quality of shots on target faced using expected goals, the Bayern Munich captain has conceded two more goals than expected (five from 2.9 xG on target).
Player to Watch
Harry Kane
While Ousmane Dembele and Jamal Musiala were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Harry Kane as our Player to Watch. The Englishman has been sensational throughout his spell with Bayern Munich, and he has been top-class in the UEFA Champions League this season.
The experienced striker has found the back of the net five times in four UEFA Champions League games this term. In addition, Kane comes into the midweek European fixture on the back of a match-winning hat-trick against FC Augsburg. Expect the England captain to stamp his authority again.
Prediction
Bayern Munich 2-1 PSG
Before the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League kicked off, most would have viewed the match between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain as a clash of two of the top contenders to win the competition. However, both teams have struggled to stamp their authority in Europe this term.
While both teams won by the same scoreline this past weekend, Bayern Munich should upstage PSG this midweek, with Harry Kane making the difference. However, Les Parisiens will not go down without a fight, with The Hard Tackle predicting a 2-1 win for Vincent Kompany and his charges.
