Chelsea will face Bayern Munich as they make their long-awaited return to the Champions League on on Wednesday night for a mouthwatering league phase battle at the Allianz Arena.
The Bundesliga champions missed out on the chance to play a home final last season and, as ever, will set themselves high expectations of going all the way in Vincent Kompany’s second season in charge. Chelsea, meanwhile, return to Europe’s biggest stage after securing the Club World Cup and the Conference League titles last season.
Bayern Munich are in full swing in the new campaign with five fantastic wins in all competitions, the most recent of them being a 5-0 demolition of Hamburger at home in the league as reported by Softfootball. They are firing on all cylinders in front of the goal as Harry Kane continues to be the main man, Michael Olise taking his game to a new level and new signing Luis Diaz hitting the ground running.
Despite missing out on a top-eight finish in last season’s league phase, Bayern navigated the first stage unbeaten at home and have now strung together a magnificent 34-game sequence without a Champions League league phase/group stage defeat at the Allianz Arena.
In fact, the last time Bayern lost a UCL league phase/group stage came in front of their own fans was in December 2013, when head coach Kompany was an unused substitute for a Manchester City side who prevailed 3-2 in Bavaria.
The Allianz Arena will be loud, impatient even, and the air will carry memories of that 2012 showdown, romance for the visitors, a lingering grievance for the hosts.
To make matters worse for Wednesday’s visitors, the Bundesliga champions have astonishingly won their first Champions League game of the season in each of the last 22 campaigns, and they are well prepared to battle Chelsea on Wednesday as they posted a video from their last training session on their official X handle as seen below.
Chelsea, on the other hand, come into the game having dropped points deep in stoppage time in their last Premier League encounter against Brentford. The Blues have had a mixed start to the campaign as they fluctuate between scintillating and lukewarm spells in games. Cole Palmer, who grabbed an equaliser for them off the bench at the G-Tech, should be raring to go to prove himself on Europe’s biggest stage.
Enzo Maresca will be aware of Chelsea’s dreadful record against the Bavarians. He would be hoping for a repeat of the 2011/12 Champions League final, where the Blues triumphed on penalties and not the recent encounters where Chelsea fell 7-1 on aggregate in the knockouts.
While Bayern have been ever-presents in the Champions League during the 21st century, Chelsea are making their return to the big stage following a two-year exile from Europe’s top table, although that did not stop them from creating continental history a few months ago.
By thumping Real Betis in the Conference League final, the West London giants became the first side to win every single UEFA club competition, having also achieved Champions League, Europa League and UEFA Super Cup stardom under Enzo Maresca’s predecessors.
It will be a tale of two attacks as both sides are still vulnerable at the back early in the season. With injuries and a lack of match fitness hindering both camps, expect the forwards to feast and serve a goal fest.
Team News
Bayern: Alphoinso Davies and Hiroki Ito have returned to individual training after long lay-offs, though this match will likely come too soon for both.
Defender Raphaal Guerreiro will miss out due to a stomach issue suffered in the win over Hamburg, while Nicolas Jackson could play against the Blues due to differing Uefa rules over loanees playing against parent clubs.
Chelsea: Levi Colwill, Liam Delap and Dario Essugo remain the long-term absentees for the Blues, while Benoit Badiashile and Romeo Lavia are unlikely to be fit for this contest.
Estevao could return to the squad after missing the match with Brentford through illness, while Enzo Maresca’s only new injury concern is Joao Pedro, with the Italian admitting Pedro is a doubt after coming off during the draw at the Gtech.
Possible Lineups
Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer, Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano, Jonathan Tah, Josip Stanisic, Joshua Kimmich, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry, Luis Díaz, Harry Kane.
Chelsea: Robert Sánchez, Reece James, Tosin Adarabioyo, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Enzo Fernández, Moisés Caicedo, Estêvão, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto, João Pedro.
SoftFootball’s Prediction
Few people gave Chelsea a hope of beating Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final, yet the Blues taught the European champions a footballing lesson, so Wednesday’s tie is not a foregone conclusion by any means.
However, keeping Bayern’s brilliant offensive unit at bay is an extremely tall order especially at the Allianz Arena , and the Bundesliga champions havea higher chance of coming out victorious in what ought to be an engrossing watch for the neutrals.
