90min

Bayern Munich Champions League Preview: Strengths, Weaknesses, Star Man and Prediction

By Myles Cutliffe

Bayern celebrating their DFB Pokal Cup win.
Bayern celebrating their DFB Pokal Cup win. / Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
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Since Hansi Flick took the helm at Bayern back in April, Die Roten have been a team possessed – winning 11 games on the bounce after football's return this summer.

Their domestic for has been superb, but their European exploits have been just as impressive. Having won every single group match, Bayern met Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the last 16, taking apart Frank Lampard's side with surgical precision in a 3-0 win.

Bayern ran out three nil winners at Stamford Bridge.
Bayern ran out three nil winners at Stamford Bridge. / Visionhaus/Getty Images

The German side are narrow second-favourites with most bookies (behind Manchester City) and their pursuit of a famous treble is well and truly on.

Strengths

Serge Gnabry has had a fantastic season for Bayern.
Serge Gnabry has had a fantastic season for Bayern. / Pool/Getty Images

The attack. All of it. Wide men Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman both have pace to burn and, while he can't play in this season's competition, the signing of Leroy Sane's only beefing that up.

Die Roten have averaged a ridiculous 3.86 goals a game in the Champions League this season.

Full-backs Benjamin Pavard and Alphonso Davies love to join in on the overlap, providing balls into the central areas for – mostly – Robert Lewandowski. Oh, and Thomas Muller broke the Bundesliga's single-season assist record this year.

Weaknesses

Alphonso Davies (left) and Thomas Muller (right).
Alphonso Davies (left) and Thomas Muller (right). / Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Ermm. Weaknesses. Tricky. They are coming into the tournament on the longest run without a competitive match of any team still in the competition, with a friendly against Marseille their only outing for more than a month. They'll have to hit the ground running, although they'll be able to use the second leg against Chelsea for a tune-up.

Beyond that...5'11 David Alaba is slightly undersized for a centre-back? If you've got a 6'3 striker then that could come in handy...but they're going to play either Barcelona or Napoli in the quarter finals, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Star Man

Lewandowski won the Bundesliga top goalscorer award for the fifth season running.
Lewandowski won the Bundesliga top goalscorer award for the fifth season running. / Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

No doubt about it, Robert Lewandowski. The Polish hitman has been in ludicrous form this season, scoring 51 goals in 43 appearances for Die Roten. At 31 he's no spring chicken, but if anything he's getting better with age.

The Polish international has netted 11 goals in six Champions League appearances so far and, with Erling Haaland out of the competition, he's nailed on to finish as top scorer.

Prediction

Bayern are brimming with confidence after their domestic successes.
Bayern are brimming with confidence after their domestic successes. / Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Hansi Flick's Bayern have been – by a comfortable margin – the most impressive team in Europe who remain in the competition. They've lost just two of their 32 competitive games since he took charge, both back in 2019, and are on a run of 25 wins and one draw from 26 games. That's absurd.

Prediction: Winners