RB Salzburg vs Bayern Munich: TV channel, live stream, team news & prediction
By Max Parsons
Bayern Munich begin their journey in their Champions League knockout stage on Wednesday night when they make a short trip to RB Salzburg for the first leg of their round of 16 tie.
Julian Nagelsmann's side head into the clash with a major embarrassment behind them, having been thrashed 4-2 at VfL Bochum last time out. Despite that defeat representing their second in their previous five Bundesliga outings, Die Roten still boast a healthy cushion of six points atop of Germany's top flight, courtesy of a run of eight wins in their last ten league fixtures.
Furthermore, they face Salzburg having managed a perfect Champions League group-stage campaign, winning six, scoring 22 and conceding just three in their six matches so far in this season's tournament.
Salzburg secured a second-place finish in what was a competitive Group G (winning all three home games in the process) and start their knockout phase with five consecutive wins in competitive action behind them. They've proven to be tricky opposition this campaign and will be full of confidence, currently holding a 14-point lead at the Austrian Bundesliga summit to make a ninth consecutive title look a formality.
Here's 90min's preview of this one.
How to watch RB Salzburg vs Bayern Munich on TV
When is kick off? Wednesday 16 February, 19:45 (GMT)
Where is it being played? Red Bull Arena, Salzburg
What TV channel is it on? BT Sport 3 (UK), Paramount+ (US)
Highlights? BT Sport YouTube channel
Who's the referee? Michael Oliver
Who's the VAR? Chris Kavanagh
RB Salzburg team news
Matthias Jaissle has a few concerns heading into this tie. Zlatko Januzovic has a heel problem and will be absent for Wednesday's clash, while Bernardo and Sekou Koita will both miss out through knee injuries.
Meanwhile, Chukwubuike Adamu, Nicolas Seiwald and Benjamin Sesko are all doubts for the hosts.
Bayern Munich team news
Nagelsmann is not expected to shuffle the pack too heavily after their 4-2 thrashing at Bochum, though he may introduce more balance in the middle. This could see Corentin Tolisso come back into the fold to replace Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman or Serge Gnabry.
The visiting side will have to once again make do without some key figures. Leon Goretzka and Manuel Neuer are sidelined through knee problems, while Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies are also out of contention.
You can read Bayern's predicted lineup here.
RB Salzburg vs Bayern Munich head to head record
Whenever these two clubs have met in competitive action - which is twice - Bayern have come out on top; discounting a Salzburg victory and a draw in friendly ties, Die Roten boast a 100% record over the Austrian outfit, never failing to put on a show in the process.
Their two meetings came in last season's Champions League when they faced each other in Group A. Two goal-laden matches would ensue, with Hansi Flick's Bayern earning a 6-2 victory at the Red Bull Arena before beating Salzburg 3-1 back in Bavaria in the reverse fixture.
RB Salzburg vs Bayern Munich prediction
Whatever happens, we'll be casting our hopeful eyes upon two entertaining and free-flowing sides who are always confident of scoring goals - it should be fun.
With Bayern's recent humiliation in mind, the hosts should be ready to bolt out of the gates and aim to overrun their visitors with a blistering start - just as Bochum did last time out.
That being said, it's not often Bayern lose twice on the trot - they are stacked with mentality monsters and serial winners, after all. They'll be keener than anyone to put that nightmare in Bochum to bed and kick their Champions League knockout journey off with a thoroughly thrilling bang.
Prediction: RB Salzburg 1-4 Bayern Munich