Bayern Munich -v- Manchester United
UEFA Champions League
Allianz Arena, Munich
Wednesday 20 September 2023, KO 20:00 BST
Manchester United face Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League at the Allianz Arena – the first match United have played in the Champions League since March 2022 when they were eliminated at the Round of 16 stage by Atlético Madrid.
United are in a period of bad form at present after a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal prior to the international break and then a 3-1 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford at the weekend, ending their unbeaten run at home. United need a good result in this match.
Bayern are in good form this season, losing only one competitive match in the DFL Supercup, a 3-0 defeat to RB Leipzig. But in the season proper, in the Bundesliga, Bayern have won three matches and drawn one. United will need to stand up strongly in this one.
United – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
Brighton and Hove Albion 3-1 L, Arsenal 3-1 L, Forest 3-2 W, Spurs 2-0 L, Wolves 1-0 W, Athletic Club 1-1 D
Goals: 1 – Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Hannibal Mejbri, Marcus Rashford, Raphael Varane
Assists: 1 – Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Lisandro Martínez, Marcus Rashford, Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Bayern – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 D, Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 W, FC Augsburg 3-1 W, Werder Bremen 4-0 W, RB Leipzig 3-0 L, AS Monaco 4-2 W
Goals: 4 – Harry Kane, 3 – Leroy Sané, 2 – Mathys Tel, 1 – Leon Goretzka
Assists: 3 – Alphonso Davies, 2 – Joshua Kimmich, 1 – Harry Kane, Thomas Müller, Mathys Tel
Previous Meetings & Connections
United and Bayern have met 11 times in the UEFA Champions League. United have two wins in this matches, one of them the treble winning Champions League final at the Nou Camp in 1999 – the other at Old Trafford in 2010 – but United lost on aggregate away goals.
Bayern have won four times with both teams drawing five times. United met Bayern in the group stages of the Champions League in the 1998/99 season, meeting them in the final. United do not seem to have had luck then and it could be the same now.
Mark Hughes, Owen Hargreaves, Daley Blind, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Marcel Sabitzer have all played for both United and Bayern during their careers. Hughes was successful at United, as was Hargreaves and Blind.
Team News
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (thigh), Luke Shaw (muscular), Tyrell Malacia (knee), Kobbie Mainoo (ankle) and Amad Diallo (knee) have all been ruled out of the clash with Bayern due to injury. Antony and Jadon Sancho are both away from the first team squat at present.
Harry Maguire (knock), Raphael Varane (other), Mason Mount (thigh) and Sofyan Amrabat (lower back) are all doubts but have not travelled to Germany for the Bayern clash in United’s first UEFA Champions League match for a few years.
Manuel Neuer (broken leg) is out of action for this clash with United. Both Kingsley Coman (thigh) and Raphael Guerreiro (calf) have recently returned to training for Bayern. Coman could find involvement against United but it may come too soon for Guerreiro.
Predicted United Starting XI – 4-2-3-1
Onana;
Dalot, Lindelof, Martinez, Reguilon;
Casemiro, Eriksen;
Pellistri, Fernandes, Rashford;
Hojlund
Predicted Bayern Starting XI – 4-2-3-1
Ulreich;
Mazraoui, Upamecano, Kim, Davies;
Kimmich, Goretzka;
Sané, Müller, Gnabry;
Kane
Match Prediction
This is going to be a tough match for United. The performance against Arsenal prior to the international break was good, although they slacked a little later in the match and conceded two goals. The same thing happened against Brighton.
But some United players need to enforce a reaction as it is not looking good for them or the soap opera-like shenanigans happening at the club and the prologues sale of it. United need stability and that is not what they are going to get at this time.
The Glazer family have ruined everything that United stood for and it is affecting everything at this time. The greed needs to leave and let the club succeed again. United are under the spotlight at this stage of the season and it is not going to be good for them at all.
Bayern Munich 2-1 Manchester United
Written by John Walker
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