UEFA Champions League defending champions Bayern Munich will resume their European campaign when they travel to Italy on Tuesday in the first leg of their quarter-final draw against Lazio.
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico
Key Statistics
- Lazio have not lost a Champions League game this season.
- They are have won seven of their last home games.
- Bayern Munich have not lost away from home in 16 Champions League matches (W12, D4).
- This will be the first meeting between both sides in a UEFA competition.
Lazio
Despite going through the entire group stage unbeaten, Simone Inzaghi’s men had to wait until the last match of the group stage to seal qualification for the knockout stages of the UCL.
The Italian side finished second behind Dortmund, with three wins in six to qualify for the quarter-final stage for the first time since 2000.
After an early-season struggle, the hosts have found their feet in recent times, climbing up to 5th in the league ahead of the likes of Napoli and Juventus.
They head into this tie with eight wins from their last ten games (L2) and will be hoping to cause an upset against this Bayern side who have failed to win in their last two games.
Possible Lazio line-ups
Pepe Reina; Patric, Francesco Acerbi, Mateo Musacchio; Manuel Lazzari, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto, Adam Marusic; Joaquin Correa, Ciro Immobile.
Unavailable Players: Radu (groin), Luis Felipe (ankle)
Motivated and with a lot of desire to face the best team in the world right now. Come on guys!! ???????? We deserved it !!
Tomorrow’s match is the culmination of five years working with a fantastic group. We will play the best match we can, and try to enjoy ourselves. Bayern won the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. More than focusing on their weaknesses, I am focusing on my team. On our journey we have played many finals, we know how to face a game like this.
Simone Inzaghi, Lazio manager in Press conference
Bayern Munich
Bayern had been an unstoppable force, winning five out of six of their group stage matches in the CL. But Hansi Flick’s side have struggled in recent times, as they succumbed to a shocking defeat in their last outing against Frankfurt.
The 2-1 loss was the second time Bayern had failed to win in two games and the fourth time their defence had been bridged in four games, making them the side with one of the worst defensive records in Europe top five leagues in the last five games.
They will hope to set the records straight as they look to become just the second team after Real Madrid to win back-to-back Champions League trophies.
Possible Bayern Munich line-ups
Manuel Neuer; Bouna Sarr, Niklas Sule, David Alaba, Alphonso Davies; Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich; Kingsley Coman, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane; Robert Lewandowski
Unavailable Players: Pavard (illness), Müller (illness), Tolisso (thigh), Gnabry (thigh), Costa (foot), Nübel (ankle), Nianzou (thigh)
Now we need to be in top form in the UCL. These are special matches for us and I’m expecting the team to be especially motivated…
We have an idea of how we want to play. We want to start showing that from the start of games. I have complete confidence that that the team will do that on Tuesday…
We had a few players carrying knocks, Niklas Süle is one of them. We gave him a recovery day today and he’ll travel tomorrow…
Hans Flick, Bayern Munich Manager in Press conference
All the travelling has been exhausting and we had few players available. But tomorrow we’re playing Champions League and we will give everything to win the game.
Kingsley Coman, Bayern Munich on Lazio Match
Nothing has really changed. I have more confidence. I think I already had an important place in the team before the final.
Kingsley Coman, Bayern Munich on goal in Champions League final
Betting Odds
Lazio : Draw : Bayern Munich :: 4.50 : 4.00 : 1.72
Prediction
Lazio 1—3 Bayern Munich
