MY ACCOUNT
– Bayern Munich are unbeaten at home in 2022-23
– PSG are the only team still in the competition not to have kept a clean sheet
– Recommended bet: Bayern Munich to win and both teams to score
Familiar foes Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain meet on Wednesday, with the German champions protecting a 1-0 advantage from last month’s last-16 first-leg clash at the Parc des Princes.
Both sides will feel they belong in the latter stages of the Champions League but one will depart after the clash at the Allianz Arena.
Kingsley Coman scored the only goal at the Parc des Princes as Bayern ground out the victory but it promises to be a more open affair in Bavaria.
PSG were the last away side to win a Champions League game at the Allianz Arena but their defensive issues could leave them staring at a second last-16 elimination in as many seasons.
Team news
Bayern have been plagued by injuries all season, with Manuel Neuer (fractured leg) and Lucas Hernandez (ACL) long-term absentees, while Sadio Mane is still making his way back following a lower leg issue but should feature on Wednesday.
A player who will definitely be absent is Benjamin Pavard, who was sent off in the first leg.
Meanwhile, PSG will be without Neymar, who has been ruled out for the season with an ankle injury, while Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles) and Renato Sanches (hamstring) are also absent.
However, Marco Verratti will return to the side after serving a domestic suspension against Nantes.
The stats
This has become a familiar fixture in the Champions League, with the pair tied up at six wins each from their previous 12 meetings.
Bayern are unbeaten at home this season and won all three of their Group C matches by an aggregate of 9-0.
They have lost just one of their last 17 home games in this competition, which interestingly, was a 3-2 defeat to PSG in April 2021.
Bayern averaged exactly three goals per game in the groups and conceded just twice.
Those numbers are a slight upgrade on PSG, who netted 16 times in Group H, but let in seven, contributing to them finishing second behind Benfica.
In fact, defensive issues have plagued them this season and they have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine matches in all competitions.
PSG do, though, have Kylian Mbappe to call upon from the start after a hamstring injury meant he had to come off the bench in the first leg.
Mbappe has scored seven times in this season’s Champions League, second only to Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, and has netted five times in his last three games to become the club’s record goalscorer.
Prediction
PSG’s defensive woes are clearly an issue and the worry will be that they could eventually cost Galtier his job.
Despite sitting eight points clear at the top of Ligue 1, domestic success may no longer be enough for Les Parisiens’ ambitious Qatari owners, with winning the Champions League arguably their greater priority.
Bayern already have six European Cups sat in their bulging trophy cabinet and the confidence that inspires around the club heading into a tie like this is arguably worth a goal in itself.
The Bavarians’ home record is also extraordinary and they will fancy themselves to battle through to the quarter-finals for the 11th time in 12 seasons.
Back Bayern Munich to win and both teams to score at 31/20 with LiveScore Bet.
