The Champions League brought back the feeling fans have missed over the past few months as the elite European competition made a return on screens on Friday, 7th of August 2020.
We saw two games on the night as both Lyon and Manchester City progressed to the quarter-final stage of the competition while Juventus and Real Madrid, both League champions in Italy and Spain respectively, were thrown out of the competition.
Lyon lost to Juventus 2-1 but edged out the tie on away goals while it was a repeat of what happened in Spain in the City vs Real game. Horrific defending cost the Spanish champions at the Etihad as they also lost by 2-1 (4-2 on aggregate) to exit the competition.
Related: Final 8th format for Champions League and Europa League competitions
We move to the final qualifying round before the new format, one-legged knockout games at a neutral venue kick start, as Bayern Munich looks to consolidate on their 3-0 advantage over Chelsea in Germany tonight.
The German champions look more likely to qualify but we have seen teams overturn a tie before in the Champions League.
Team news
Bayern Munich team news
Bayern boss, Hansi Flick, would look to select either Ivan Perisic or Philippe Coutinho to replace Coman as the 24-year-old France winger looks to miss the tie due to a muscle injury, and missed training on Friday. Bayern boasts of a 3-0 lead from the first leg at Stamford Bridge back in March.
Chelsea team news
Chelsea will be without the likes of Christian Pulisic, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Pedro after all three players picked up injuries in last weekend’s FA Cup final loss to Arsenal.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Billy Gilmour are also out due to injuries and haven’t made the trip while Marcos Alonso and Jorginho won’t feature due to suspensions they suffered from previous games.
Chelsea’s boss, Frank Lampard, also has fitness concerns over Willian and N’Golo Kante and he must also make a decision as to who to start in goal, with Kepa Arrizabalaga having been dropped in recent matches.
Stats and facts going into the match (Backed by Opta)
- Bayern Munich have only hosted Chelsea once previously for a competitive match, winning 3-2 in April 2005 in the Champions League, with current Chelsea manager Frank Lampard scoring the opening goal for the Blues.
- Chelsea and Bayern Munich last faced in the Allianz Arena in the 2012 Champions League final, with the Blues victorious on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
- In the entire history of the European Cup and Champions League, no team has ever won by three or more goals in the first leg of a knockout match away from home and failed to progress, going through on all 92 previous occasions.
- Chelsea are winless in their last seven away Champions League matches in the knockout stages (D4 L3) since a 1-0 win at Benfica in March 2012 in the quarter-final.
- Chelsea have only scored three goals in an away Champions League knockout match once previously, winning 3-1 at Liverpool in April 2009; Bayern have only conceded three times in three of their 43 home Champions League knockout games, though did so most recently in a 1-3 defeat to Liverpool in March 2019.
- Bayern have won their first seven Champions League games this season, scoring 27 goals and conceding just five. Only one team has ever won their first eight matches of a campaign, with Barcelona winning their first nine in 2002-03 across the two group stages, before going out in the quarter-final.
Prediction
Bayern Munich 3 – 1 Chelsea
