Red Bull Salzburg welcome German Champions Bayern Munich to the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday in the hope of putting a dent into Bayern Munich’s perfect Champions League form. Below we look into both team’s form, injury woes and look into how this game may play out!
Bayern to make it the perfect 7?
Bayern Munich cruise into the Round of 16 after making it 6 from 6 with a goal difference of +19 in the Champions League group stages. The only other teams to win every group stage game were both Ajax and Liverpool FC. The reigning German champions will have every hope that they can continue this perfect record by making it 7 from 7 against their Austrian opponents.
Although Bayern kept 4 clean sheets out of their 6 group stage fixtures, the German champions are without a clean sheet in their last 3 fixtures – most recently in a 4-2 loss to Bochum. Bayern went 4-1 down within the first half to 11th placed Bochum, before star striker Lewandoski scored a late consolation goal to score his second of the game.
At the other side of the pitch, Bayern’s attacking players are in red hot form, tallying a total of 22 goals during the group stages. In their last 5 away games, there has been a total of 25 goals scored, with Bayern scoring an impressive 18 goals of this total.
Heading the line is Bayern Munich’s star striker Robert Lewandowski, the Polish forward is having another impressive season for the German giants, scoring 26 goals in 22 games in the German Bundesliga as well as 9 goals in 6 appearances in the Champions League. These numbers are seriously impressive, only 3 short of Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s combined goals scored this season.
The German Champions are still without Leon Goretzka and Alphonso Davies, both out with long-term injuries but have also added to their injury woes last week with the announcement that captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will be sidelined for the coming weeks. Thomas Muller will likely take over the captaincy, with Sven Ulreich filling the void in goal.
Red Bull Salzburg’s young stars continue to impress
Red Bull Salzburg are set to take on the German champions in the club’s biggest game to date. The current Austrian Bundesliga league leaders beat Spanish side Sevilla in the last game of the group stages to seal their place in the Round of 16. Heading into the tie, Red Bull were sat one point ahead of Sevilla in the group standings, needing a draw to confirm their place into the knockout phase.
Red Bull’s league form is impressive, winning 15 games out of a total 19, only losing one and scoring a total of 44 goals in the process.
The main talking point around this Red Bull Salzburg squad is their average age. The Austrians have the youngest squad in this year’s Champions League with an average age of 22.07. The club’s philosophy around nurturing young talent allows these youngsters to thrive on a stage they may not get the opportunity to do so at other European clubs.
Players such as Karim Adeymi have been consistently linked to Europe’s biggest clubs and reportedly in advanced talks with German giants Borussia Dortmund. Adeymi has scored 14 goals in 18 league games for Salzburg, placing clubs on high alert for his signature. Karim was born in Munich and actually played in Bayern’s youth teams for two years before being released, so there could be a point to prove for the young German against his former side.
Red Bull’s roster also boasts the likes of Luka Sucic, Aaronsen and Benjamin Sesko. The style Matthias Jaisle adopts allows these young players to truly express themselves with their aggressive, high paced energetic style of play.
Head to Head
Bayern have met Red Bull Salzburg on a total of two occasions, both in last year’s Champions League group stages. Bayern came out on top in both games, with the last fixture resulting in a 3-1 win at the Allianz Arena.
Red Bull are high on confidence, with no fear and nothing to lose against Bayern Munich which makes any team a dangerous opponent. Bayern are one of the sides to beat in this year’s ChampionsLeague, having won the cup in 2020 and winning 9 German Bundesliga titles in a row, you’d fancy Bayern’s class and experience to prevail.
Both sides adopt a positive, aggressive style of play. This will only make for a great match up, promising to be full of action over the two legs. Backing Bayern to win the game and both teams to score at 2.39 could be a great wager with both sides playing with attacking freedom.
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