Matchday 1 of the UEFA Champions League serves up a heavyweight clash between Bayern Munich and Manchester United at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich and Manchester United are favoured to advance from Group A, with Copenhagen and Galatasaray expected to suffer elimination at the first hurdle.
⏪ @leroy_sane opening our account in style in the #UCL last season 💫#MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/GNQt9Q6LTk— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) September 18, 2023
⏪ @leroy_sane opening our account in style in the #UCL last season 💫#MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/GNQt9Q6LTk
Boasting nine UCL titles between them, Bayern (6) and Man Utd (3) know what it takes to go all the way on the European stage. But who will make a brighter start on Wednesday?
Bayern Munich were held to a 2-2 draw Bayer Leverkusen last time out, with Exequiel Palacios scoring a 94th-minute equaliser for the visitors at the Allianz Arena.
Still, the perennial German champions remain unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season, having picked up three wins and one draw up to now.
It is also worth noting that Bayern have enjoyed plenty of success in Europe of late, losing just one of their previous 10 Champions League encounters.
Let’s not forget that Bayern lifted the UCL trophy in 2020, although they have fallen at the quarter-final stage in each of the last three seasons.
By contrast, Manchester United have made a below-par start to the season, losing three of their five Premier League matches to leave them 13th in the table.
Following a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, United came from two goals down to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 before suffering a 3-1 loss at the hands of Arsenal.
On Saturday, Erik ten Hag’s men endured another 3-1 defeat, with Brighton & Hove Albion dominating proceedings at Old Trafford.
In terms of the Champions League, Man Utd have not made it past the quarter-finals since 2010-11, when they were beaten by Barcelona in the final.
Head-to-head: Bayern Munich and Manchester United last met during the 2013-14 edition of the Champions League, with the Germans winning 4-2 on aggregate.
Across the past four UCL meetings between the two sides, Bayern have tasted defeat on just one occasion, picking up two wins in the process.
Team news: Bayern Munich’s injury list contains Tarek Buchmann, Kingsley Coman, Raphael Guerriero, Gabriel Marusic and Manuel Neuer.
As for Man Utd, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Mason Mount are injured, while Antony and Jadon Sancho are absent due to disciplinary issues.
Given that United have lost three of their last four matches – conceding 10 goals along the way – Harry Kane and co will fancy their chances of piling more pressure on Erik ten Hag and his players.
Forebet predicts that Bayern Munich will score over 2.5 goals and keep a clean sheet of their way to dispatching off-form Manchester United.