The second set of 2017/18 Champions League matches take place this week and on Tuesday Bayern Munich welcome Besiktas to the Allianz Arena for the first leg of their Round of 16 tie.
Bayern Munich qualified for this stage of the tournament by finishing second in their group behind Paris Saint-Germain. The Germans had the same number of points as the group winners but due to a lower goal difference were forced into second place.
Besiktas were drawn in Group G with Porto, RB Leipzig and Monaco. The Turkish club were given little chance of qualifying from the group but did very well to finish top, winning four and drawing two of their six games.
Bayern Munich couldn’t come into this match in much better form having won each of their last thirteen competitive games. Since the resumption of the Bundesliga on the 12th January, Bayern Munich have won seven matches in a row.
At home, they are unbeaten in their last seventeen matches in all competitions and only one of those games has finished in a draw.
In the Champions League, trends show Bayern Munich have lost just one of their last twenty home matches, which was a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid last season. They have scored 3 goals in each of their home Champions League games this season and conceded only 1 goal across all three matches.
Besiktas sit in fourth place in the Turkish Super Lig table following a 1-1 draw at Konyaspor on Friday night. Having played on Friday, Besiktas have had an extra day to prepare for this match and will hope that gives them a slight edge.
Besiktas are undefeated in their last seven matches in all competitions, winning five of them and drawing two. Despite sitting fourth in the league, they are only 5 points off the leaders and will believe they can come back to win the domestic title.
The Turks are unbeaten in the Champions League this season and enjoyed some good results in the group stages, especially away from home.
Besiktas won all three of their away group games defeating Porto 3-1, Monaco 2-1 and RB Leipzig 2-1. While these teams are not of the same calibre as Bayern Munich, it shows Besiktas to be a dangerous team on the road and one which cannot be taken for granted by Bayern Munich.
Team news and Bayern Munich are expected to be without Manuel Neuer who is injured and that means Sven Ulreich will continue in goal. Robert Lewandowski will start in attack having featured off the bench on the weekend with support from James Rodriguez.
Besiktas travel to Germany without the injured duo of Gokhan Tore and Atinc Nukan. Having lost Cenk Tosun to Everton in the transfer window, Alvaro Negredo or Vagner Love will start the match up-front.
There can be little doubt Bayern Munich are going to win this match but Besiktas’ form on the road in the Champions League this season suggests they can get a crucial away goal to take back with them for the second leg.