Celtic vs. Bayern Munich preview: Team news and predicted lineups
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A routine 3-0 win over Werder Bremen on Friday night will give Die Rekordmeister the confidence boost they need ahead of their UEFA Champions League play-off with Celtic. A brace of Harry Kane penalties sandwiched Leroy Sane’s strike in a commanding second-half at the Allianz Arena.
Vincent Kompany’s side now make the trip to Glasgow to enter the lion’s den – literally – Celtic Park being the home of the famous Lisbon Lions who won the European Cup in 1967. There has never been a shortage of atmosphere on European nights here since.
However, the Bavarians remain unbeaten against the Scottish giants with three victories and one draw in their last four meetings in Europe’s premier competition.
Celtic: Team News
If you are a Celtic fan, things can’t get much better this season. Brendan Rodgers’ team sit comfortably atop the Scottish Premiership table with a healthy 13-point lead over arch-rivals Rangers after 25 games.
Add to that a magnificent run in Europe, perhaps a 7-1 trashing at the hands of Borussia Dortmund aside, Celtic have taken the scalps of Slovan Bratislava, RB Leipzig and Young Boys Bern, while snatching draws away to Atalanta, Club Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb.
The only notable absentee for the Hoops is veteran winger James Forrest who has been sidelined with a foot injury since January. Meanwhile, Japanese international Dazien Maeda’s was due to serve a two-match suspension for his red card against Young Boys. However, Celtic have since successfully appealed the decision so Maeda can now feature on Wednesday.
A lot of eyes will be focused on Nicolas Kuehn who has 17 goals and 12 assist in all competitions this season. The tricky German winger is just 25-years-old and came through the RB Leipzig academy before helping guide the Bayern Munch reserves to a 3.Liga title in 2020.
Bayern Munich: Team News
For Bayern, shock defeats to Aston Villa, Barcelona and Feyenoord ended any hopes of a top-eight finish in the league phase. While they will be heavy favourites to progress against Celtic, the Scottish champions are a force at home and will pose threats on the counterattack.
On the injury front, the Bavarian giants will travel with a slightly lighter squad than usual. Daniel Peretz continues to miss out with kidney problems, while Joao Palhinha will not feature due to illness. Earlier this morning chief reporter for Abendzeitung, Maximilian Koch, tweeted that Alphonso Davies continued individual training less than an hour ago. However, it has since emerged that the Canadian will not be fit in time.
On the positive, Serge Gnabry (gastrointestinal problem) may bounce back in time. Summer signing Hiroki Ito is struggling for match fitness, but the Japanese international did participate in yet another squad training session so he may yet travel to Glasgow.
It is predicted that Kompany may only make subtle tweaks for Wednesday’s lineup. Konrad Laimer might replace Sacha Boey at right-back to join Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-Jae and Raphael Gurreiro in defence. Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlovic are expected to continue their double-six pivot partnership.
There could be one other change in the attacking third as Kinsley Coman may drop to the bench for fit-again Leroy Sane. The German international would then join Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise, with Harry Kane leading the line up top.
Click here to see our predicted Celtic vs. FC Bayern lineups.
