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Can Manchester United overcome their loss to Brighton by beating Bayern Munich at the Alianz Arena on Wednesday night?
Bayern Munich will begin their 16th consecutive Champions League campaign when they play hosts to embattled Manchester United at the Alianz Arena on Wednesday night.
The record German champions made it to the quarter-finals of the UCL last season,before being dumped out by eventual winners Manchester City over two legs (4-1 on aggregate).
United return to UEFA Champions League action after a season in the UEFA Europa League in 2022-23. Their last UCL campaign in 2021-22 saw them knocked out in the last 16 by Atlético Madrid.
Both sides will have an eye on qualifying from the group, having been drawn alongside Copenhagen and Galatasaray in Group A.
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06:23 - 20.09.2023
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Head to head record
This will be the 12th competitive meeting between Bayern Munich and Manchester United – all of the previous 11 have also come in the UEFA Champions League. Five of those were with Bayern as the home side, a fixture the Germans have never lost (W3 D2).
Man Utd have only lost more UCL games versus Barcelona (five) than they have suffered against Bayern (four), although they’ll have fond memories of the 1999 UCL final in Barcelona, which the English side won 2-1 with two last-gasp goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
The last meeting between these sides came in the Champions League quarter-finals back in 2013-14. After a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in the first leg, Bayern won the second leg at the Allianz Arena 3-1.
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08:41 - 16.09.2023
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Team news
Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich is doubtful with an inflamed tendon and will be assessed ahead of kickoff, while Manuel Neuer (calf), Raphael Guerreiro (calf) and Tarek Buchmann (hamstring) all remain in the treatment room; Kingsley Coman should be fit to return following a brief spell out with a minor muscle issue, though.
As for Man United, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have both been ruled out with unspecified injuries and will join Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia (both muscle), Tom Heaton (calf) and Amad Diallo (knee) on the sidelines; the absence of Wan-Bissaka is set to see Diogo Dalot start at right-back.
However, Ten Hag has been boosted by the return of Raphael Varane and Mason Mount to first-team training, and both players could be involved against Bayern; Wednesday's game may come too soon for Sofyan Amrabat (back) and Kobbie Mainoo (ankle), though, as they have only just begun individual training sessions.
The Red Devils will definitely be without Antony who will remain absent 'until further notice' amid allegations of assault made against him, while Jadon Sancho is also unavailable after being banished from first-team training following his social media outburst at Ten Hag.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup: Ulreich; Mazraoui, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Laimer, Goretzka; Sane, Musiala, Gnabry; Kane
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20:00 - 19.09.2023
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Manchester United possible starting lineup: Onana; Dalot, Lindelof, Martinez, Reguilon; Casemiro, Eriksen; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund
Prediction
Given Manchester United’s sorry form especially away from home, it might take some doing to upset Bayern on their own home turf.
According to Opta, Bayern Munich are predicted to win this match against Manchester United, with the Bundesliga champions winning 59% of the pre-match simulations.
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12:29 - 18.09.2023
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