STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Weds: Lazio v Bayern Munich

The last time Lazio hosted Bayern Munich in the Champions League, the Germans settled the tie in 90 minutes with a 4-1 thrashing, but things could be very different in Rome tonight for Thomas Tuchel’s men.

The arrival of Tuchel along with star man Harry Kane had given high hopes that Bayern could get closer to European glory than last season, when Manchester City simply overwhelmed them in the quarter-finals, but Munich head into the second half of the season five points behind Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga after a 3-0 defeat to Xabi Alonso’s side at the weekend, whilst they’ve already lost out on the chance for one trophy after an early defeat in the German Cup.

It says a lot about the job Xabi Alonso has done that Bayern didn’t go off favourites on Saturday, but the nature of their performance set a worrying sign for their title hopes and Champions League prospects. Bayern’s tactical setup – partly due to injury – just didn’t work, with the midfield combination of Leon Goretzka and Aleksandar Pavlovic completely dominated, the back three (with Eric Dier selected ahead of Matthijs de Ligt) was totally at sea and Harry Kane was left isolated with seven touches in the first half and 11 touches in the second.

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FC Copenhagen v Manchester City
Champions League Last 16, First Leg
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-Off: 20:00
TNT Sports 1 HD / Discovery +

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
MAR 2021 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Bayern Munich 2-1 Lazio
FEB 2021 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Lazio 1-4 Bayern Munich

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On paper a tie against Lazio, for whom things aren’t going particularly well in Serie A, could be seen as a relief but their home record in Rome suggests different. In the group stages, they snatched a draw with Atletico Madrid (admittedly thanks to goalkeeper Ivan Provedel scoring in the 96th minute, albeit after a spirited performance when they won the shot count 19-9), before beating Feyenoord and Celtic with ease.

Bayern Munich are obviously a step up, but only last season’s beaten finalists Inter Milan have won from the last 15 teams to visit Maurizio Sarri’s men and they arrive here after a much-needed win against Caligari when the ageless Ciro Immobile added a goal to a great all-round display.

Lazio will fancy getting at a Bayern Munich defence which has conceded plenty of chances, especially on the road. They’ve conceded 15 goals in their last 10 away games, including at least two in their last three road trips, and they could struggle to keep Lazio quiet yet again.

Despite their weekend blowout, Bayern will stay confident that they can land a blow, especially if they’re able to find Harry Kane (28 goals in 28 games since joining) with regularity – and the potential return of Thomas Muller to midfield along with Joshua Kimmich should allow Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sané to get a better foothold in the game.

This could be an exciting and close game, with the draw making appeal at 14/5 with starsports.bet. Build-a-bets are sure to be popular in this game, and the 11/2 on offer for Ciro Immobile (scored in three of this six group stage appearances, and his last two games since returning) and Harry Kane (28 goals for Bayern this season) to score makes appeal.

WILLIAM KEDJANYI

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