After back-to-back Champions League losses to Aston Villa and FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich responded with a pair of 1-0 wins over Benfica and PSG. Bayern will be heavy favorites in their final three group stage matches, the first of which is tomorrow against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the match will be played at a neutral site in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. This will make it a decent trek for both fanbases but will allow the home side on paper, Shakhtar, to avoid playing at the Allianz Arena.
The only previous meeting between Bayern and Shakhtar occurred in the Round of 16 during 2014/15 Champions League campaign. In the first leg, Bayern’s Xabi Alonso picked up a second yellow card in the 65th minute and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. In the second leg, Shakhtar’s Oleksandr Kucher earned a straight red card in the 4th minute and Bayern cruised to a 7-0 victory. Bayern was eventually eliminated by Barcelona in the semifinals that year.
Bayern is currently in 13th place of the Champions League table with their most difficult matchups behind them. On the flip side, Shakhtar has struggled mightily and still has to deal with Dortmund and Brest, both of whom are ahead of Bayern in the standings. On the domestic front, Shakhtar is four points behind Dynamo Kiev in the Ukrainian Premier League.
Team news
Here are the lineups predictions, provided by BFW:
Until Harry Kane returns, expect a rotation of Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané, and Mathys Tel at the number nine position. The offense was positionless for the first half of the Heidenheim match and this could be effective again, although Thomas Müller might need to move down to the endline to shout instructions.
Aleksandar Pavlović has looked fantastic since returning from injury and should be the guaranteed starter next to Joshua Kimmich in the midfield moving forward. Sacha Boey has always played well and is a better fit than Konrad Laimer at right back.
Müller, Konrad Laimer and Leon Goretzka are the only reliable and healthy substitutes at the moment. This opens the door for youth prospects like Arijon Ibrahimović, Adam Aznou, Anthony Pavlešić, and Jonah Kusi-Asare to steal some late minutes.
Alphonso Davies and Kingsley Coman sustained injuries in the Heidenheim win that will sideline them for the rest of the month. Manuel Neuer is unlikely to play. Bayern will also continue to play without the services of Harry Kane, Serge Gnabry, João Palhinha, Josip Stanišić, and Hiroki Itō.
Shakhtar plays a standard four-back defense but the midfield and attack varies each match. Shakhtar used a 4-2-3-1 against both Bologna and Arsenal, only conceding one goal between the two matches. Defender Mykola Matviyenko is the captain, while the main goal scoring threats are Heorhiy Sudakov, Artem Bondarenko, and Oleksandr Zubkov.
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