Bayern Munich’s imperious Champions League group stage record has continued at the start of 2023/24 with the German giants taking full control of Group A.
Victory against Galatasaray on Wednesday night will confirm their place in the round of 16 after they won their opening three encounters.
The visitors, meanwhile, are set to duel Manchester United for second spot. Points on Wednesday would be invaluable, but it’s their clash with United on Matchday 5 that’ll likely decide who progresses alongside Bayern.
Here’s 90min‘s preview of the upcoming Champions League fixture at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern Munich vs Galatasaray H2H Record (Last Three Games)
Current Form (all competitions)
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United Kingdom |
discovery+ App, discovery+, TNT Sports 3 |
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United States |
Paramount+, ViX |
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DAZN |
Tuchel’s squad is starting to get healthier and the boss will welcome Joshua Kimmich back to the fold on Wednesday after he missed Der Klassiker through suspension. Leon Goretzka is also fit again after a period on the sidelines.
Matthijs de Ligt is the only notable injury concern for Bayern. The Dutchman is expected to miss the rest of 2023 with a knee injury.
Serge Gnabry could come back into the starting XI, but Tuchel is unlikely to make many changes from Saturday’s emphatic win.
Bayern predicted lineup vs Galatasaray (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Mazraoui, Kim, Upamecano, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Gnabry, Musiala, Sane; Kane.
Galatasaray’s superb start to the domestic season continued at the weekend as a Wilfried Zaha brace propelled them to a 2-1 win over Kasimpasa.
The visitors boast a star-studded squad laden with Premier League exports. Hakim Ziyech, Tete, Davinson Sanchez and Lucas Torreira are all vying for starts in Munich.
Tottenham loanee Tanguy Ndombele is set to miss the trip to Germany with a muscle injury.
Galatasaray predicted lineup vs Bayern (4-2-3-1): Muslera; Boey, Sanchez, Nelsson, Bardakci; Ayhan, Torreira; Ziyech, Akturkoglu, Zaha; Icardi.
Bayern produced their most convincing performance of the Tuchel era on Saturday as they thumped Borussia Dortmund away from home just days after their DFB-Pokal humiliation.
Galatasaray, though, posed Bayern problems in the reverse fixture and forced them into a state of reaction. The Germans sought to contain the Turkish giants and hit them on the counter amid an unconvincing 3-1 victory.
However, the dynamic should be different at the Allianz on Wednesday. While Galatasaray have a few big names and have performed well domestically, they’re not a side capable of going into Munich and walking away triumphant.
A repeat of the same scoreline from Istanbul wouldn’t be a surprise.