After being thoroughly humiliated in their last European outing, Bayern Munich went on to win three games on the bounce, scoring twelve times without conceding once. This has gone a long way towards placating fans, who rang alarm bells when the team collapsed against FC Barcelona.
However, Vincent Kompany still has a lot to prove. The last three games were not against top tier opposition. Can he do it on the biggest stage?
Team news
GOOD NEWS! Sacha Boey is back in training after his injury. It might still be too early for him to start, but he’ll at least give Kompany an option from the bench. As for the rest — Hiroki Ito, Josip Stanišić, and Aleksandar Pavlović all remain sidelined while they work on their recovery.
So, what kind of lineup can we expect from Kompany? Well, don’t expect any surprises (which would be an oxymoron — there’s no such thing as an unexpected surprise). Vincent Kompany will probably go with his tried and tested XI, which will probably look like this:
Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala, and Michael Olise are all locked in at this point, while Kingsley Coman may be preferred over Serge Gnabry. The midfield is settled with João Palhinha and Joshua Kimmich, while the defense isn’t likely to change any time soon.
Given that this team has lost two Champions League games in a row, the pressure is on the coach and the squad to deliver a win in front of home fans on Wednesday. If they don’t questions about Kompany’s future may become too loud to ignore.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s upcoming Champions League match with Benfica, along with a reaction to Bayern Munich drawing Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal? What about our takes on the latest news regarding Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané, and Alphonso Davies — and what might happen if Bayern actually finds a way to ink them all? Great, then check out our Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
