Arsenal travel to Germany this Wednesday to take on Bayern München at the Allianz Arena, with the Germans eyeing revenge for last month’s defeat in London. Bayern top group F with six points ahead of Olympiakos who have also won two and lost one of their first three matches. Arsenal and Dinamo Zagreb both have three points and are treading a tightrope in terms of qualifying for the knockout rounds.
In the Bundesliga Bayern are in total control, five points clear of Dortmund although they did drop points for the first time this season in a 0-0 draw at Frankfurt at the weekend and their record now comprises of ten wins and one draw.
Bayern were beaten 2-0 by Arsenal in London on Matchday 3, their first defeat over 90 minutes in a competitive match this season. Earlier they cruised to victory in a 3-0 win at Olympiakos thanks to a second half goal blitz and then dismantled Dinamo Zagreb 5-0 in München where they were 4-0 up inside the first half hour.
Coming shortly after Arsenal snapped their perfect record in all competitions, Bayern will be targeting a response in front of their own fans on Wednesday.
Arsenal were 3-0 winners at Swansea at the weekend, a fifth straight league win which sees them running neck and neck with Manchester City in the title race and after this they will face Spurs in the North London derby.
They started this group in disastrous fashion , with two defeats from their opening two games against Olympiakos and Dinamo Zagreb, respectively, which have left them at the bottom of Group F.
However, a stunning 2-0 win over Bayern at the Emirates in October gave the Gunners renewed hope of reaching the Champions League knockout phase. But their destiny remains out of their hands.
Match facts
- Bayern München have won their last seven at home in the Champions League, keeping five clean sheets and conceding just three goals in that run.
- Bayern have won 16 of their last 17 home games in the group stage of the competition, however their one defeat in that run came against English opposition (Manchester City, Dec 2013).
- Arsenal have lost just one of their last seven away games in the Champions League against German opposition (W3 D3).
- Three of the last five home goals bagged by Bayern München in this competition have been assisted by Thiago Alcántara.
- Arsenal have lost back-to-back Champions League matches played on a Wednesday; they’ve never tasted defeat three times in a row.
- The Gunners have scored three goals in the final 15 minutes of matches so far in this Champions League campaign; a competition high.
- Mesut Ozil has scored twice versus Bayern Munich in the Champions League; the only side he has got on the scoresheet more than once against.
- The North London club have conceded three times from a corner; a competition high this season in the Champions League.
- Bayern have bagged 21 goals across their last four home games in this competition; an average of 5.25.
Head to head
In last six matches they played against each other, Arsenal won 3 times, Bayern won 2 matches and 1 match ended draw. Overall, in last six matches, Arsenal scored 8 goals, while Bayern scored 9 goals.
Last time they played on 15th October 2015 when Arsenal won Bayern 2-0 due to late goals from Giroud and Ozil.
Team news
Pep Guardiola complained about his side’s injury problems in the aftermath of Bayern’s Emirates defeat, but they appear to have eased just as Arsenal’s have worsened.
Franck Ribery, Mario Gotze and Sebastian Rode are all unavailable but several first-teamers have returned from injury. Arjen Robben and Javi Martinez started Friday’s draw with Frankfurt whilst Medhi Benatia was an unused substitute.
Arsenal’s injury crisis has only escalated since their victory over Bayern, when Aaron Ramsey joined several of his team-mates on the sidelines.
Since then his two likely replacements, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott, have picked up muscular problems that will keep them out until after the international break.
Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere are also expected to be missing match against Bayern.
Probable Line-ups
Bayern München: Neuer; Lahm, Martinez, Boateng, Alaba; Alonso, Thiago, Vidal; Muller, Lewandowski, Costa.
Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Cazorla, Coquelin; Sanchez, Ozil, Campbell; Giroud.
