Preview: Celtic vs Bayern,Champions League Knockout Round Playoffs 1st Leg

  • FIy999 2025/02/11 05:51
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Celtic will play their first Champions League knockout match for 12 years when they welcome German giants Bayern Munich to Glasgow on Wednesday night.


preview


With the Champions League only really just getting into the business end, Bayern are already on the brink of making unwanted history, following a disappointing start to their European campaign.


Vincent Kompany's men have lost three times on the road in the Champions League this season, and Bayern have never lost four away games in a single European campaign before.


A narrow defeat at Aston Villa followed by thrashings at Barcelona and Feyenoord saw Bayern miss out on the top eight and automatic progression to the last 16, despite a perfect home record.


The Bavarians have reached the last 16 in 16 straight Champions League campaigns, with their last failure to do so being the only time they have been eliminated before that stage since the competition's rebranding - when they were knocked out in the group stage in a section containing AC Milan, Deportivo La Coruna and Lens in 2002.


There is nothing wrong with their output in the final third, scoring 20 goals in their eight league phase matches, but Bayern only managed two clean sheets, and even conceded at home to both Dinamo Zagreb and Slovan Bratislava.


A leaky defence almost cost them in astonishing fashion at the start of the month against Holstein Kiel too, conceding three late goals in a narrow 4-3 win, but Kompany's men put that right with a routine 3-0 victory over Werder Bremen at the weekend to go eight points clear at the Bundesliga summit.


Facing Scottish opposition has been favourable for Bayern over the past few decades, going 13 games unbeaten since a defeat in 1989 at Hearts in the UEFA Cup, and four of those games have been against Celtic.


Bayern won home and away against Celtic in the group stages back in 2017, but were held to a 0-0 draw here in 2003.


A 0-0 draw would be an excellent result on paper for Celtic, but it may not do them much good in their chances of progression, considering they would then need to go and win at the Allianz Arena.


Without a win against Bayern in their history, and just one in 21 against past winners of the Champions League, there is little down for the hosts, but they did finally claim a first win against a German club in Europe during the league phase, beating RB Leipzig 3-1 at Celtic Park.


More history needs to be changed if they are to advance here, because Celtic have lost all three knockout ties in the Champions League, with their most recent being a 5-0 aggregate loss to Juventus in 2013.


The Hoops reached the last 16 in back-to-back seasons in 2007 and 2008, but again, European royalty stood in their way, as AC Milan and Barcelona eliminated them, and a similar mountain to climb is ahead of them here.


But with 6-0 and 5-0 wins at home against Dundee and Raith Rovers in the past week, there will be no shortage of confidence, and Celtic are still unbeaten at home in Europe this season.


The win over Leipzig contributed to a record of 10 points from their four home games in the league phase, and there will need to be a similarly heroic performance to the one Celtic enjoyed against Barcelona in this competition back in 2012 if they are to have any chance ahead of the second leg.


Probable Lineups

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