When Chelsea and Bayern last met, it was 165 days ago, and the world was obviously a very different place. Both sides were obviously in very different places back when that first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie was stage at Stamford Bridge on 25 February.
Bayern, who were 3-0 victors that night, are now Bundesliga champions (as always it feels) and essentially co-favorites with Manchester City to win the UCL this term.
As for Chelsea, they’ll enter the clash with seven confirmed first team players out, and two more that are doubtful. Given that, plus the deep hole they’re already in heading into this road clash, it may be best to just go through the motions here, call it a 2019-20 season, and enjoy the time off coming up.
Manager Frank Lampard will really have to cobble something together here in order to put together a genuine first 11.
We expect a shift from 4-3-3 to 5-2-3 with the full backs lining up a bit further afield, essentially as wing backs; and a rare start for Emerson.
A serious selection crisis in midfield and injury crisis at winger means we’ll see a front three that features Olivier Giroud up top leading the line.
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction at Bayern Munich (UCL Round of 16, Leg 2/2)
Hudson-Odoi Giroud Mount
Barkley Kovacic
Palmieri Zouma Christensen Rudiger James
Caballero
Bayern Munich vs Chelsea FC UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Leg 2/2 FYIs
Kickoff: August 8, 8 pm, Allianz Arena
Team news for both sides: go to this link
TV: UK-BT Sport 1, BT Sport Extra 1, US- CBS All Access
Key stat, Bayern: their round of 16 record is W11 L4. They had won seven ties in a row before losing to Liverpool last season (0-0 a, 1-3 h)
Key stat, Chelsea: currently unbeaten in a club-record 10 away European matches, since losing 0-3 to Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16 in 2018 (seven wins, three draws).
Prediction: Bayern Munich 4, Chelsea FC 0
This could get ugly quickly, it depends on what kind of fight Chelsea decides to put up and if Bayern really wants to pour it on or not.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for Chicago Tribune.com, on Twitter and his cat on Instagram.