By Matt Gorka
On Wednesday night, the Allianz Arena will host the final game of Group B play in the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League competition. The match-up sees Bayern Munich versus Tottenham Hotspur, a clash of two teams that have already qualified for the knockout rounds. Bayern will finish top of the group as they have 15 points currently and Tottenham are guaranteed second as they currently have 10 points.
Bayern Have Been Superb in the Champions League
Bayern have bossed this group with five wins out of five games played. While their Champions League form has been immaculate, they have ironically slumped to two straight defeats in the Bundesliga. They will look to improve their current overall form with a win here.
Hans-Dieter Flick, Bayern’s interim manager, has overseen some changes since Niko Kova? left the club. He reinstalled Thomas Muller back into the side and made some tactical changes. These changes inspired a series of wins that ended with the last two league defeats against Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach.
In the Champions League, Bayern have scored 21 goals and conceded only four, with none conceded in front of their home crowd. Their strong home record in the Champions League could be a psychological advantage in this game.
Bayern will most likely rotate the team for this affair, but will still be looking for a win to lift the spirits after two consecutive league defeats. They are only in 7th place in the Bundesliga, 7 points behind league leading Monchengladbach.
Tottenham’s Improved Form Under Jose Mourinho
Tottenham on the other hand travel to Munich after a 5-0 thumping of Burnley at their home stadium. Since coming to the Tottenham bench, Mourinho has rejuvenated the team and made them believe that they are a quality side again.
Their games have been full of goals, which is atypical of a side that is managed by Mourinho. They have only kept one clean sheet in the last six games, but have scored 16 goals in the process. In the first game against Bayern, they got beaten 7-2 at their ground, a bludgeoning that they will be keen to avenge here.
The likes of Heung Min Son, Harry Kane and Dele Alli have been in scintillating form recently. But the Portuguese manager is expected to make many changes to the starting lineup against Bayern, as the tempo of the Premier League increases.
He will be keen to rest some of his key players, with his side unable to move up or down in Group B of the UCL. We could see the likes of Lo Celso, Foyth, Skipp, Sessegnon, and Walker-Peters all feature in this game, which Mourinho has already confirmed in his press conference.
Another Game Full of Goals?
We can expect both sides to rotate heavily here, especially Tottenham, who will be keen to keep their players fresh as they strive for a top four finish in the Premier League. We expect a game with plenty of goals from both sides, with the home side taking advantage. After this Champions League clash at Bayern, Tottenham will face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, and you can find English Premier League predictions here.