Lazio – Bayern Munich : Preview & Prediction
The UEFA Champions League returns with Lazio looking to add further misery to a wounded Bayern Munich in the first leg of this round of 16 tie. The “Aquilotti” come into this clash having ended a three-match winless run at home by beating Cagliari 3-1 over the weekend and will now look to lay the foundations to advance to the quarter-finals of this competition for the first time. However, defeats in both legs of their only previous tie in this instance against none other than Bayern in 2021 will be a psychological hurdle for them to overcome.
Adding to the negative feelings at Lazio is also their poor record against German clubs, having won just one of their last seven games against such opponents (E1, P5). But their performance at the Stadio Olimpico in continental action should boost some confidence in the home side, as they charged to defeat in just one of their last 12 European home games (G6, E5).
Bayern travels to Italy after its “worst performance on one of the most important days,” according to goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer, when it lost 3-0 to championship rival Bayer Leverkusen, leaving it five points behind the leaders in the Bundesliga title race. That ended a run of three consecutive wins and leaves the Bavarians needing to bounce back in a competition in which they have not tasted defeat since early April 2023 (G5, E2).
Despite coming into this fixture after a weekend to forget, Bayern are still keen to emerge victorious in this tie and reach their 12th quarter-final in their last 13 Champions League campaigns. A win here would put them on track and also give Bayern a sixth consecutive European victory against a Serie A side.
Players to watch: Lazio attacker Felipe Anderson has three contributions on goal in his last five league games (two goals, one assist). He could face Bayern defender Matthijs de Ligt, who played for Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri while at Juventus. The Dutchman was benched for the clash against Leverkusen, but scored in the previous match and is unbeaten in his last three head-to-heads against Lazio (G2, E1).
Key stat: Seven of Bayern’s last eight goals in the Champions League have been scored after the 60th minute.
