Bayern Munich vs Paris Saint-Germain Preview

Champions League football returns this Tuesday with Bayern Munich hosting Paris Saint-Germain in the fifth round of the tournament’s league phase.

Bayern Munich started this season’s Champions League well beating Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 to race to the top of the standings early. However, back-to-back losses against Aston Villa (1-0) and Barcelona (4-1) left them in danger of finishing outside of the top 24.

A 1-0 win against Benfica in their last outing has pushed them back into the top 24 so a place in the next round remains possible as we approach the second half of this league phase. With just three points separating the top eight and the Bavarians, victory over PSG could take Vincent Kompany’s side back into the automatic qualification spots.

The hosts have momentum on their side as they come into this tie on a run of six straight wins in all competitions. They also have a good record against PSG having beaten them in three successive Champions League H2Hs. The hosts have also been a formidable force at home in this competition too, going unbeaten in their last 18 Champions League home games (W14, D4).

However, the last team to beat Bayern in Europe’s premier club competition on this ground was PSG way back in April 2021. The Parisians will look to repeat the trick here as they attempt to get their Champions League campaign back on track.

PSG’s Champions League campaign is going worse than Bayern’s this season as they start this latest round outside of the top-24 which would mean a group/league phase exit in this competition for the first time since 2004/05. With just four games left in this phase, winning here is the surest way to guarantee they still have a chance. But it’s hard to see them improving their standing against a Bayern side they’ve failed to score against in the last three H2Hs.

Two of their last four visits to Germany also saw them fail to score so you could forgive them for travelling in sombre mood on what will be a landmark evening for boss Luis Enrique who takes charge of his 50th game as a manager in the Champions League (W30, D6, L13).