City go in to the second leg at the Allianz Arena with a three-goal advantage following our 3-0 victory in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium eight days ago.
We make three changes from the side that beat Leicester City 3-1 on Saturday with Ilkay Gundogan, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji returning to the starting line-up.
After scoring three early goals in that win, Erling Haaland, John Stones, Rodrigo, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish were all taken off early and start tonight’s clash.
TEAMS
BAYERN MUNICH XI: Sommer, Pavard, Upamecano, De Ligt, Cancelo, Goretzka, Kimmich, Coman, Musiala, Sane, Choupo-Moting
Subs: Ulreich, Gnabry, Mane, Davies, Sarr, Blind, Muller, Gravenberch, Tel, Mazaroui, Stanisic, Ibrahimovic
CITY XI: Ederson, Stones, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Gundogan (C), Bernardo, Grealish, Haaland
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Walker, Phillips, Laporte, Alvarez, Gómez, Mahrez, Perrone, Foden, Palmer, Lewis
TACTICS
Stones has been playing as a right-back pushing into midfield alongside Rodrigo in our recent matches.
But at the Etihad in the first game, Akanji switched to a wide position with Stones in the centre but moving forward to supplement the midfield.
That gives Guardiola options and a chance to keep the opposition guessing.
It looks like the preferred 4-3-3 formation with Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva playing either side of Haaland but with the responsibility of trying to stop any Bayern overloads if they throw themselves forward to turn around the deficit.
WINNING MENTALITY
City play every match determined to win and despite a three-goal advantage from the first leg, Ilkay Gundogan said in his pre-match press conference that tonight’s game will be no different.
“Our team is built to start every game wanting to win it,” the midfielder said. “We want possession but need to play in a mature way.”
City have won only one of our four Champions League away games this season and that was our first game of the campaign back in September when we beat Sevilla 4-0.
But we remain unbeaten in Europe this season and have not in Germany since December 2021 against RB Leipzig, drawing against the same side and Borussia Dortmund in the current campaign.
MATCH STATS
City have won our last two meetings against Bayern in the Champions League.
Among sides who have faced them more than five times in the competition, City are one of only three teams to have won at least half of their Champions League meetings (4/7), along with Milan (67% - 4/6) and Real Madrid (50% - 10/20).
We have only lost one of our last 20 matches against German teams in the Champions League (W16 D3), losing away to RB Leipzig in the 2021/22 group stage. We are unbeaten in their nine games against German sides in the knockout stages (W8 D1).
Bayern will be looking to become just the fifth team to progress from a two-legged Champions League knockout tie after losing by three or more goals in the first leg, after Deportivo de La Coruna in 2003/04 (5-4 v Milan), Barcelona in 2016/17 (6-5 v Paris Saint-Germain), Roma in 2017/18 (4-4 v Barcelona, won on away goals) and Liverpool in 2018/19 (4-3 v Barcelona).
Since losing three consecutive games against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in 2020/21 – the last of which being the 2021 Champions League final –Pep Guardiola has won each of his last three games against Tuchel, without seeing his side concede a single goal (1-0 home and away in the 2021/22 Premier League and 3-0 in the first leg).
