Bayern Munich vs Besiktas – UEFA Champions League – Preview

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Sreya

Bayern Munich vs Besiktas – Bayern Munich hosts Besiktas at the Allianz Arena on 20th February, Tuesday in the first leg of their Round of 16 UEFA Champions League fixture.

Bayern Munich finished second in Group B, trailing Paris Saint-Germain on goal difference only, while Besiktas topped Group G ahead of strong contenders Porto, RB Leipzig and AS Monaco.

While Bayern Munich have all but secured the Bundesliga, Besiktas are fourth in the Turkish League standings and are facing an uphill battle for qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Team News

Manuel Neuer is Bayern Munich’s primary injury concern while Besiktas will be without the injured Gokhan Tore and Atinc Nukan.

Bayern Munich Possible Starting Lineup: Sven Ulreich, Joshua Kimmich, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, David Alaba, Corentin Tolisso, Arturo Vidal, Arjen Robben, James Rodriguez, Franck Ribery, Robert Lewandowski.

Besiktas Possible Starting Lineup: Fabri, Gokhan Gonul, Pepe, Dusko Tosic, Adriano, Atiba Hutchinson, Tolgay Arslan, Ricardo Quaresma, Anderson Talisca, Ryan Babel, Alvaro Negredo.

Thoughts From Both Camps

“The team is absolutely brilliant. You can see from their games against Leipzig that you can’t afford to underestimate them at all. We’re absolutely ready.”

– Thomas Muller, Bayern Munich.

“So far this season we’ve always seen ourselves as favourites. This is the first time we’re saying that we’re not going into the game as favourites. From the outside Bayern look stronger than us, but we’ll go out there and play our football.”

– Senol Gunes, Besiktas.

Contributor’s Pick

According to Bayern Munich vs Besiktas H2H Stats, these two clubs have never faced each other in a competitive fixture before. There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Bayern’s last 10 games in the UEFA Champions League, with the German club winning six of their last seven games in this competition.

A 2-0 win for Bayern Munich is the most probable outcome tonight.