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0 - 2Stadium: Allianz-Arena (München)
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Team NewsFranck Ribery picked up an ankle injury against Fortuna for Bayern. He is set to miss out on the Tuesday night clash. Holger Badstuber is not due back for Bayern till at least the end of the season. He had a second surgery recently. Bastian Schweinsteiger is suspended after picking up his third yellow card of the current European campaign in the group stages.
Jerome Boateng continues to serve out his suspension for the red card he picked up against BATE Borisov in the group stages. Arjen Robben is doubtful; he missed the clash against Düsseldorf on Saturday due to a calf strain.
For Arsenal, Nacho Monreal, previously involved in this competition with Malaga, is ineligible. Kieran Gibbs continues to be out, leaving Arsene Wenger with few choices for the left back berth in his side in Europe. Bacary Sagna missed Arsenal’s previous two league games and remains a doubt. About Diaby is a doubt; he picked up a knock against Aston Villa.
Bayern had played well in every match in 2013 coming into the clash against Fortuna on Saturday. One question mark remained though- what would happen if the old defensive problems occurred again and Bayern went behind? Bayern answered that question easily on Saturday.
Düsseldorf’s first goal, coming from Mathis Bolly, showcased Bayern’s old woes at the back again. Manuel Neuer and the entire defence failed to communicate properly. Bayern, after missing a plethora of chances, equalized through Thomas Müller. The play in the second half seemed to be in the Bavarians’ favor. However, when Andreas ‘Lumpy’ Lambertz scored, there was doubt for the first time in a long time about Bayern’s capabilities.
That is when the bench came into play. Claudio Pizarro came on and set up Franck Ribery for the second. The winner came from the unlikeliest of sources in Jerome Boateng. Jupp Heynckes rested Javier Martinez and Dante for that match. Both will be needed to cover the defensive cracks in Bayern on Wednesday.
Arsenal, after losses to Blackburn and Bayern, went on to battle to a win against Aston Villa ten days ago. Whether the ten day gap has helped Arsene Wenger’s side prepare for this one is doubtful. They may have had more time to train but the lack of a match for ten days might come back to haunt them.
Reversely, Bayern had to work hard against Fortuna last weekend. Despite the deep bench, one has to ask whether Bayern spent too much energy in coming back against Düsseldorf, a side they had hammered 0-5 in the first half of the season. Also, how much will the absence of a Ribery in arguably his best ever form trouble Bayern? The Martinez- Luiz Gustavo combo which is set to step into defensive midfield failed badly in Ukraine in the group stages. How will the partnership fare?
Jupp Heynckes is always good for a surprise or two tactically. In the first leg, Bayern used more long balls and reverted to sitting back after scoring the second goal and playing on the counter attack. Against Düsseldorf, Toni Kroos the central attacking midfielder, sat deeper than Bastian Schweinsteiger, the defensive midfielder, at times. Against Dortmund in the Pokal, Bayern also used long balls effectively knowing that Dortmund had their wingers double marked.
Arsene Wenger has normally been stubborn about tactics, refusing to change too much. He might change something this time. In the ten day gap he has had in hand, he has been preparing his team meticulously for this clash. In the first leg, Wenger’s gamble to play Theo Walcott up front did not work out. He might start Olivier Giroud there. Thomas Vermaelen will have to take over the left back’s responsibilities it seems.
For Bayern to drop out of this competition, Arsenal would need to strike three away goals without reply. Against a slightly different Bayern side, Inter scored three times in the Allianz Arena in 2011. Arsenal managed to break them down in the first leg too due to an error by Neuer and the defence via Lukas Podolski. Can Arsenal pull it off?
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