Manchester City will be eliminated if they do not win the match and Roma wins their encounter against CSKA Moskva. All hope is not lost due to the fact that Bayern have already qualified and clinched top spot. In previous seasons, when Bayern was completely sure or at least relatively sure of top spot, they lost concentration and allowed City to beat them. This time, Bayern might field a team with hungry but second choice players, due to the high number of injuries the team has already suffered.
Javi Martinez, Pep Guardiola's central man for a 3-5-2 formation, suffered a long term injury at the beginning of the season. Bastian Schweinsteiger did not last either, suffering a needless injury in a friendly in the US during the summer. He returned to action during the weekend against Hoffenheim. Holger Badstuber, after waiting for long to return to action, hurt himself again and is currently recovering. Thiago Alcantara continues to remain behind the scenes. David Alaba was recently ruled out of action. Both the reserve keepers, Tom Starke and Pepe Reina are suffering from injuries, leaving Manuel Neuer with only Leopold Zingerle as backup.
In the past week, onlookers realized just how serious Bayern's injury problems are when they lost a man who has not suffered a serious injury in eight years to a long term problem. Philipp Lahm hurt his knee during the international break and will be out for roughly three months. Even the veteran striker, Claudio Pizarro is injured! Jerome Boateng is a slight doubt due to a knee problem. Bayern officials are unlikely to risk playing their best fit defender. This is not the time for them to throw caution to the wind.
For City, Edin Dzeko is out with a calf problem as is Aleksandar Kolarov. David Silva is out with a knee issue while Yaya Toure and Fernandinho are suspended. City, in front of their fans will not want to disappoint. Last season, they finally reach the Round of 16. A poor performance coupled with a Roma win could undo all the good work of last season in the UEFA Champions League. More is expected from the champions of England.
Can City win against Bayern? Interested in learning how you can watch the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League? Check out our UEFA Champions League Multi-Platform Broadcast Guide.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
