Preview: Can Arsenal turn the tie around?
It’s all about belief it seems. Last season, Arsene Wenger changed the side thoroughly before the second leg. His team won 0-2 at the Allianz Arena, coming close to knocking out Bayern by one goal. It’s all about complacency it seems in the Bayern camp. Too good for domestic and European competition, it seems the players seem to relax sometimes and allow matches which are perhaps already in the bag to get away from them.
Under Pep Guardiola, Bayern has rarely approached a match looking disinterested and lethargic. However, in the first leg, for the first ten minutes, due to a previously unused defensive midfield combo and the class of the opposition, Guardiola’s team seemed baffled. They slowly grew into the game and after Arsenal lost a man of course, they dominated thoroughly, scoring two goals via Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller to take home the advantage.
Only three teams in the history of the UEFA Champions League have managed to overturn a first leg home deficit and advance. Inter Milan is one of them; in 2010-11, they were down 0-1 from the first leg and won unexpectedly, 2-3, in the second to advance. Their opposition in that tie was, you guessed it, Bayern.
Holger Badstuber continues to be in rehab for Bayern. Mario Götze is a slight doubt with a knock. Wojiech Szczesny is suspended following his red card in the first leg and thus, Lukasz Fabianski will be in goal. Theo Walcott, Nacho Monreal, Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby and Kieran Gibbs are all out for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has a slight puzzle to solve at the back due to the absences of Monreal and Gibbs. Laurent Koscielny is a slight doubt; Kim Kallstrom and Aaron Ramsey might be ready for this one.
Can Arsenal turn the tie around?
Where to watch the match: Live Streams, Live Scores, Start Times, TV Channels:
Watch Bayern München vs Arsenal live on Tuesday, March 11, 2014:
In Canada at 15:45 ET on Sportsnet West, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet World Online, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet Pacific
In the UK at 20:45 GMT on Sky Sports Red Button, BBC Radio 5 Live, UTV, ITV 1, ITV Live Player, STV Scotland
In the USA at 15:45 ET on Fox Soccer 2Go, Fox Sports 1 USA, Fox Deportes
Viewers in Germany can tune into Sky Go Germany to watch the match.
For the complete TV listings and live scores upon kick-off, visit the Bayern-Arsenal match page.
