Bayern is going to come into this match in a bullish mood following the demolition of Fortuna Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga. Can Lille tame the lions?
LOSC Lille Metropole, French champions of 2011, welcomes the record Bundesliga champions, FC Bayern München, to their arena. Bayern, for a team that has reached two of the previous three Champions League finals, has a poor European away record. The record worsened when Bayern played BATE Borisov on Match-day Two. They have one only one of their last six away games.
The shock of the Champions League so far has been BATE’s huge victory over Bayern. Bayern underestimated them and lined up two defensive midfielders who hadn’t played together previously over 90 minutes. Jupp Heynckes’ side paid the price for not fielding Bastian Schweinsteiger as a ‘precautionary measure’. Bayern hardly used the approximately 65% possession they had to create good chances.
That defeat in Minsk remains Bayern only defeat this season in any competition. This time, Heynckes won’t be underestimating the opponent. Lille really needs some points from this one. At this point, they have zero points in the group following defeats to BATE and Valencia.
Lille is currently in mid-table in the French Ligue 1 standings. They earned a hugely valuable but perhaps not fully deserved three points against Bordeaux on Saturday. Bordeaux took the lead in the 18th minute when Ludovic Obraniak netted. Lille responded in the dying seconds through Marko Basa.
Bayern meanwhile set a record in the Bundesliga for the highest number of wins at the start of a season. The new record is eight wins. The previous was seven held jointly by Bayern, Mainz and Kaiserslautern. The display against Fortuna Düsseldorf was indeed one of the best Bayern displays so far.
Fortuna had two chances all match as Bayern neatly picked them apart at the other end. Franck Ribery was at his imperious best. Thomas Müller had a great game. David Alaba, in his first appearance this season, set up a goal too. His contribution will be more than welcome. He and Ribery form a fearsome partnership on the left flank. Rafinha even got in amongst the goals.
The game was allowed to flow due to the presence of Bastian Schweinsteiger in defensive midfield. His absence hurts Bayern beyond repair. With him on the field, Toni Kroos who does not really like to be scrappy does not have to run to the back to help the team out.
Daniel Van Buyten has remained in Munich due to bruised ribs. Claudio Pizarro, having recovered from jetlag, is ready to go to Lille. Emre Can also joins up with the squad. Arjen Robben is still injured and Mario Gomez is yet to return to match play this season. Rio Mavuba is out with injury for Lille. Marko Basa, the hero on Saturday, is a doubt as is Idrisa Gueye. Mathieu Debuchy is suspended.
This will be a special trip for Franck Ribery who spent three years as a youth in Lille. He and Bayern must go out with the mindset they went out with last season when they had their backs to the wall in the Round of 16 against Basel. This victory is vital for both sides.
At this point and time, the immaculate Bayern of the Bundesliga needs to show up in Europe. If they don’t win, the skies will indeed be falling at the Allianz Arena!
The shock of the Champions League so far has been BATE’s huge victory over Bayern. Bayern underestimated them and lined up two defensive midfielders who hadn’t played together previously over 90 minutes. Jupp Heynckes’ side paid the price for not fielding Bastian Schweinsteiger as a ‘precautionary measure’. Bayern hardly used the approximately 65% possession they had to create good chances.
That defeat in Minsk remains Bayern only defeat this season in any competition. This time, Heynckes won’t be underestimating the opponent. Lille really needs some points from this one. At this point, they have zero points in the group following defeats to BATE and Valencia.
Lille is currently in mid-table in the French Ligue 1 standings. They earned a hugely valuable but perhaps not fully deserved three points against Bordeaux on Saturday. Bordeaux took the lead in the 18th minute when Ludovic Obraniak netted. Lille responded in the dying seconds through Marko Basa.
Bayern meanwhile set a record in the Bundesliga for the highest number of wins at the start of a season. The new record is eight wins. The previous was seven held jointly by Bayern, Mainz and Kaiserslautern. The display against Fortuna Düsseldorf was indeed one of the best Bayern displays so far.
Fortuna had two chances all match as Bayern neatly picked them apart at the other end. Franck Ribery was at his imperious best. Thomas Müller had a great game. David Alaba, in his first appearance this season, set up a goal too. His contribution will be more than welcome. He and Ribery form a fearsome partnership on the left flank. Rafinha even got in amongst the goals.
The game was allowed to flow due to the presence of Bastian Schweinsteiger in defensive midfield. His absence hurts Bayern beyond repair. With him on the field, Toni Kroos who does not really like to be scrappy does not have to run to the back to help the team out.
Daniel Van Buyten has remained in Munich due to bruised ribs. Claudio Pizarro, having recovered from jetlag, is ready to go to Lille. Emre Can also joins up with the squad. Arjen Robben is still injured and Mario Gomez is yet to return to match play this season. Rio Mavuba is out with injury for Lille. Marko Basa, the hero on Saturday, is a doubt as is Idrisa Gueye. Mathieu Debuchy is suspended.
This will be a special trip for Franck Ribery who spent three years as a youth in Lille. He and Bayern must go out with the mindset they went out with last season when they had their backs to the wall in the Round of 16 against Basel. This victory is vital for both sides.
At this point and time, the immaculate Bayern of the Bundesliga needs to show up in Europe. If they don’t win, the skies will indeed be falling at the Allianz Arena!
