After being held to a 2-2 draw by Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, an injury-hit Bayern Munich side turn their attention to Tuesday’s trip to Spain to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
The Bavarians will be eager to return to winning ways in Europe’s premier club competition, having drawn 3-3 against Viking FK and 2-2 with Arsenal in their last two Champions League outings. Those results have left them 14th in the league phase table with five points from three games.
However, Bayern face a tough test against Atletico Madrid, who are particularly strong at the Wanda Metropolitano, where they haven’t lost since a 0-1 defeat to Celta Vigo in May last season.
A 1-1 Champions League draw against another Bundesliga side – VfB Stuttgart – was followed by domestic wins over Deportivo La Coruna (1-0) and Levante (2-0), giving Diego Simeone’s men a positive run of results heading into Tuesday’s clash. Atletico currently sit second in La Liga.
The two sides have met six times over the past 10 years, with Bayern winning three games, Atletico claiming two victories and one ending in a draw. Bayern have never beaten Atletico away from home and will be keen to change that on Tuesday.
Team news and predicted lineups:
Atletico Madrid will have to manage without Morten Hjulmand after he was shown a straight red card against Stuttgart. Johnny Cardoso (thigh) and Koke (muscle) are both doubts.
As for Bayern Munich, assistant coach Aaron Danks will continue deputising for head coach Vincent Kompany, who remains absent after collapsing and being diagnosed with meningeal irritation.
The German champions suffered a triple injury blow at the weekend, as Ismael Saibari, Serge Gnabry and Michael Olise were all forced off during their 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund.
Saibari (ankle) and Gnabry (muscle) are both facing longer spells on the sidelines, but Olise could potentially feature after taking part in Bayern’s final training session ahead of the game, albeit with his right knee bandaged.
Manuel Neuer also took part in the session and could return from a foot injury, with Jonas Urbig ready to deputise for the veteran goalkeeper once again if he is not passed fit.
Luis Diaz (muscle), Jamal Musiala (thigh) and Bara Sapoko Ndiaye (appendectomy) remain unavailable.
Click here to see our predicted Atletico Madrid vs. Bayern Munich lineups.
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