After their disappointing 3-0 loss against Feyenoord in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) last week, Bayern Munich bounced back with a 2-1 victory over Freiburg during the weekend, strengthening their lead at the top of the Bundesliga. The UCL defeat puts Bayern in a position outside the top eight in the final stage of the league, but there is still a possibility for them to advance directly to the round of 16. They will need to secure a win in their first encounter with Slovan Bratislava, which should not be too difficult considering Bayern’s impressive record of 33 unbeaten home group/league stage games in the UCL (W31, D2). Another win would solidify their record and it seems highly likely as they have won eight of their last ten competitive matches (L2). Adding to the likelihood of a home victory is the fact that Slovan comes to this match with no points in the UCL and no chance of moving forward in the competition, regardless of the outcome.
If that is not enough to dampen Slovan’s spirits, they have yet to win in their three previous visits to Germany in major European competitions (D1, L2). They have struggled away from home in this competition, with a high risk of becoming one of the five teams to have played ten or more games in the old European Cup/UCL without a single win (D1, L8). Having conceded ten goals in their three away losses in this year’s edition, it has been a tough journey for Slovan, who have also been trailing at half-time in all three matches.
Keep an eye on Jamal Musiala, who has contributed to seven goals in his last nine UCL home group/league phase games (G2, A5) and has never lost a UCL match at home (W17, D3). Tigran Barseghyan, who provided an assist in the previous round against Stuttgart, has been involved in half of Slovan’s UCL league phase goals (G1, A2). It’s worth noting that Bayern have the highest number of corners in the competition, with an average of 8.6 per match.
