Last week’s first-leg in North London gave us little in the way of determining who will secure safe passage to the Champions League semi-finals. With the tie evenly poised, we preview the return leg in Germany along with a few Bayern Munich vs Arsenal tips and predictions below.
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal Tips
- Harry Kane 2+ Shots on Target @ 32/25
- Arsenal to Qualify @ 93/100
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal Preview – Quarter-Final Second-Leg
Last week’s first-leg revealed some interesting truths about both of these sides, even if the game failed to hand either of them the advantage.
For all Arsenal’s early dominance, and in a wider context their dominance over teams so far in 2024, two lapses in concentration ultimately cost them.
Bayern Munich’s experience at this level vastly outweighs Mikel Arteta’s relatively fresh and youthful side, and the Bavarians sent a stark reminder that mistakes in the Champions League rarely go unpunished.
Nevertheless, the Gunners were able to stay competitive even after having their early lead wiped before the break. Leandro Trossard’s cool and collected strike 15 minutes from time ensured they head to Germany with a fighting chance, even with their history in Munich is tainted by painful memories.
They also face the mental battle of regrouping after stumbling in the Premier League title race over the weekend, with Aston Villa’s 2-0 victory at the Emirates knocking them off top spot.
That race is far from over and Arteta has been forced to manage his squad carefully over the past few weeks in order to remain competitive on both fronts.
Rotation appeared to unsettle the balance of the team against Villa, so it is likely he will revert back to the system that has proved oh-so effective since the turn of the year.
Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel is fortunate – or unfortunate depending on how you look at it – that the Champions League is their only hope of silverware left this campaign.
It was clear from their commendable first-leg performance that all their remaining efforts are being shoehorned into a deep run in this tournament, but our predictions for Wednesday paint a different story – see why below.
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal Predictions and Betting Tips
Harry Kane 2+ Shots on Target
The scourge of Arsenal returned to the Emirates to haunt them once again, as Harry Kane sat down David Raya before slotting home a first-half penalty last week.
He was, by and large, fairly quiet in a game where Leroy Sane shone the brightest for Bayern, but he will relish the chance to qualify for only his second career Champions League semi-final.
On home soil, Kane has proven particularly potent having netted just over 64% of his 39 goals at the Allianz Arena this season.
4.24 shots per-game, and 1.89 on target per-90 highlights just how many chances he or his teammates are able to fashion for him. Although he will be up against arguably the most in-form centre-back pairing in world football, their confidence maybe slightly dented by the weekend’s showing against Villa.
There were often times in the first leg where William Saliba in particular didn’t look entirely comfortable, and Kane is second-to-none when sniffing out weaknesses.
Arsenal to Qualify
Having entered last weekend’s first-leg as the firm favourites, the Bayern Munich vs Arsenal odds have shifted in favour of the former on Lucky Block.
This is likely off the back of what amounted to an incredibly professional and well-oiled display in North London against one of Europe’s preeminent sides.
Bayern hold all the tournament know-how and ‘been there done that’, but they still left a lot to be desired in terms of chance creation.
Had it not been for Arsenal gifting them two opportunities, they likely wouldn’t have scored at the Emirates.
It is also worth noting that Arsenal have scored the most and conceded the least away from home in the Premier League this term, and they have made a habit of showing up at other teams’ stadiums.
We thought it best to steer clear of picking a winner in 90 minutes; last week’s draw felt like an appropriate result given the balance of the game, and it would be foolish to think one of these sides are superior to the other.
However, we do think Arsenal have plenty to prove after their damaging defeat against Villa, and they have also made a habit of ridding themselves of past voodoo this season – perhaps their dismal record at the Allianz will be flipped on its head on Wednesday?
We are inclined to agree.
Bayern Munich Team News
Despite sitting out their victory over Cologne over the weekend, both Leroy Sane and Manuel Neuer trained on Tuesday and are expected to start.
However, Thomas Tuchel will have to make do without several absentees, namely winger duo Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman.
Alphonso Davies also picked up a booking in the first-leg and will miss Wednesday’s game through suspension.
Bayern Munich Predicted Line-Up: Neuer; Kimmich, De Ligt, Dier, Mazraoui; Laimer, Goretzka; Sane, Musiala, Guerreiro; Kane
Arsenal Team News
Mikel Arteta has admitted that Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka will need to be assessed before Wednesday evening, but the expectation is both will be available to start.
After their shortcomings against Villa last time out, it is likely Takehiro Tomiyasu will step in for Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back. Kai Kavertz is also expected to resume his position as striker after being moved into midfield over the weekend.
Jurrien Timber is Arsenal’s only confirmed absentee.
Arsenal Predicted Line-Up: Raya; White, Gabriel, Saliba, Tomiyasu; Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal Odds
- Bayern Munich 3/2
- Draw 5/2
- Arsenal 17/10
