Bayern Munich vs. Lazio

March 5, 2024

Spooky Express previews Tuesday's Champions League round of 16 match between Bayern Munich and Lazio, including betting prediction, team news, and possible starting lineups.

Lazio resume their Champions League bid when they travel to face an underperforming Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night.

The first leg ended 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico on Valentine's Day courtesy of a Ciro Immobile penalty and that gives the Italian side an advantage to take to the Allianz Stadium in Munich.

Bayern Munich Betting Preview (-400 at Everygame)

Thomas Tuchel's side were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Friday night as Lucas Holer's late equalizer rescued a point for the home side.

Despite Harry Kane's contribution of both goals and assists (31 goals and 8 assists in 32 appearances) in all competitions, Bayern Munich are struggling and they might finish a season without silverware for the first time in over a decade (since 2011-12).

With the Bavarian giants losing ground in the Bundesliga week by week, the Champions League remains their only opportunity of winning a title this season.

It looks almost certain that Bayern Munich's domestic hegemony will finally come to an end as The Bavarians sit 10 points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who are yet to lose a game this season.

With just one victory in their last five matches in all competitions, Thomas Tuchel has been under huge pressure for quite some time and the German will have to find a way to rekindle his side's spirits.

It was already revealed that Tuchel would leave at the end of the season as part of a "sporting realignment" for the Bavarian giants, but this might happen rather sooner if he doesn't get a result against Lazio on Tuesday night.

French defender Dayot Upamecano, who was sent off in the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico, will serve a suspension as he joins Noussair Mazraoui, Bouna Sarr, Sacha Boey and Kingsley Coman on the sidelines.

Konrad Laimer could start at right-back as the Austrian missed the first leg with a calf injury.

Alphonso Davies, who was also unavailable for the trip to Rome on Valentine's Day, recovered from an injury and was only introduced as a second-half substitute at Freiburg last time out. It remains to be seen whether the Canadian left-back will be fully fit to start against Lazio or Raphael Guerreiro will keep his starting spot.

Lazio Betting Preview (+900 at Everygame)

Ciro Immobile converted the winning penalty to give the Biancocelesti a 1-0 advantage in the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico three weeks ago. In September 2023, the new Italy manager Luciano Spalletti announced Immobile as the new captain and the veteran striker will hope to drastically improve his form ahead of this summer's Euros.

The Aquile are unbeaten in their Champions League home games this season but they have lost two of their three away games in the group stage. However, the 2-1 victory at Celtic was Lazio's first away win in the competition since a 3-1 success over Romanian side Dinamo Bucuresti in the third qualifying round in 2007-08.

Should the Biancocelesti produce another solid defensive performance in Germany, they could reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 1999-00, when they lost to Valencia 5-3 on aggregate.

Maurizio Sarri's side travel to Munich on the back of a 1-0 home loss to AC Milan on Friday night when three Lazio players were sent off. Before that, the Aquile had also lost 2-1 to Fiorentina with a performance Sarri described as "flatlining" from start to finish, where the Lazio boss warned they are not capable of handling multiple competitions.

As a result, Lazio sit 9^th in the Serie A and they have the second worst attacking record in the top ten with just 32 goals scored in 27 games. But on the other hand, the Biancocelesti boast the fifth best defense in Serie A and that's something they will use as a foundation for their trip to Germany.

Indeed, the back-to-back defeats to Fiorentina and AC Milan saw Lazio slide down the standings, so their chances of qualifying for the Champions League again next season are slim to none, given their inconsistency.

Maurizio Sarri would probably name the same starting XI that beat Bayern Munich three weeks ago with Gustav Isaksen expected to keep his starting spot on the wing if Zaccagni is not fully fit.

Mattia Zaccagni missed the first leg but has since returned to action. However, Sarri confirmed that Zaccagni and Matias Vecino are not at 100 per cent after injuries.

Possible Starting Lineups of Bayern Munich and Lazio

Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer - Konrad Laimer, Eric Dier, Matthijs de Ligt, Raphael Guerreiro - Aleksandar Pavlovic, Leon Goretzka - Leroy Sane, Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala - Harry Kane. (4-2-3-1)

Lazio: Ivan Provedel - Adam Marusic, Mario Gila, Alessio Romagnoli, Elseid Hysaj - Matias Vecino, Mattéo Guendouzi, Luis Alberto - Felipe Anderson, Ciro Immobile, Mattia Zaccagni. (4-3-3)

Spooky Express Betting Prediction

We have two teams who are clearly out of form and their managers are under huge pressure.

Lazio have scored in all but one of their last seven away games but the upcoming trip to Munich represents a completely different test of their ability.

Italian football went through a difficult period but they now have three teams that are bidding to reach the Champions League quarter-finals after Inter Milan reached the final last season. Still, Bayern Munich (especially on home soil) can be an uphill task for a largely inconsistent Lazio side, but the Italians might also expose their opponent's weaknesses.

We shouldn't write Bayern Munich off, though, as the Bavarians have won an impressive six home games in a row against Serie A sides. They remain unbeaten in 13 Champions League home games (winning 10 of them) and are strong favorites to win the match.

Spooky Express Free Play: Outcome and Both to Score - Bayern Munich and Yes +180 at Everygame for 4/10 Units

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