Bayern vs Anderlecht – Champions League Preview

Bayern vs Anderlecht – Tuesday 19:45 BT / 20:45 CET Allianz Arena – Munich, Germany.

Bayern vs Anderlecht will take place at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Wednesday (Photo by Lennart Preiss/Bongarts/Getty Images)

The Champions League is back to the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. Bayern will undergo their latest attempt to secure Europe’s crown. Since winning the trophy in 2013, the club has come. Three times the club fell in the semi-finals to a Spanish club and was then eliminated by Real Madrid in the quarterfinals last season under the most dramatic circumstances.

There is a bit of a feeling now in the Bavarian capital that the window could be closing for this team. Superstars like Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery are getting older. Furthermore, Carlo Ancelotti has struggled to integrate younger players probably. Another issue has been squad balance with the Italian head coach underutilising Thomas Müller. The departures of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm and Holger Badstuber mean that Müller is the last Bavarian star in this team and some suspect that Müller could be the hurdle Ancelotti could fall over.

Hence, the Italian is now under pressure. Only success in the Champions League with a successful Müller can secure his future in Munich in the long term. Whether he will be able to achieve that remains to be seen. Ancelotti has a winning pedigree and Bayern were handed a manageable group with Anderlecht, Celtic and Paris Saint-Germain.

Many expect it will be Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain that will play for the top two spots in the group. Given the names on the rosters and the financial power of those two super teams, this will certainly be the case. But at the same time, both sides will have to respect opponents like Anderlecht and Celtic. Bayern were drawn in a group with Atlético Madrid last season but lost first place in the group after to minnows FC Rostov in Russia. As a result, we can expect Bayern to take this game dire despite all the background noise going on in Munich and comfortable beat Anderlecht on matchday 1.

Bayern vs Anderlecht – Players to look out for:

Robert Lewandowski #9 – Bayern München

Robert Lewandowski remains Bayern’s goal scoring guarantee. The Polish striker managed 30 goals last season being beaten by the tiniest margin by BVB star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (31 goals) to the Torjägerkanone. This season Lewandowski is not only aiming to regain the title of the league’s top scorer, but he also wants to win the UEFA Champions League finally. He came close in 2013 when he lost the final  to Bayern while playing to his former club Dortmund. The striker has been somewhat outspoken in recent weeks demanding that his club would sign the necessary players to keep competing with Europe’s elite. His shouts for more support have been registered in Munich, and he will now have to back up his words with performances on the field.

Robert Lewandowski (c.) is Bayern’s goal guarantee. (CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

Lukasz Teodorczyk #91 – RSC Anderlecht 

Lukasz Teodorczyk is the latest promising striker produced by Poland. A mix of Robert Lewandowski and Arkadiusz Milik Teodorczyk had an impressive record in the Jupiler Pro League last season scoring 22 goals in 38 games for Anderlecht. Initially loaned from Dynamo Kyiv Anderlecht had a buy out clause build into his loan deal that was worth just €4.5 million. Peanuts in retrospect given that Teodorczyk’s market value has now skyrocketed to €12.5 million.

Lukasz Teodorczyk was one of the major reasons for Anderlecht’s success last season. (KRISTOF VAN ACCOM/AFP/Getty Images)

Bayern München vs Anderlecht – Match Stats

• The two clubs first met in the UEFA Super Cup in August 1976. Gerd Müller scored twice in Bayern’s 2-1 first-leg win in Munich, but Anderlecht turned it round with a 4-1 triumph in the return, Rob Rensenbrink netting twice
• Bayern have won five of the teams’ ten meetings, although Anderlecht triumphed in the last—for their third victory overall. Goals from Akın Serhat (20) and Olexandr Yakovenko (35) secured a 2-1 success in Munich in the 2007-08 UEFA Cup round of 16-second leg despite Lúcio’s ninth-minute opener for Bayern—the German side comfortably progressed having won 5-0 in Brussels, Franck Ribéry scoring the final goal.
• That was Bayern’s first home defeat by Belgian visitors; they had won all six previous games, scoring 13 goals and conceding two.
• Anderlecht are contesting the UEFA Champions League group stage for the 12th time in total. They qualified automatically after landing a 34th Belgian title last term.
• Anderlecht have not won an away game in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, since a 1-0 victory at Real Betis Balompié on 6 December 2005. Their away record since then reads D8 L4.
• Anderlecht won their first three away games against German opposition, but that 2008 victory at Bayern was their first since October 1977 (D2 L10 in the meantime).
• Anderlecht’s overall record against German sides is W13 D5 L17; in Germany, W4 D2 L11.
• Bayern have won 16 of the last 17 Champions League home games.

Prediction: Bayern vs Anderlecht 5-0

Bayern vs Anderlecht – Possible Lineups

Bayern München

Formation: 4-2-2-2

Neuer – Rafinha, Hummels, Süle, Kimmich – Rudy, Tolisso – Ribéry, Robben – Lewandowski, Müller

Coach: Carlo Ancelotti

Anderlecht

Formation: 4-3-3

Boekx – Obradović, Deschacht, Spajić, Najar – Dendoncker, Hanni, Trebel – Onyekuro, Teodorczyk, Bruno

Coach: René Weiler

Manuel Veth is a freelance journalist and social media junior editor at Bundesliga.com. He is also a holder of a Doctorate of Philosophy in History from King’s College London, and his thesis is titled: “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States,” which will be available in print soon. Originally from Munich, Manuel has lived in Amsterdam, Kyiv, Moscow, Tbilisi, London, and currently is located in Victoria BC, Canada.  Follow Manuel on Twitter @ManuelVeth.