Champions League preview: Bayern Munich vs Lazio, Real Sociedad vs Paris Saint-Germain
Bayern Munich vs Lazio
A couple of weeks back, Bayern had just been beaten 3-0 by Bayer Leverkusen, a result that inspired dozens of takes on the whole “curse of Kane” narrative. But forget the doomsayers – maybe this was the wake-up call FC Hollywood needed?
Alas, Bayern remain pretty sleepy. In their last five matches Thomas Tuchel’s side have won once. Tom himself will be leaving the club at the end of the season, despite having said he had no concerns for his future immediately after the Lazio defeat.
And Bayern’s hopes of retaining the Bundesliga championship look all but finished for this campaign, with the club ten points behind Leverkusen. Calamity Kane indeed.
Does the Champions League offer some kind of salvation for the Bavarian club? It’s possible, because Bayern are only a goal down after the first leg. Even if it’s also startling that Bayern are a goal down after the first leg in the first place.
It’s not like Lazio are having any kind of wow of a season themselves; ninth in Serie A, they’ve lost three of their last four games since the win over Bayern. The German side’s home advantage should tell – but the fact that Tuchel’s players have been so edgy lately throws a little bit of uncertainty into the mix.
Bayern are still huge favourites to win at the Allianz Arena. Lazio won the last game with a penalty, scoring the game’s solitary goal after Dayot Upamecano was sent off for a poor challenge on Gustav Isaksen.
The Italians are unlikely to create a huge amount of chances on Tuesday, with Sarri presumably hoping his side can keep the opposition at bay for ninety minutes. But Bayern have at least continued to score in recent games, with six goals in their three matches since Lazio beat them.
Kane has three goals in his last two home games, but is priced unappealingly to find the net here. Perhaps Jamal Musiala could be worth a look for the hosts? He is 8/5 to score, and has two goals from his last three league games.
Real Sociedad vs Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain have dropped points in their last two Ligue 1 games, drawing against Rennes and Monaco.
In each of those games, Kylian Mbappe has been substituted without scoring; the striker has had a strained relationship with his club at times, and the recent news that he plans to leave Paris at the end of the season to sign for Real Madrid appear to be a factor in those substitutions. Luis Enrique said his team “must get used to playing without Kylian”.
None of which is particularly worrying for the Paris club’s league hopes. They remain nine points clear of Brest at the top of the table. But could manager Luis Enrique’s decision to substitute his star player have repercussions in this match?
With PSG 2-0 up after the first leg, even if Mbappe isn’t massively motivated for this one, it probably won’t matter.
Sociedad actually looked pretty decent in the first leg, albeit without being able to score; they’ve subsequently started finding the net again. But for all that the La Liga side have just one win in nine games in all competitions.
The home side pulling off a reversal at the Reale Arena seems unlikely then. Sociedad have failed to score in their last three Champions League games. Meanwhile, PSG have only scored one goal in each of their three away games in the CL. This could be a little flat, and under 2.5 goals at 17/20 looks a decent possibility.
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