Champions League: Liverpool vs. Bayern Munich Round of 16 First Leg

Robert Lewandowski is the Champions League leading goal scorer, with eight goals. Die Roten’s No.9 also has 15 assists to his name, the second highest in the competition.

Lewandowski is a gifted forward, he doesn’t get enough credit for his work rate. The Poland international has covered 60km in this season’s competition, and Liverpool’s make-shift defence will have to be on their toes for 90 minutes.

Die Roten made relatively light work of Group E, winning four and drawing two. A 5-1 home win against Benfica secured their passage to the last 16, on a night when Lewandowski scored his 50th and 51st goals in the Champions League.

Ajax pushed Kovac’s side for the group’s top spot. The final group game, a blockbuster in Amsterdam followed a 1-1 draw in Munich. Ajax briefly led the Group when Dušan Tadić put his side ahead with an 82nd-minute penalty, but Ajax’s lead didn’t last long. Lewandowski equalised to make it 2-2 when Bayern was awarded an 87th-minute penalty.

The scoring didn’t end there. Kingsley Coman looked to have won the game for Bayern when he scored in the 90th minute, but the 10 men of Ajax equalised deep into stoppage time, thanks to a goal from Nicolás Tagliafico.

Team News: Thomas Müller is suspended. Coman should be fit, he scored twice and had an assist in Friday’s away win.

One To Watch: Joshua Kimmich. The German International is a versatile player, capable of getting up and down the pitch. Kimmich is a ball winner, he has had a hand in 13 of Bayern’s league goals this season.

Liverpool has struggled away from home, they will need to take a good result to Munich. Klopp will be without his key defender for the first leg. The Reds will be reliant on the goal scoring capabilities of Mo Salah and Sadio Mané. Bayern will want to take full advantage of a good performance and a clean sheet on Merseyside. Both teams can play at the highest level, it promises to be a superb game of football.

Matchday Odds

Bet 365 have given Liverpool odds of 23/20 for the win.

Several bookies have the draw at 5/2.

Several bookies have given Bayern odds of 13/5 for the win.

*Odds correct at the time of writing, via oddschecker.com