What do you need to know?
Lazio will hope to avoid a nasty case of déjà vu as they take on Bayern in the first leg of a Champions League round of 16 time for the second time. In the sides’ only previous meetings, Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sané were among the scorers as the Bavarians won 4-1 in the equivalent game in Rome in 2020/21, and the German side then secured a 2-1 victory in the return leg too.
Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern steamrolled their way to the knockout stage by going unbeaten through Group A (W5 D1), despite being involved in a unexpectedly fierce Bundesliga title race with Leverkusen (who beat them 3-0 on Saturday). Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio made it to this stage as Group E runners-up, but have struggled for form and consistency recently and are well off the pace in Serie A.NYSC Portal
Possible line-ups
Lazio: Provedel; Marušić, Romagnoli, Mario Gila, Hysaj; Guendouzi, Vecino, Luis Alberto; Isaksen, Immobile, Felipe Anderson
Suspended: Renzetti
Misses next match if booked: Castellanos, Patric, Guendouzi, Pedro
Bayern: Neuer; Mazraoui, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sané, Müller, Musiala; Kane
Misses next match if booked: Boey, Davies, Goretzka
Squad changes
Lazio
In: None
Out: Andrea PettainformationguideNigeria
Bayern
In: Sacha Boey, Eric Dier, Bryan Zaragoza
Out: Luca Denk, Leon Markert
Form guide
Lazio
Form: WLDLWW
Most recent result: Cagliari 1-3 Lazio, 10/02, Italian Serie A
Italian Serie A table
Bayern
Form: LWWWLW
Most recent result: Leverkusen 3-0 Bayern, 10/02, German Bundesliga
German Bundesliga table
Expert predictions
Francesco Corda, Lazio reporter
Lazio are clear underdogs against Champions League giants Bayern, and their 6-2 aggregate loss to the German outfit at this stage three years ago is far from auspicious. Nevertheless, Maurizio Sarri‘s team have little to lose and are in good spirits following the weekend triumph at Cagliari, which ended a three-game winless streak and took captain Ciro Immobile to the 200-goal mark in Serie A. With Lazio having earned seven points in their three group stage home games, Sarri hopes the fans can push his side to pull off another memorable victory.
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James Thorogood, Bayern reporter
Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen saw Bayern cast five points adrift in their domestic title race and compounded a tough start to 2024. The pressure is now on Thomas Tuchel’s charges to deliver a positive result on the continent as they look to build on another unbeaten Champions League group stage campaign with a run that will take them beyond the quarter-finals for the first time in four seasons.JAMB Result
What the coaches say
Maurizio Sarri, Lazio coach: “It will be a very difficult match, but we must approach it knowing a win is not impossible. Bayern are favourites: they are always strong in the Champions League, and we will need to play with confidence and hold our nerve. When the need arises, we will all have to suffer together.”JAMB Portal
Thomas Tuchel, Bayern coach: “This kind of pressure is a huge privilege. We have to remain confident. We have to remain self-critical. The more pressure you are under, the more important it is to remain calm. They are a really disciplined side, stick to their tactics and their pressing. As with all Maurizio Sarri teams, they leave little space between the lines and are extremely hard to beat. I think it will be a game full of emotions.”
CREDIT: UEFA.COM
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