Bayern Munich vs Chelsea: Champions League Preview and Prediction

Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw with Brentford at the weekend in the Premier League. It was a disappointing result for the Blues, but they can set the record straight when they take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League tonight in one of the marquee 1st round fixtures.

Chelsea are unbeaten and sit in 5th in the Premier League with 2 wins and 2 draws. Bayern are currently top of the Bundesliga table with 3 wins from 3 games. It won’t be easy for Chelsea – but let’s take a closer look at the two teams before they come head to head.

Match Preview

As mentioned, Chelsea are coming off a draw in the league coming into this game – Bayern, however, defeated Hamburg by a score of 5-0 in their previous outing.

It was total domination from start to finish by Die Roten – Serge Gnabry, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Luis Diaz and Harry Kane all got their names on the scoresheet. They’ll be looking to carry this form into tonight’s game, but Chelsea should be able to mount a much sterner challenge than Hamburg did.

Former Chelsea star Nicolas Jackson could play against Enzo Maresca’s men this evening. He has generally been used as a bench player since his arrival at Munich, often playing just behind Kane as a shadow striker when brought on as a substitute. Will he be able to get one over on his old club?

Predicted Chelsea XI

GK: Robert Sanchez

RB: Reece James

CB: Trevoh Chalobah

CB: Tosin Adarabioyo

LB: Marc Cucurella

CM: Moises Caicedo

CM: Enzo Fernandez

RW: Alejandro Garnacho

AM: Cole Palmer

LW: Pedro Neto

CF: Joao Pedro

Predicted Bayern Munich XI

GK: Manuel Neuer

RB: Sacha Boey

CB: Dayot Upamecano

CB: Jonathan Tah

LB: Josip Stanisic

CM: Joshua Kimmich

CM: Leon Goretzka

RW: Luis Diaz

SS: Nicolas Jackson

LW: Michael Olise

CF: Harry Kane

Predicted result of this high profile Champions League clash

This will be a tough game for Chelsea. The Allianz Arena is a formidable place to visit even at the best of times – and given Bayern’s current form, Vincent Kompany’s men will certainly enter this one as the favourites.

But don’t count Chelsea out just yet. Bayern have noticeably underperformed in Europe over the past few years – they have struggled to compete with the Champions League’s top competitors. Last season, the Bavarians were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Inter Milan.

Nevertheless, on this particular evening, we think that Bayern should have enough to see Chelsea off at home – even with a couple of injury worries to key players.

Prediction: Bayern Munich 2-1 Chelsea