Bayern do not look like themselves after the winter break. He can no longer control his matches with such confidence, and frequent defensive errors invariably lead to points being lost. As a result, in the Bundesliga, the Bavarians managed to impose a fight for the championship with Borussia Dortmund, in the Champions League, the chances of advancing to the semi-finals of the tournament are close to zero.
In addition, the club flew away from the German Cup in the ¼ final with Freiburg (1: 2). Even the appearance of a new, high-class coach – Thomas Tuchel could not radically change anything. In the final round of the national championship, Bayern again lost points against outsiders Hoffenheim (1-1).
Manchester City have had a great season and Pep Guardiola’s side are in contention for a treble in the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. To date, the “residents” are among the best in the game in Europe. In terms of expected goals scored (xg = 2.12) and conceded (xga = 0.82), they are second to none in the Premier League. And their top scorer, Erling Haaland, is in top form. He scored 32 goals in the league and 11 in the Champions League.
In the previous phase of the tournament Sky Blues impressively coped with another German team – Leipzig (1: 1, 7: 0).
The difference of 3 goals after the first meeting will force Bayern to play openly from the first minutes. I think it could lead to a productive first half of the game.