Preview: Copenhagen vs. Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich will be aiming to make it successive wins in their Champions League Group A campaign when they take on Danish outfit Copenhagen on Tuesday night.
The Bundesliga champions recorded a 4-3 victory over Manchester United in their opening match in the section last month, while Copenhagen drew 2-2 with Turkish giants Galatasaray.
Copenhagen were in a strong position to claim all three points against Galatasaray in their Group A opener, with goals from Mohamed Elyounoussi and Diogo Goncalves sending them 2-0 ahead just before the hour.
Galatasaray scored twice in the final exchanges to secure a share of the spoils, though, with the Danish outfit ultimately being made to accept a point, which they would have taken ahead of kickoff.
The Lions managed to make the knockout round of the Champions League in 2010-11, reaching the round of 16, where they lost to Chelsea, and it is not impossible to imagine them advancing through this group, especially due to Man United’s issues in the early stages of the season.
Jacob Neestrup’s side will enter this match off the back of a disappointing result, losing 2-0 to FC Midtjylland in the league, but they remain top of their domestic table on 22 points.
Copenhagen have never faced Bayern in European competition, but they have tackled German opposition on 12 occasions, failing to win and suffering eight defeats in the process.
Bayern, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 2-2 draw with RB Leipzig on Saturday, with the result leaving them third in the Bundesliga table, two points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Thomas Tuchel’s side were far from convincing against Man United in their section opener on September 20, but they managed to secure all three points courtesy of a 4-3 success, and they followed that result by putting seven unanswered goals past Bochum in the Bundesliga.
Bayern then triumphed 4-0 in the German Cup, but they were unable to beat Leipzig on Saturday and actually needed to come from two goals behind to secure a share of the spoils, with Harry Kane and Leroy Sane netting in the second half of the contest at Red Bull Arena.
The Munich giants have won five of their previous six matches against Danish clubs, but they have not taken on a team from Denmark since the 1998-99 group stage, when Brondby were in their section, and Bayern actually lost 2-1 to the Danish side in the away fixture.
Bayern will bring a competition-record unbeaten run into this game, though, having not lost in their last 35 matches in the group stage of the Champions League, recording 32 wins in the process.
Copenhagen Champions League form:
WDWWDD
Copenhagen form (all competitions):
DWDDWL
Bayern Munich Champions League form:
W
Bayern Munich form (all competitions):
WDWWWD
We say: Copenhagen 1-2 Bayern Munich
This has the potential to be a tricky match for Bayern, with Copenhagen boasting a lot of talent, especially in advanced positions. The German outfit have not exactly been at their free-flowing best this season, but we are expecting them to secure all three points on Tuesday night.