After a wild Der Klassiker fixture at the weekend, FC Hollywood switches their focus to the UEFA Champions League. Munich’s match against Borussia Dortmund finished 2-2, leaving the rivals in third and fourth place respectively on the Bundesliga table. Bayern sits four points behind shock league leaders Union Berlin.
This week’s mission in UEFA’s top-tier competition is a trip to the Czech Republic to face Viktoria Plzen.
Bayern can secure safe passage to the knockout phase with a win here. And they are likely to do so. Viktoria Plzen, the Czech champions are at rock bottom of Group C, without a point to their name, having conceded twelve goals in the process.
Five of those twelve goals came in last week’s clash between the two sides in Germany. A repeat dose would give Bayern an almost unassailable lead at the top of Group C.
Bayern Munich at Viktoria Plzen FYIs
Kick Off: Weds, Oct 12, 2022 at 8pm UK at Doosan Aréna
Competition: UCL Group C, Matchday 4 of 6
Bayern Munich Starting XI Prediction: Go Here
After Extra Time Podcast: Spotify Apple
Google Result Probability: Viktoria Plzen 5% Bayern Munich 85% Draw 10%
UCL Group Standings: Viktoria Plzen: 4th, 0pts Bayern Munich 1st, 9pts
Team News
There are several players ruled out of this fixture, leaving under-fire manager Julian Nagelsman a little short-handed heading into this one.
Summer signing Matthijs de Ligt suffered a groin injury in Der Klassiker on Saturday night. English-born wunderkind Jamal Musiala tested positive for COVID-19 during post-match testing and is unlikely to be considered for the trip to Eastern Europe.
Lucas Hernandez is unlikely to play as he continues to recover from an adductor injury. The Frenchman is not far away from returning to the first-team fold. Canadian Alphonse Davies suffered a suspected concussion during the match versus Bayern Munich and is also unlikely to line up in the Czech Republic.
Stuey’s Two Cents
If Bayern doesn’t win here, it will surely go down in the same vein as Sheriff Tiraspol defeating Real Madrid in last season’s competition. I think that this could be a record-high victory. But anything can happen in the UEFA Champions League, so nothing is for certain.
Stuart Kavanagh is a journalist currently residing in Broken Hill, Australia. He writes for the Barrier Truth newspaper, along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, He co-hosts the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast and contributes at edgeofthecrowd.com when time permits. He is also the Media & Communications Director at the Newosis Mental Health Foundation. You can find more about what the Newosis Mental Health Foundation is about here.
Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.