Perhaps the most balanced of the Champions League quarter-finals sees Arsenal face a major challenge on Wednesday night as they try to force their way past Bayern Munich after a 2-2 draw in the north of London Tuesday. The Gunners will fear their season could be derailed if they follow a damaging defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday with European elimination, but will also be keenly aware that it was Thomas Tuchel who felt forced to adapt his Arsenal plans at the Emirates . Stadium.
The stakes are just as high for Bayern, whose 11-year reign as Bundesliga champions came to an end on Sunday. by an undefeated Bayer Leverkusen. Indeed, the Champions League represents this club’s last chance to win a trophy this season, which would be the first of Harry Kane’s career so far. “We still have the opportunity to make this a great season if we win the Champions League,” he said. “That motivation is still there and as players you can only hold on to it. If we can do something special tomorrow night, of course that will keep the hope alive.”
Here’s how to watch the game and what you need to know:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday April 17 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Allianz Arena – Munich
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: Bayern Munich +130; Draw +260; Arsenal +188
What happened in the first leg
Arsenal burst into front of 60,000 of their own fans and might think they could have put the tie out of sight had Ben White converted his one-on-one with Manuel Neuer moments after Bukayo Saka leaned in the farthest corner. It was almost as if their brilliant start had stunned Arsenal, who stuttered when Bayern began to advance up the pitch on counter-attacks. Serge Gnabry and Kane marked their return to the English capital in devastating fashion, punishing errors from David Raya and William Saliba, among others. Mikel Arteta’s replacements have given the Gunners a new footing with Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard combining to restore parity on the evening and in the draw. Everything remains to be played.
How they got here
Bayern Munich: Tuchel’s side were unbeaten on their way to the last 16, although it wasn’t necessarily the most impressive of 16 points. Manchester United gave them a big scare at the Allianz Arena, Galatasaray asked a lot of questions and Copenhagen might have thought they could have earned more than just a point from the then German champions. Likewise, the round of 16 was not as impressive as a 3-1 aggregate win over Lazio, although Thomas Muller and Harry Kane looked in exceptional form as they turned a first leg defeat into a comprehensive triumph .
Arsenal: A fairly straightforward group stage draw was negotiated without much drama by Arteta’s side in their first Champions League campaign in seven years, with defeat at Lille not stopping the Gunners from winning the first place in Group B with one match to play. There was no respite against Porto in the round of 16, with each team winning their home game 1-0 before Raya delivered the best moment of his Arsenal career so far, saving two penalties to bring his club in the quarter-finals for the first time. time since 2010.
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Team News
Bayern Munich: Alphonso Davies is banned after earning an early warning in the first leg and it remains to be seen who Tuchel turns to to plug the gap at left-back. Noussair Mazraoui played on the opposite flank as usual on Saturday and could be favored over Raphael Guerreiro. Meanwhile, Tuchel’s options are limited on the flanks with Gnabry and Kingsley Coman ruled out, even first leg star Leroy Sane may only be able to play “if he bites his teeth”.
Potential Bayern XI: Neuer; Kimmich, De Ligt, Dier, Mazraoui; Love it, Goretzka; Sané, Muller, Musiala; Kane.
Arsenal: Limping out of Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa, Martin Odegaard gave his teammates a huge boost by returning to training on Tuesday morning. It means Arsenal have every member of their squad in full training, although Jurrien Timber still needs game time with the Under-23s before returning from the knee injury that sidelined him since August. The depth of options available to Arteta means Jorginho, Jesus, Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli will be among those fighting for a place in the XI on Wednesday night.
Potential Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Rice, Odegaard, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
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Quarter-final TV schedule
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Prediction
Expect this to be a hotly contested tie that goes down to the wire, where Arsenal’s strength in depth could well swing the tie their way. Take: Bayern Munich 1, Arsenal 2.
