Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City: Keys to Victory in Champions League Game
Bayern Munich meet Manchester City for the fifth time in four seasons on Wednesday, the German and English league holders having drawn one another in the Champions League group stage on three occasions in the last four campaigns.
The four previous matches have resulted in an even split, with two victories for each side. Bayern have been group winners in both instances, however, and boast a superior goal difference.
Wednesday's match will be somewhat of an early pressure-cooker for the two sides, who are favorites to advance from Group E ahead of Roma and CSKA Moscow. For a close look at the key factors that could decide the match in one direction or another, click "Begin Slideshow."
Jerome Boateng vs. Sergio Aguero
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Sergio Aguero has begun the 2014-15 campaign in blistering form, scoring in three of his first four Premier League games and for Argentina in their friendly win against Germany. He was good for scoring or assisting at a rate of more than a goal per game last season and, now 26 years of age, is entering what theoretically should be the best stage of his career.
Bayern will rely on a team effort to defend against Aguero, but the most in-form centre-back for the task and the only player who could come close to keeping pace with the speedy forward is Jerome Boateng. The two did not face off during the recent international break, but have on three occasions: Two were Bayern wins and one a City victory against a Bayern team that had little more than Boateng among its first-team starters. In none of their previous meetings has Aguero scored or assisted.
Aguero in many instances has looked a truly elite striker in the Premier League, but he has a point to prove on the international stage for City. He's performed against the likes of CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzen but will need to make the difference against teams like Bayern and Barcelona (against both of which he failed to score last season) if he is to earn recognition among the top few forwards in the game. That could happen on Wednesday, but not if Boateng can help it.
Robert Lewandowski vs. Vincent Kompany
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Robert Lewandowski and Vincent Kompany have twice met head-to-head in the Champions League, and on both occasions the City man came out the better. Although Lewandowski's Dortmund won and drew in the two matches, the Pole himself was unable to score or assist; he was well marked.
The pair will face off again on Wednesday, this time with Lewandowski representing Bayern. He'll have ex-Dortmund teammate Mario Gotze on his side, so Kompany will be familiar with the task at hand. At 28 years of age, he's still in the midst of his prime and proved at the World Cup that he's at the very top of his game.
Lewandowski, meanwhile, has struggled to find his goalscoring boots at Bayern but has proved his class time and time again in the Champions League and has developed into a household name in Europe since the last time he faced City.
Yaya Toure's Form
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Yaya Toure missed out on City's 2-2 draw with Arsenal over the weekend but not due to an injury. The 31-year-old was late to return from international duty and was left out of Manuel Pellegrini's squad accordingly.
Toure's record for City against German teams in the Champions League is not very good. City have won just one and lost two of four meetings with Bayern and Dortmund with him in the squad, with the Ivorian looking rather unimpressive in almost every instance. The one in which he impressed was at the end of the 2011-12 group stage against a Bayern side that had already secured first place and featured a starting XI with just two starters in their natural positions.
Head-to-head against Bayern's Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos, Luiz Gustavo and/or Philipp Lahm, or Dortmund's Ilkay Gundogan and Sven Bender, Toure has repeatedly been unable to impose his style of play in midfield and struggled to adapt to a German-style pressing frame controlled by his opponents.
He's a fantastic footballer when playing to his strengths and given space to operate but perhaps has benefited from playing in a Premier League in which he has not had to face many elite central midfielders.
Bayern's central midfield now is weaker than it has been in several years, with Kroos and Gustavo having left the club, and Schweinsteiger and Thiago Alcantara both injured. Toure won't find it easy against David Alaba, but facing Bayern won't get any easier.
Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben's Fitness
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For the last five years, Bayern have relied heavily upon its combination of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben (also known as "Robbery") to provide inspiration in attack. Heading into the City match, neither is at 100 percent fitness.
After showing strong form in preseason, Ribery missed the first four matches of the campaign and only played for 23 minutes over the weekend. He scored a great goal and was unlucky to be denied a brace, but whether he's fit for 75 or even 60 minutes in a pressure-cooker game like Wednesday's is a doubt. It's entirely possible that he may not even start; in that case, Mario Gotze will have to step up. One thing is for sure: City have a clear soft spot at right-back with Pablo Zabaleta suspended.
Like Ribery, Robben has played just one game in all competitions this season and performed quite well. But in the Dutchman's case, it was the Bundesliga opener against Wolfsburg nearly a month ago. He sustained an ankle injury and missed the recent internationals, as well as Saturday's win for Bayern against Stuttgart. Robben is a serious doubt to feature in the City match but, like Ribery, has the class to turn a match on his own. The question is whether he'll be fit to have enough time to carve out some chances.
Form of the Match-Winners
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Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Sergio Aguero: These are just some of the world superstars among the City and Bayern teams. Any of the aforementioned, as well as several others, have proven in the past that they are capable of deciding a big game on their own. The question is, who will keep his nerve and have that extra bit of skill in the telling moments?
In addition to the lethal duo of Robben and Ribery, Bayern have Real Madrid-slayer Robert Lewandowski, World Cup silver ball winner Thomas Muller and World Cup final winner Mario Gotze. City have Olympic gold-medal winner Aguero, World Cup and two-time European Champion David Silva, a resurgent Stevan Jovetic, Jesus Navas and former French Player of the Year Samir Nasri.
All of the above are capable of providing the extra push to claim three points. We'll soon find out who, if any, is best prepared for the task.
