Two more Round of 16 first-leg ties in the Champions League take centre stage on Wednesday night.
Bayern Munich will be desperate to bounce back from Saturday’s gut-wrenching Bundesliga loss to Bayer Leverkusen by winning in Rome against Lazio while Paris Saint-Germain will be hoping home advantage gives them a considerable edge over underrated Spanish side Real Sociedad.
- Bayern Munich & Over 2.5 goals vs Lazio
- Paris Saint-Germain to beat Real Sociedad
Lazio vs Bayern Munich
There is an air of pessimism around Munich as Bayern see their vice-like grip they have held on the Bundesliga coming under serious threat, but Thomas Tuchel’s men can gather themselves to take out their frustrations on Lazio in the Champions League.
Bayern head for the Italian capital on the back of a chastening 3-0 loss at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, a result that leaves them five points adrift of their conquerors who are showing no signs of weakness.
But defeat at Leverkusen was defeat to a very good side and we all know Tuchel’s men are still very much capable of turning on the scoring taps at will.
They are still the top scorers in Germany and led by the irrepressible Harry Kane, who has scored 24 league goals on his own - just four less than Lazio have scored in total in Serie A, they are always dangerous.
Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri rather melodramatically insisted playing Bayern was an impossible task but clearly that’s not the case.
Equally clear, however, is that Lazio, a modest eighth in Serie A and having won only one of their last four, are not the most formidable opponent.
They failed to win half of their group-stage games, qualifying ahead of Feyenoord and Celtic, and scored only seven goals in six games, the joint-lowest tally of any of the 16 qualifiers.
BAYERN MUNICH & OVER 2.5 GOALS
Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Sociedad
It’s been 20 years since Real Sociedad last reached the knockout stage of the Champions League and that run ended in home-and-away losses to French opposition.
Back in 2003-04 it was Lyon who saw off the Basques with a pair of 1-0 wins and, worryingly, nil is once again a number Real are becoming used to.
In their last four matches - three in La Liga and one in the Copa del Rey - they have failed to score a single goal, culminating in Saturday’s dismal 1-0 home loss to Osasuna which saw them drop to seventh in the table.
They have been hit hard by Asian Cup and Afcon absentees in recent weeks, plus an injury to eight-goal top scorer Mikel Oyarzabal, but they still look light in attack even with the return of some key stars.
All of which is a far cry from the autumn when they defied the odds to come out on top of a qualifying group which featured Inter Milan and Benfica.
That was a stark contrast to the struggles PSG were enduring, the French giants only pipping AC Milan for second spot in their group on head-to-head goal difference after failing to win four of their six matches.
PSG are unbeaten in 16, haven’t failed to score since the end of September and, with Kylian Mbappe restored and rested after sitting out Saturday’s 3-1 win over Lille, they can see off Sociedad with something to spare.
