Bayern Munich Vs Galatasaray, Harry Kane Cs. Get Ready To Advance To The Champions League Round Of 16

Harry kane is getting more fertile with Bayern Munich. (photo: twitter @fcbayern)

JAKARTA - Bayern Munich can confirm their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League season if they are able to beat Galatasaray at the Allianz Arena Stadium on Wednesday night, November 8.

Bayern are even now looking for a win to complete the double over against the Turkish club after they won 3-1 in the previous meeting two weeks ago.

Three days after suffering an embarrassing defeat in the second round of DBF-Pokal by third division Saarbrucken, Bayern Munich again won in an impressive performance when they beat Bundesliga rival Borussia Dortmund 4-0 at Westfalens Stadium last Saturday.

Dayot Upamecano put Bayern ahead in the fourth minute before Harry Kane scored an incredible hat-trick on his Der Classiker debut. He has now increased his Bundesliga goal to 15 from just 10 games. Kane also helped Thomas Tuchel's team win meaningful and remains in tight competition with Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the standings.

Bayern are excited to return to the Allianz Arena where they have won their last four games and scored 22 goals. This includes four goals in a 4-3 win over Manchester United in the Champions League on the second matchday.

Bayern, who is one of four teams with a perfect record in the group stage after three games this season, currently has the longest unbeaten record in Champions League group phase history. The record was extended to 37 games thanks to a win over Galatasaray two weeks ago.

The six-time European Competition champion has won their last six meetings with the Turkish team in European competitions, including a 6-0 win over Galatasaray in a previous meeting at home in the 1972-73 season.

Galatasaray entered the game this Wednesday in a very good formation with eight wins from their last nine matches in all competitions. They only lost 1-3 at home to Bayern Munich. This is the only bad record on their list of achievements.

Okan Badan's side made almost no mistakes in the domestic league as they collected 31 points out of a total of 33 points available in 11 Super Lig matches. They also recorded 10 straight wins since a goalless draw with Kayserispor on the season-opening weekend in mid-August.

Wilfried Zaha inspired Galatasaray to win the latest by scoring goals in the first and second half to help the Turkish team win 2-1 over Kasipasa last week. This saw them move up to the top of the table, shifting Fenerbahce.

Galatasaray is now back to focus on the Champions League where they are still competing to reach the last 16 for the first time in ten years. Their chances are currently open because they are in second place in Group A. They are one point ahead of Manchester United who are in third place and will face it on the fifth matchday.

The 23-time champions of the Turkish League have never beaten Bayern before, but they can come to Bayern with optimism for being unbeaten in their last ten European away games. They have even won their last four away games with the German team. The last time they beat Schalke 04 with a 3-2 score in the 2012-13 season Champions League.

Bayern Munich will appear without defender Matthijs de Ligt for several weeks due to injuries to the knee ligament. Meanwhile Tarek Buchmann remains absent due to a recovery from muscle problems.

However, Bayern got a boost with Upamecano and Leon Goretzka's return last weekend. Goretzka even continued to play with large bandages in his hands after undergoing surgery last month. Now both have the opportunity to start again in the center-back and midfielder positions.

Joshua Kimmich served his first two domestic penalties last weekend, but he will be playing on Wednesday and is predicted to return to play in midfield with Goretzka or Konrad Laimer.

Thomas Muller will also continue to compete with Jamal Musiala to start the role number 10. But Tuchel will likely give Musiala a chance at the starting XI. He will operate behind striker Harry Kane, who has contributed four goals (two goals and two assists) in four group stage matches this season.

Meanwhile, for Galatasaray, goalkeeper Fernando Muslera is faced with an elbow injury that will allow him to miss a long time after the match against Kasimpasa. This makes Gunay Guvenc expected to be a substitute under the crossbar and make his Champions League debut.

Player Forecast

Bayern Munich: Neuer; Mazraoui, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Laimer, Kimmich; Sane, Musiala, Coman; Kane

Galatasaray: Guvenc; Boey, Sanchez, Bardakci, Karatas; Ayhan, Torreira; Tete, Akturkoglu, Zaha; Icardi