The revamped Champions League kicks off on Tuesday and Bayern Munich — the 2020 champions — will be looking for a strong start as they welcome Dinamo Zagreb to the Allianz Arena.
Vincent Kompany's team has been in excellent form this season, winning all three Bundesliga matches and securing a comfortable victory in the DFB Pokal. On the other hand, Sergej Jakirovic's Zagreb suffered their first loss in the previous game and could face difficulties in Germany.
Team news
Vincent Kompany has only a few key players unavailable due to injuries for their first Champions League match, with Tarek Buchmann (thigh), Hiroki Ito (foot), and Josip Stanisic (knee) sidelined.
Leroy Sane made a comeback for Bayern in their 6-1 triumph over Holstein Kiel and will be competing for a starting position against Serge Gnabry and Michael Olise.
Jakirovic has a fully-fit Dinamo squad to choose from, but he might consider making changes to the starting lineup after their recent defeat to Hajduk Split.
Croatia's Bruno Petkovic is expected to lead the attack, while Luka Stojkovic and Marko Rog could earn starting roles after appearing as substitutes in the previous match.
The stats
Bayern has scored 15 goals in their first four matches across all competitions this season.
The Bavarians kept a clean sheet in their only home game, a 2-0 victory over Freiburg.
Zagreb has won just two of their last 12 Champions League matches (excluding qualifiers).
Manchester City has not won an away Champions League match since the 1998-99 season.
Bayern won both their group-stage matches against Zagreb in 2015 with a cumulative score of 7-0.
Prediction
Under the new management of Vincent Kompany, Bayern appears rejuvenated following a disappointing 2023-24 season without any trophies. The German powerhouse is expected to be too strong for the Croatian champions.
Although Zagreb has performed well domestically, they have struggled in European away matches and could face a tough challenge against Bayern, who have not lost at home in this competition since the quarter-finals of the 2020-21 season.
Bayern has been averaging three goals per game this season, with multiple players finding the net. One of these players, Jamal Musiala, could be a good choice for a goal alongside a Bayern victory.
The attacking midfielder has already scored twice in the Bundesliga this season and twice in the Champions League last season. With his recent scoring form, he should have opportunities to find the back of the net on Tuesday.