Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Champions League match.
Bayern Munich’s lightning-fast attack suffered a stroke of bad luck last week in Rotterdam, where Feyenoord Rotterdam pulled off one of the most improbable upsets of this Champions League campaign. Against Slovan Bratislava, Bayern remain highly motivated, as a spot in the top eight of the group stage is still within reach under certain scenarios.
Bayern Munich
Bayern’s three-match winning streak in the Champions League was snapped against Feyenoord Rotterdam. Despite the loss, the German giants created 2.42 xG from 30 shots, compared to Feyenoord’s 1.77 xG from eight shots. Fortunately, Bayern rebounded in the Bundesliga on Saturday with a 2:1 victory over Freiburg—a deserved win despite a modest 0.54 xG. In January, they produced 12.3 xG in the Bundesliga, the only team in Germany to exceed 10+ xG this month.
Slovan Bratislava
Last Tuesday, Slovan fell 1:3 to Stuttgart, who employ a similar high-octane style to Bayern. The Slovakian team conceded 3.46 xGA and 21 shots, a clear sign of their struggles to handle teams of this level. It was their first official match of the year, and it was a complete failure. Manager Vladimír Weiss may decide to rest key players like Tigran Barseghyan and Guram Kashia for this relatively meaningless game.
Bayern Munich vs Slovan Bratislava Prediction
Slovan Bratislava once again became the Champions League’s most porous team in the seventh round (24 goals conceded). Bayern Munich will undoubtedly exploit these weaknesses, especially given Slovan’s inability to compete against top-tier opponents.
