Bayern Munich have all the confidence in the world, and all the pressure

Bayern Munich head into their Champions League tilt against Liverpool in good form, but the pressure is on them to prove they can dominate elite competition.

Despite struggling to start Niko Kovac’s reign as manager, Bayern Munich are back in the Bundesliga lead and firing on all cylinders. After dismantling Borussia Monchengladbach, who spent much of the campaign in second-place after defeating Bayern earlier in the year, Bayern were even more impressive against a seventh-placed Wolfsburg on the weekend, winning 6-0.

However, Bayern will be tested by a much, much higher-caliber opponent in Liverpool in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash this Wednesday. And Kovac must show he can find the solution to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, who dominated first leg despite failing to score. The Reds’ counter-attacking game plan could be even more effective away from home (and with Bayern failing to score an away goal).

There’s no denying Bayern’s quality; they have one of the most well-rounded starting XIs in Europe. Unfortunately, due to Joshua Kimmich’s suspension and David Alaba’s injury, they could have their work cut out for them against the electrifying attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.

If Alaba is unable to play, Bayern could be forced to play with Rafinha and Jerome Boateng as full-backs with Niklas Sule and Mats Hummels sandwiched in between them. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem; Boating has experience defending the flanks, Rafinha has been under-appreciated on a global scale for years, and Bayern’s starting center-backs are among the sport’s most athletic.

Against Liverpool, though, a small downgrade like that can be catastrophic. Though Klopp’s squad were placed under a microscope after a goalless draw to rivals Everton two weeks ago, derby games can be a crapshoot. This Liverpool attack is as dangerous as ever; even when Salah isn’t scoring bags of goals, he’s creating plenty of opportunities with his pace and inventiveness. With Firmino clicking and Mane at his very best, Bayern have a potentially fatal flaw that Kovac must scheme around.

That said, as praiseworthy as Liverpool’s vaunted front three are, Bayern’s attack deserves plaudits, too. They’ve scored 11 goals in their past two games, with Robert Lewandowski continuing to be a goalscoring machine and Serge Gnabry producing some of the most unselfish, dazzling wing play in Europe in 2019.

But the real story for Bayern is the improved midfield. Thiago keeps everything ticking with his passing, Javi Martinez provided the type of muscle in the first leg that Liverpool simply couldn’t answer, Leon Gortezka is one of the very best box-to-box midfielders in the world when he’s in the mood and James Rodriguez is coming off one of his best performances in that 6-0 win over Wolfsburg.

In short, Bayern have options centrally, and they have a few completely different pieces who are excellent in their own way. Liverpool’s midfield, with Fabinho as its centerpiece, is talented, but it isn’t world-class. Certainly, they don’t have a maestro like Thiago, a tackling bruiser on Martinez’s level, or a technical wizard like James. They have standouts, yes, but they won’t be able to control the middle of the pitch against Bayern; they cannot match Die Roten‘s strength in that regard.

This, however, should keep Bayern on their toes, because Klopp’s teams are at their best when they counter quickly — and that’s historically when Bayern have been at their weakest. With possible vulnerabilities on the outside of their defense, Mane and Salah could cause Bayern huge problems, running Die Roten ragged and weaponizing Kovac’s side’s biggest strength into a tool that allows Liverpool to suddenly control space.

Bayern have been incredibly impressive lately, and, given the increased opportunities for talented players they have on their squad like Gnabry and Kingsley Coman, this comes as no surprise; this is the Bayern we’ve expected to see. However, at the level of the Champions League against a manager like Klopp and a Premier League title-caliber team like Liverpool, the margin for error is essentially zero.

If Bayern can’t manage their ability to defend the wide spaces on the counter, issues that plagued them in scares against Hertha Berlin and Augsburg, all of their Bundesliga momentum could fail to translate to a huge second leg win over Liverpool. And since Bayern are the ones who came up goalless in the road fixture, the pressure is squarely on them to both score and contain Liverpool’s spell-binding attack.