Man City will be in pursuit of their first Champions League title as we look at the best predicted starting 11 and key details for their quarterfinal match vs Bayern Munich for UCL 2023.
We have reached the quarterfinal stage of this year’s UEFA Champions League. Margins between the teams from here on are very fine, and it will be a battle of nerves among the top-class teams across Europe. One of the mouthwatering encounters is the battle of Champions ‘Manchester City vs Bayern Munich’, English champions vs the German champions.
Current Scenario
Based on the current form, Bayern Munich is certainly a team to beat. They won all of their group stage matches in the so-called group of death where they were placed with Spanish giants Barcelona and mighty Inter Milan. Even in the round of 16, they had to face star-studded Ligue 1 winners PSG. But to the astonishment of The Bavarians, they once again came on top with an aggregate score of 3-0.
But as things are going perfectly on the field, it was certainly not the case in the dressing room of German Champions. The management has sacked the 35-year-old manager Julian Nagelsmann even though he won Bundesliga in his first attempt with the club and had an impressive run in this year’s CL so far. It will be interesting to see how they will perform under the new manager Thomas Tuchel. He had the surprise sacking even after winning the Champions League with Chelsea.
On the other hand, Manchester City is having a roller coaster ride this season, especially in PL where they are trying to catch the table toppers Arsenal and have lost a few points where they were expected to win. Their Champions League journey is not as bumpy as they are unbeaten so far.
If a 1-1 scoreline against RB Leipzig in the first leg of the round of 16 put any doubts about their progress to Quarterfinals, they certainly put them to rest by winning the second leg by completely demolishing the opponents with a 7-0 victory.
Head-to-head:
There is not much of a history between these two clubs as Manchester City has come up to challenge at the European level only in the last decade after the change in ownership of the club.
This will be their first encounter outside the group stage. They have faced each other 6 times and have nothing to choose between them as they have 3 wins each. In their previous clash, Manchester City came on top with a scoreline of 3-2 in the 2014-15 season.
Games Played: 6 // Manchester City won: 3 // Bayern Munich won: 3 // Draw: 0
Match Details:
Competition: UEFA Champions League (QF First Leg)
Match Type: Manchester City vs Bayern Munich
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
When: April 11, 7 pm GMT
So let’s look at how the predicted starting 11 and best fantasy picks for the Man City vs Bayern Munich match of UCL 2023.
Best Predicted Starting 11 for both Teams
UCL 2023: Man City vs Bayern Munich Predicted Starting 11 for Manchester City
Manchesteristy are facing the first real challenge in this year’s Champions League in the form of Bayern Munich. This year’s new signings from Borussia Dortmund, Erling Haaland, and Manuel Akanji will be looking to pass on their experience to teammates to minimize the threat possessed by the German champions.
Pep Guardiola is playing a 3-2-4-1 formation in most of the crucial matches this season. So we expect Ake, Dias, and Akanji to play the last line of defense with Stones and Rodrigo in defensive mid duties. Gundogan, KDB, and Haaland are sure starters with a close call between Grealish or Foden at left wing and Silva or Mahrez at right wing.
Goalkeeper: Ederson
Defence: Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji
Midfield: Grealish, Rodrigo, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva
Attack: Erling Haaland
Formation: 3-2-4-1
UCL 2023: Man City vs Bayern Munich Predicted Starting 11 for Bayern Munich
We don’t expect new manager Thomas Tuchel to make too many changes in the winning combination of the team. Pavard will be back on the team after serving a one-match ban. Season-ending leg injury to captain Manuel Neuer forced Bayern Munich to sign a new keeper in the January transfer window and Yann Sommer put no foot wrong to make his presence felt against the PSG in the round of 16. The only changes we can expect are Sadio Mane in place of Musiala and Gnabry in place of Coman. Sane might come as a change in place of Choupa-Moting in the later stages of the game.
Goalkeeper: Yann Sommer
Defence: Alphonso Davies, Matthijs de Ligt, Dayot Upamecano, Pavard
Defensive Midfield: Kimmich, Goretzka
Attacking Midfield: Musiala, Muller, Coman
Attack: Choupa- Moting
Formation: 4-2-3-1
UCL 2023: Manchester City vs Bayern Munich Fantasy 11
Our defensive picks are based on the attacking threat they possess because it is hard to see a clean sheet in this encounter as both teams like to play attacking football. Whereas our midfield comprises one of the best playmakers of the game Kevin De Bruyne, who can create goal-scoring situations out of nothing.
Though Muller is not at his usual best this season, still it is hard to ignore him; especially on an occasion as big as this CL quarterfinal. Goretzka and Gundogan are our other two playmakers on the team. Both players have the capability to set the pace of the game.
Haaland and Choupa-Moting select themselves as the strikers of this fantasy team. Haaland is currently in form of his life whereas Bayern Munich forward has scored some crucial goals throughout this campaign both in Bundesliga as well as in CL. With all said, let’s look at our chosen fantasy 11 for this match
Best Fantasy 11 – City vs Munich
Goalkeeper: Ederson
Defenders: Dias, Dayot Upamecano, Pavard, Manuel Akanji
Midfielders Goretzka, Ilkay Gundogan, Muller, Kevin De Bruyne,
Forwards: Choupa- Moting, Erling Haaland
CVC Choice: Erling Haaland, Choupa-Moting
Squad Details:
Manchester City Squad:
Goalkeepers: Stefan Ortega Moreno, Ederson, Scott Carson
Defenders: Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Gomez, Manuel Akanji, Rico Lewis, Shea Charles
Midfielders: Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish, Rodrigo, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Cole Palmer, Maxim Perrone
Forwards: Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez,
Manager: Pep Guardiola
Current Form (Recent first, Champions League): W D W D D
Bayern Munich Squad:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Yann Sommer, Sven Ulreich, Johanmes Schenk, Tom Hulsmann
Defenders: Dayot Upamecano, Matthijs de Ligt, Benjamin Pavard, Bouna Sarr, Lucas Hernández, Noussair Mazraoui, Josip Stanišić ,Alphonso Davies, Joao Cancelo, Daley Blind, Justin Janitzek, Gabriel Marusic
Midfielders: Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Ryan Gravenberch, Paul Wanner, Arijon Ibrahimovic, Lovro Zvonarek
Forwards: Sadio Mané, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, Thomas Müller , Mathys Tel, Jamal Musiala , Leroy Sané, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Yusuf Kabadayi
Manager: Thomas Tuchel
Current Form (Recent first, Champions League): W W W W W
Thanks for reading! What’s your take on the starting 11 of the Man City vs Bayern Munich game of UCL 2023? Please email your thoughts to footbalyticsofficial@gmail.com
ALSO READ: Exclusive: Premier League Best Playing 11 of 21st century
Akshay is an author at Footbalytics. His love for football started way back in 1998 when Ronaldo (Not Cristiano) was his first football hero, and the list keeps getting longer ever since.
Though Akshay is a Teacher by profession, he firmly believes that there is no better classroom than the Sports field and no better Teacher than Sports.