Bayern Munich: Key factors in each Champions League group stage clash

With the Champions League draw complete, we now know which other European teams join Bayern Munich in Group B to battle in the closing months of an eventful year. Here’s what to expect as the Bavarians face PSG, Anderlecht and Celtic on Europe’s biggest stage.

Paris Saint-Germain

The Summer transfer window was knocked out of the park when Paris Saint-Germain met the €222 million release clause of Barcelona’s Neymar Jr., and since then, he is the first thing that people talk about when discussing the French team.

However, there is more to the team than the oil money and the shiny toys that it can bring. This is not going to be a test of whose wage bill is more powerful; there are going to be some genuine challenges facing both teams in the two fixtures.

Central midfielder turned right-back Joshua Kimmich is set to face his biggest challenge yet for Bayern when it comes to keeping Neymar quiet. When a natural full-back such as Lahm had problems keeping track of Ronaldo last season, it is only natural to be concerned for young Kimmich’s performance.

Bayern’s number 32 does not have anything to worry about, however. A fan-favorite and a future Bayern legend, Kimmich just has to try his best and that will be all the fans ask of him.

PSG’s attack is as threatening as Bayern’s, although they do have slightly more options. The real challenge for both teams will be found in midfield. The talented, experienced — but still young — duo of Adrien Rabiot and Marco Veratti have said goodbye to their usual counterpart, Blaise Matuidi.

Now supported by Thiago Motta, the average fan will see him as the weak link. Bayern’s depth in midfield options ranges from Corentin Tolisso, Thiago, Arturo Vidal, Sebastian Rudy, Renato Sanches and even Kimmich should Rafinha step in at right-back.

There is no doubt that Bayern can comfortably go toe-to-toe with PSG’s midfield, and with each team boasting hugely talented players this will be a fantastic match to watch from a technical stand-point. It will be easy to look at PSG and think ‘this is a team that Barcelona beat 6-1.’ But it should never be forgotten that Paris beat Barcelona 4-0. Regardless, complacency should be the last thing on Bayern’s mind.

Anderlecht

When Bayern travel to Belgium, they are meeting a team that has recently lost their best player, Youri Tielemans, to Monaco. The 20-year-old had 139 caps for Anderlecht and was the heart of a midfield that now seems to lack something.

With that being said, to ignore Leander Dendoncker would be a foolish mistake that could turn costly. A tough-tackling defensive midfielder, there are reasons why he has been a target of Manchester United for a while now.

Further up the field, Łukasz Teodorczyk is Anderlecht’s main attacking threat, last season getting 20 league goals in 28 appearances. At 26 years of age, he still has room to improve and it will not be surprising should he move to a new club in the next season.

Celtic

In Glasgow, Bayern face Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic. This is a team whose fans can be the difference between a victory and defeat.

Similar to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, Celtic have won the last six Scottish League championships in a row and have several key players that could cause problems for their opponents: specifically, Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembélé.

The latter is set to mark his return from a hamstring injury in time for the group stages, whereas the former showed his ability in Celtic’s qualification matches, netting 5 goals in 6 matches. Dembélé looks to become the next big French footballing sensation, scoring 32 goals in all competitions (49 matches) last year.

Much like Anderlecht, on paper this looks like a match that Bayern should not struggle with. And, much like PSG, Celtic beat Astana in their qualification round 5-0… but then lost 4-3 in the return leg with a very similar team.

Final thoughts

This group stage has potential to be a simple task. But at no point should it be considered finished before it has started. You only have to look back to last season at how Bayern fell 3-2 at Rostov to see that underestimating your opponent can never end well.

All eyes will be on PSG this campaign. Is their big spending (understatement of the year) resulting in good results? That is the question that every journalist, fan, commentator and chairman will be asking.

Next: Five things to watch as Bayern Munich begin new season

With Uli Hoeness making comments recently about the money being spent showing signs of weakness, Bayern as a club do have a lot to prove this year. If PSG beat Bayern in both legs then that does not say a great deal. However, if they do it with ease and comfort, and put Bayern into a dangerous position where they might not qualify for the next round, that could be reason enough for Hoeness and co. to reassess their policies.