The first leg of the Champions League round of 16 had a lot of entertainment and drama. Bayern Munich was involved in one of the biggest games of this round. They travelled to Paris for the first leg against Paris Saint-Germain on February 14. It was a successful trip for Die Roten as they went home with a 1-0 advantage.
The second leg in Munich will take place next Wednesday. Kylian Mbappe is expected to start the game against Die Roten since he is fit to play 90 minutes. The prolific French forward had to start on the bench in the first leg since he was just returning from an injury. He caused Die Roten all sorts of problems during his 30-minute long cameo.
Despite Mbappe being ready to start for the second leg, PSG will have a slightly weakened squad for the trip to Munich. Neymar Jr. is a big doubt for this game after suffering a sprained ankle against Lille on Feb 19. The Brazilian is facing a race against time to be fit for the game against Die Roten.
Meanwhile, Presnel Kimpembe will certainly miss the game against Bayern. The French defender suffered an achilles tendon injury during the derby game against Marseille on Sunday. He is expected to be out for several weeks due to this injury. PSG will likely start with Marquinhos and Sergio Ramos in central defense due to Kimpembe’s injury.
From Bayern’s point of view, injury problems are easing out before the game against PSG. Sadio Mane made his return to action against Union Berlin on Sunday. The 30-year-old forward has been on the sidelines since early November due to an injury to his tibia.
The Senegalese forward’s timely return will further bolster Julian Nagelsmann’s options in the attack. Mane is cautious about managing his workload to avoid a relapse of the injury. He is likely to be an option from the bench for next week’s game against PSG.
The Bavarian club is also expecting Noussair Mazraoui to be back in the squad next Wednesday. The Moroccan defender has been training with the first team for the last ten days after recovering from an infection caused due to coronavirus. Mazraoui will be slowly integrated back into action, so he will also start on the bench against PSG.
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Before turning their attention to the clash against PSG, Bayern will travel to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Saturday. The Bavarian club needs to keep winning games in the league since they are level on points with Borussia Dortmund in the points table.