Champions League: Bayern to Take on Austria’s Finest

Red Bull Salzburg vs Bayern Munich

When the Round of 16 Champions League draw eventually concluded there were raised eyebrows around the room, not least because of the shambolic effort to get it right. But when the draw was finally concluded the Champions of Germany and Austria were drawn together in a blockbuster clash and are set to meet on Wednesday in the historic city of Salzburg.

Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern are one of the favourites to win the 2022 title but this game won’t be a walk in the park. While the Germans come into the clash on the back of a shock defeat to Bochum, Red Bull Salzburg are flying high at the top of the Austrian Bundesliga, 14 points clear of the chasing pack and they can take on Die Bayern with no such domestic concerns.

Talking Points

Red Bull’s Adeyemi has a big future

With 15 wins, three draws and one defeat in the league Die Roten Bullen have the Austrian Bundesliga all but wrapped up; and when Bayern Munich arrive at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday the place will be rocking for one of those special European nights under the floodlights. The hosts come into the game on the back of a 2-1 win over Rapid Wien thanks to second-half goals from American midfielder Brenden Aaronson and Swiss striker Noah Okafor, after they had gone behind in the first half.

Red Bull Salzburg's Andreas Ulmer will aim to produce Champions League highlights as they take on Bayern Munich — Andreas Ulmer playing for Red Bull Salzburg against Lille

Head coach Matthias Jaissle will put his faith in highly-rated striker Karim Adeyemi who has scored 20 goals this term, including three in the Champions League. Adeyemi became the first player to represent Germany while playing in the Austrian League when he made his international debut in a 6-0 win over Armenia. The 20-year-old is a hot property and might well be playing against Bayern in the German Bundesliga next season.

To reach this stage Salzburg came through a tough group alongside Lyon, and seeing off La Liga high flyers Sevilla as well as Wolfsburg from the German Bundesliga. They are a side to be reckoned with in the Champions League, winning 33 of their 77 matches in Europe’s top competition; but at a price of 751.00 the Champions League 2022 betting odds reckon Red Bull are the least likely of the 16 remaining teams to win the tournament.

Just look at those odds plummet if they manage to beat Bayern!

Bayern looking for a bounce back

And a shock is not entirely out of the question as the Bavarians discovered to their cost on Saturday, when they were thumped 4-2 by VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga and where they conceded all four goals in the first half. It looked like a routine day out for the Bavarians when Lewandowski gave them an early lead but Bochum stormed back with a four-goal blitz and Lewandowski’s second, 15 minutes from time, was merely a consolation. The defeat meant that Bayern’s lead at the top of the table had been cut to six points following Borussia Dortmund’s 3-0 win away to Union Berlin on Sunday. Die Bayern recently met Salzburg’s sister club Red Bull Leipzig last week and came away with a hard-fought 3-2 victory, and they will be wary of another tough assignment on Wednesday which they face without injured keeper Manuel Neuer and influential midfield star Leon Goretzka.

Europa League

Sevilla FC

GNK Dinamo Zagreb

CLICK HERE

TO SEE UPDATED ODDS

Julian Nagelsmann’s team are second favourites to win the competition at SBOTOP odds of 4.50, with Manchester City in the lead at 3.85. They need to put down a marker in Austria; but the Bavarians are old hands at this and will be keen to eradicate the memory of an embarrassment in Bochum at the Austrians’ expense.

History

Bayern have been one of Europe’s top club for decades but Salzburg are an emerging power following the takeover of the club by the Red Bull Company in 2005, four years before the conglomerate bought Leipzig in 2009.

Having previously won three Austrian Bundesliga titles in their history as Salzburg, the club went on to win 12 of the next 16, including the last eight and finishing as runners up in the other four.

Salzburg reached the last four in the 2018 Europa League and were runners-up in the 1994 UEFA Cup. They last faced FC Bayern in the 2020 Champions League and were beaten 3-1 as Lewandowski, Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane all scored while Mergim Berisha scored a consolation for Salzburg.

Betting Tip

	Red Bull Salzburg vs Bayern Munich	Over 3.50 @ 2.03
	February 17, 04:00 (GMT+8)

With Red Bull at 7.96 and the Draw at 5.03 anything other than a Bayern win, at a price of 1.31 would be one of the surprise Champions League 2022 results of the Round of 16. But they’ll give it a go and, as both teams are big scorers, I’m backing a goal fest in Salzburg.