19:36
As for Bayern … perhaps they’re not the invincible machine we trailed. I mean, they pretty much are, but in their last two league fixtures they drew 3-3 at home with Arminia Bielefeld and lost 2-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt. A post-Club World Cup slump? Could be. Now’s the time to snap out of it.
19:33
When I think of Lazio I still think of Boksic, Signori, Di Matteo, Winter, Casiraghi, Fuser. Am I just stuck in the 90s?
19:26
Big game elsewhere – Simon Burnton brings you Atletico Madrid v Chelsea!
19:20
Teams
Lazio: Reina, Patric, Acerbi, Musacchio, Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto, Marusic, Correa, Immobile. Subs: Strakosha, Pereira, Hoedt, Parolo, Escalante, Lulic, Caicedo, Cataldi, Alia, Akpa Akpro, Muriqi, Fares.
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Süle, Boateng, Alaba, Davies, Kimmich, Goretzka, Sané, Musiala, Coman, Lewandowski. Subs: Martínez, Choupo-Moting, Sarr, Hernández, Roca, Hoffmann.
18:40
Hello you!
These are the chaaaaaaampiooooooons! No really, these are. Bayern Munich have rolled into Rome and, as usual, they mean business. You’d be smart to call this season’s Champions League a two-horse race between them and Manchester City, I reckon, and while tonight’s game has a hearty dose of glamour attached to it they’re clear favourites to get the upper hand over Lazio.
Simone Inzaghi’s team are a relatively lowly sixth in Serie A – although, boy, they do have some good players. They took four points of Borussia Dortmund in the group stage of this, their first Champions League campaign in 13 years. Can that inspire them to similar heroics against crack German opposition?
Stay tuned and we’ll find out! It’s a fascinating tie, this one, and I’d love to hear your thoughts and predictions in the buildup.