After facing local rivals Augsburg in the Bundesliga this weekend, Bayern Munich will defend the Allianz Arena in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against the defending champions of Italy, Inter Milan.
Both Bayern and Inter are title favorites in their respective leagues this season, and while Bayern, who nearly made the final of the Champions League last season, would normally find themselves favored against the Nerazzurri in the UCL, they are in the unfamiliar position of being underdogs this season.
Although Bayern Munich have had their issues in big games this season with inexperienced manager Vincent Kompany leading the way, the biggest reason for them being underdogs has more to do with injuries.
Veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who remains so decisive on big Champions League nights, will be out for potentially both legs. The club’s two best defenders, Dayot Upamecano and left back Alphonso Davies, are both out with serious injuries. And if that weren’t enough, another center back, Hiroki Ito, is out injured again for several months.
The Alphonso Davies injury won’t loom as large
Bayern Munich already had a somewhat suspect defense, but now it is absolutely ravaged going into a game against Inter Milan that boasts some fantastic attacking players, namely the striker duo of Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram, which is likely the best pairing in world football right now.
According to a report from Davide Stoppani of La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy, Bayern Munich will get a bit of a reprieve defensively, though, as one of Inter Milan’s best players will also be out for at least the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Per Gazzetta, Inter right wing back Denzel Dumfries has a hamstring injury that will almost certainly cost him the opening leg, and the Nerazzurri are hoping that the Dutch international can push for an appearance in the second leg on Aug. 16.
With Davies out due to a severe knee injury (torn ACL with cartilage damage), Raphael Guerreiro figures to start at left back, and while he is excellent going forward, the former Dortmund star is quite suspect defensively.
Dumfries is one of the best right wing backs on the planet and has become an absolute terror for Inter, especially with his ability to make delayed runs into the box and put shots on target.
He and Federico Dimarco together are Inter’s secret weapons, so cutting out one half of that gives Bayern Munich a defensive lifeline, since the slower Matteo Darmian at right back won’t overwhelm the Bayern defense nearly as much.
Dumfries missing the first leg isn’t enough to swing Bayern to become favorites, but it makes at least the first leg at the Allianz a legitimate toss-up. Bayern will have to take advantage of this injury and get the tie off to a strong start before heading to the Giuseppe Meazza later in the month.
Joe Soriano covers West Ham for Green Street Hammers and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.