Bayern Munich vs Crvena Zvezda 19/09/19

19 September 2019

Bayern Munich will host Crvena Zvezda to the Allianz Arena for their 2019/20 UEFA Champions League (CL) curtain-raiser. It will be their first CL H2H since 1990/91 when the Belgrade outfit won their semi-finals tie 4-3 on aggregate (2-1 A, 2-2 H) before claiming the title thanks to a penalty-shootout win over Olympique Marseille.

One of the most regular CL participants, Bayern have reached the group stage for the 12th successive season. In that sequence, they’ve advanced to the knockout phase each time, finishing top of the group eight times in the process. Practically untenable when at home, the Bavarians have won 14 of their previous 15 home games in the CL group stage (W14, D1), with their last home defeat dating back to 2013. Another encouraging fact for the home fans is that the reigning Bundesliga holders ended up as winners in three of four European home meetings with the Serbian teams (W3, L1).

Entering this clash as big underdogs, the visitors will be desperate to pick up their elusive first CL away points after suffering three defeats on the road the last term. Frustratingly for the head coach, Vladan Milojevic, his players have conceded three or more goals across all of those failures while scoring one or less in the process. Although they finished bottom of Group C last season with four points (W1, D1, L4), the Reds-Whites’ only success came at home against the eventual winners Liverpool (2-0). For the second year in a row, the Serbian giants have reached the group stage from the first qualifying round, eliminating Sūduva, HJK Helsinki, FC København, and Young Boys on their road to glory.