Lazio vs Bayern Munich

In desperate need of a mental boost after a humiliating weekend, Bayern Munich travel to the Stadio Olimpico to take on Lazio in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie.

A runner-up finish behind Atletico Madrid in a relatively competitive Group E propelled Lazio to the Champions League knockouts for only the second time in the club’s history. But since their only previous appearance at this stage of Europe’s elite club competition yielded a disastrous 6-2 aggregate defeat to none other than Bayern Munich, skepticism might have crept in ahead of the kick-off. Maurizio Sarri’s side can at least draw some inspiration from their impressive continental form at the Stadio Olimpico, having lost just one of their last 12 European games on home turf (W6, D5). On top of that, ‘I Biancocelesti’ halted a three-game winless domestic run at the weekend courtesy of a 3-1 rout of Cagliari to reinforce their hopes of defying an underwhelming seven-game form against German clubs (W1, D1, L5).

In the meantime, Bayern Munich’s pursuit of a 12th consecutive Bundesliga title took a tumble last weekend, with undefeated leaders Bayer Leverkusen hammering them 3-0 at the BayArena. With Thomas Tuchel’s future in Munich hanging by a thread, the ‘Bavarians’ may find the impending Champions League return a welcome distraction as they’re unbeaten in their last seven European contests (W5, D2). Despite their below-par performance at the weekend, the record-time German champions are still odds-on favorites to advance to the quarter-finals for the 12th time in their last 13 Champions League campaigns. Adding to this sentiment, they’ve racked up five consecutive European triumphs against Serie A sides!