Virgil van Dijk is set to miss the first leg of the Champions League Last 16 with Bayern due to suspension, but our rivals have just been hit with one of their own.
Thomas Muller will be banned for both fixtures, home and away, following a decision from UEFA’s panel that his red-card v Ajax should warrant a more lengthy punishment.
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Thomas Muller will miss both of Bayern’s Champions League games with Liverpool after receiving a two-match ban for his red card against Ajax 🔴 pic.twitter.com/pghZqtLDtc
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 11, 2019
Muller is arguably not the player he once was, but he has tremendous European experience and has the knack of doing the business in big games.
We’d prefer to be up against Serge Gnabry in all honesty, who regularly plays when Muller is out.
Without the German however, we think Bayern will deploy a 4-3-3 formation, with Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben flanking Robert Lewandowski.
In midfield, the likes of Thiago and Javi Martinez are automatic starters, while Niklas Sule partners Jerome Boateng at the back, with world-class David Alaba at left-back.
It’s a serious, serious side – and it’s going to be a monumental test.