Bayern Munich’s longest winless run for three years and poor recent home record against English opposition have suddenly made Manchester United’s task on Wednesday look a lot less daunting than it was when the draw was made.
Bayern will also be without three key midfielders, including Bastian Schweinsteiger, for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg, evenly poised after last week’s 1-1 draw.
The Bavarians have lost their air of invincibility since clinching the Bundesliga title against Hertha Berlin on March 25 and have not won since with two draws and a defeat in all competitions in their last three games.
It is the first time since March 2011 that Bayern have endured a three-match winless run and, even though they have already sewn up the Bundesliga, it is a disconcerting statistic for a side which has become used to chalking up wins with monotonous regularity.
Another worry for Bayern is their failure to win any of their last four matches against English opposition at the Allianz Arena.
The run started with the 2012 Champions League final against Chelsea, who won on penalties after a 1-1 draw. That was followed by defeats to Arsenal and Manchester City and, most recently, a draw against Arsenal in the previous Champions League round last month.
That game showed that Bayern can get the jitters when put under pressure, as Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger commented at the time.
“Bayern are a good side, they were more vulnerable this season than last year,” he said after a 3-1 aggregate defeat. “I thought Bayern were very vulnerable defensively, we didn’t take advantage of that. I felt there were situations which we could have made more of.”
