Liverpool’s Champions League opponents Bayern Munich will head into Wednesday’s meeting full of confidence after returning to the top of the Bundesliga table in style on Saturday.
The Reds’ progression into the quarter-finals of the European Cup is finely balanced ahead of the second-leg with the Bavarian giants following the scoreless draw at Anfield just under three weeks ago.
Liverpool head to the Allianz Arena in the knowledge that an away goal would put them in the driving seat, but Niko Kovac’s side will be brimming with confidence after returning to the top of the Bundesliga table in convincing style on Saturday.
While the Reds have stuttered in recent weeks since the first-leg tie at Anfield having collected two scoreless draws against Man United and Everton, with a 5-0 win over Watford sandwiched in-between, Bayern have recorded three straight victories.
A narrow win over Hertha Berlin was followed by two convincing wins, first a 5-1 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach and now a 6-0 rout over Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Their return to form has seen them move ahead of Borussia Dortmund in the table on goal difference after making it six league games without defeat.
The nature of their victories is a clear warning to Liverpool ahead of their meeting as goals are not proving hard to come by for the German champions after netting 12 in three games.
Robert Lewandowski has proved to be the benefactor of Bayern’s ruthless displays of late having netted four goals in his last two league games after just one in his previous four games.
While Bayern will feel as though they have little to fear on Wednesday, they have been plagued by injury.
A torn calf muscle for Arjen Robben rules him out of the clash, while Corentin Tolisso, Kingsley Coman and David Alaba are all doubts as the trio have yet to return to team training.
Thomas Muller and Joshua Kimmich also remain suspended for the Reds’ visit, leaving Kovac with a number of selection dilemmas on his hands.
Liverpool, meanwhile, will have Virgil van Dijk back to Champions League action after the defender missed the first-leg through suspension.
With the tie delicately balanced and the Reds possessing a knack to rise to the occasion on the European stage, Klopp’s men have a clear opportunity to progress to the quarter-finals for the second successive season.
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