On Wednesday evening (live text and Webradio commentary from 20:45 CET), FC Bayern meet Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League for the fourth time – no other fixture has taken place more often in this round of the competition. Bayern fans have good memories of the previous encounters as FCB have progressed on each occasion. fcbayern.com gives you the other key facts and stats on the game.
Old acquaintances
This will be the fourth time in five years that Bayern have played against the London club. Having met in the group stages last season, they faced each other in the last 16 in the 2012/13 and 2013/14 seasons. In total there have been ten meetings between the two teams in Europe’s elite competition. Bayern have won five of those with the Gunners winning on three occasions, with a goal difference of 17:11 in favour of the Bavarians.
Last 16 regulars
There’s been a round of 16 in the Champions League since the 2003/04 season and this is the ninth year in a row, and 13th in total, that Bayern have reached this stage. The only time the German champions were not there was the 2007/08 campaign when they were in the UEFA Cup. The only two teams who have been in every round of 16 are Real Madrid and Wednesday’s opponents from England. Arsenal have a bad record at this stage, though, having been knocked out on eight occasions. In fact, they’ve fallen at this hurdle in each of the last six years – twice against FC Bayern.
Fortress Allianz Arena
The Allianz Arena is a difficult place for teams to get results in the Champions League. FCB have won their last 15 home games in Europe's premier club competition – a tournament record. It’s a record that Philipp Lahm and Co. will want to extend against Arsenal since Barcelona are currently just behind them on 14 consecutive wins. Bayern have also kept a clean sheet in nine of those 15 matches, conceding only eight goals in the others, while they’ve scored an impressive 53 goals!
Experience in the dugout
There’ll be a lot of combined Champions League experience on the two benches on Wednesday. Only Sir Alex Ferguson (190) has been involved in more Champions League games than Carlo Ancelotti (147) and Arsene Wenger (182). The Italian has had the greater success, lifting the trophy on three occasions and boasting a win percentage of 55%. Wenger is yet to win the competition and has only won 47% of his games.
Serbian referee
Wednesday’s referee, Milorad Mažić, doesn’t yet have quite as much as experience in the competition, but the 43 year-old from Serbia has already officiated 21 Champions League games in his career. This will be his first involving Bayern but he has refereed two Arsenal matches before (one win, one draw).
Topics of this article