© Imago
Feyenoord head into Wednesday night's Champions League meeting with FC Bayern on the back of a draw. The Rotterdam club drew 1-1 with Willem II Tilburg on Saturday evening after winger Igor Paixao's goal in first-half stoppage time was cancelled out by Jesse Bosch's strike for 10th-placed Willem II in the 76th minute.
Dane Brian Priske succeeded Arne Slot as head coach of Feyenoord in the summer. | © Imago
With 36 points after 19 matchdays, Feyenoord sit fourth in the Dutch Eredivisie, 10 points off leaders PSV Eindhoven. Brian Priske's side suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat to the league leaders in the final match of last year, which also ended a run of four straight wins. Bayern's upcoming opponents also came away empty-handed against third-placed FC Utrecht (1-2) in their opening game of 2025. So far their record in the new year reads one win, one draw and one defeat in all competitions.
In the Champions League, the historic Dutch club still have reasonable hopes of qualifying for the knockout phase. They're currently 18th in the league standings, putting them in line for a play-off spot. After a comprehensive 4-0 loss to Bayer 04 Leverkusen in their opening match of the European campaign, Priske's men didn't lose heart and have collected a total of 10 points in their five outings since (W3, D1, L1). The team from the Dutch port city showed particularly strong character in their away match at Manchester City, where they were 3-0 down until the 75th minute before salvaging a point with three goals in the final quarter of an hour. There was also an impressive 3-1 success at Portuguese record champions Benfica, so Bayern are in for a thoroughly stern test away from home.
Read the analysis of Bayern's dress rehearsal against Wolfsburg here:
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