FC Bayern v Sporting Lissabon: Getting back to winning ways buoyed by strong home run

Bayern fought hard but suffered their first defeat this season in their last Champions League match away at Arsenal. Now it’s about returning to winning ways to qualify directly for the round of 16 – and what would be a better place than the Allianz Arena? Munich have gone unbeaten in 36 home matches in the group stage and league phase since the 3-2 defeat against Manchester City in December 2013, winning 34 and drawing two. Bayern aim to build on that against Sporting on Tuesday (kick-off: 18:45 CET). fcbayern.com has delved into the facts and stats.

Recent record favours Bayern

FC Bayern and Sporting cross swords for the fifth time. The German record champions have gone unbeaten in the four previous matches, winning three and drawing one. The last encounter in the 2008/09 Champions League round of 16 was remarkable. Bayern won 12-1 on aggregate (5-0 away, 7-1 at home) to claim their biggest win in the Champions League knockout stages since 1992/93.

Bayern’s run against Portuguese teams

Munich have a strong record against Portuguese sides in general. They have gone unbeaten in their 13 home matches against teams from Portugal, winning eleven and drawing two. The record favours Bayern for another reason: Sporting have only won one of their 17 European away matches against German teams, drawing two and losing 14. Their only success dates back to September 2022, when they won 3-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Goal guarantee Harry Kane

Harry Kane has scored 24 goals in 30 Champions League matches for FC Bayern – only Kylian Mbappé (24 as well) has scored as often in Europe’s premier club competition since the English forward joined the German record champions. However, Kane failed to score in the last two matches and will be looking forward to returning to the Allianz Arena. The striker has scored 16 goals in 15 home matches for FCB – including two goals against Chelsea and one against Club Brugge this season.

Will Karl continue to make history?

Lennart Karl found the net in his two Champions League matches as a starter against Club Brugge and Arsenal. Aged 17 years and 277 days when he netted against Arsenal, Karl is the youngest player to score in Champions League history. If the youngster scores against Sporting too, he’d become the youngest player in history (since 1992/93) to score in three consecutive CL matches (aged 17 years and 290 on Tuesday).