Bayern need to ‘do it together’ in quarter-finals against Inter Milan

Bayern host Inter Milan on Tuesday for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie (kick-off at 9pm CEST, live coverage on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app with our text commentary and free web radio). The game at the Allianz Arena is about ensuring a good position for next Wednesday’s return fixture in Italy. Here’s all you need to know about the match in our preview.

Recap all the build-up to the first leg:

Latest news from Bayern

Despite the number of notable injury absentees, Bayern go into this clash of European giants full of optimism and excitement. “We don’t want to moan. We’ve got faith in each other and will solve things with our squad,” stated head coach Vincent Kompany when asked about the state of his squad. Such events mean the team needs to come closer together in their work for their common goal. “Everyone in the squad will be needed. There’s no player who’s just along for the ride. We need hungry guys who are ready,” added Joshua Kimmich. Konrad Laimer also believes that “we have the quality, regardless of who plays. You win these games thanks to some magic up front and hard work as a whole team”. The Austrian also spoke again of the togetherness within the team. “We can only do it together. There’s a lot of energy within us, and we need to bring it. If we manage that, then we can beat anybody.”

Last weekend’s 3-1 win at Augsburg and recent Champions League outings will also aid the team’s confidence. Bayern put in two good displays to claim a 5-0 aggregate win over Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16. “It’s also about character, heart and emotion. It’s all part of it. We also showed in the last round against Leverkusen what we can do,” Kompany said at Monday’s pre-match press conference.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has discussed this meeting between his two former clubs:

Opponent: Inter Milan

Inter arrive in Munich on the back of a disappointing domestic result, as they were held to a 2-2 draw away at Parma on Saturday. The defending Serie A champions had led 2-0 at half-time through goals from Matteo Darmian and Marcus Thuram. However, the Nerazzurri remain top of the table with 68 points from 31 games, are into the Coppa Italia semi-finals and also going deep in the Champions League. They finished the league phase in fourth place with 19 points before knocking out Feyenoord 4-1 on aggregate in the last 16.

“We’re facing a very good opponent. It’s for games like these that you play football. It’ll be very tough over the two legs,” Laimer added of this tantalising tie. Kompany also said, “They’re a team who always find their moments and are dangerous, not just on the counter. They’re also good in build-up and at set pieces. They score a lot of goals because they have good players. But so do we; we also score a lot of goals.”

Find out more about Inter as a club:

Team news

Bayern go into the first leg without Manuel Neuer (calf), Dayot Upamecano (knee), Alphonso Davies (cruciate ligament), Hiroki Ito (metatarsal) and Jamal Musiala (hamstring). Kingsley Coman and Aleksandar Pavlović are also not yet available although are in individual training.

Inter are missing the suspended Kristjan Asllani, as well as Denzel Dumfries (thigh), Piotr Zieliński (calf), Valentín Carboni (cruciate ligament) and Mehdi Taremi (adductor).

Read up on the facts ahead of the game:

What the coaches say