Bayern's 'small window' against Bratislava

FC Bayern München

Tue, Jan 28, 2025, 3:04 p.m.·2 min read

Bayern's 'small window' against Bratislava

The next step of FC Bayern's journey in the Champions League will be decided on Wednesday, when the Munich men entertain ŠK Slovan Bratislava at the Allianz Arena (live text and free Web Radio commentary from 21:00 CET on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app). Our preview has everything you need to know ahead of the game.

Final training, press conference & more – what happened on the day before the home match against Bratislava:

Build-up to Bratislava

Latest news from Bayern

As a result of the 3-0 defeat at Feyenoord last Wednesday, FC Bayern slipped to 15th in the Champions League table. Going into the final matchday of the league phase, however, the Bavarians are guaranteed at least a place in the play-offs, where the teams who finish between ninth and 24th will battle it out for the eight remaining last-16 spots. Mathematically at least, Bayern can still make it into the top eight and qualify directly for the round of 16. The first requirement for that is victory over Bratislava.

"We've prepared for the match," said Thomas Müller at the press conference on Tuesday. "Of course, we're also prepared for every eventuality. The chances of getting into the top eight aren't great but there's a small window. We want to do everything we can to make that possible. The main focus is on producing a good performance. Then we'll see the rest." Bayern won't be underestimating their opponents whatsoever, though, as Vincent Kompany underlined: "It's still the Champions League, there are no easy games. We're always strong at home. I expect the motivation to always be there, regardless of how things stand, and that we put in a complete performance from the start," said the head coach in the press conference.

We explain how Bayern can still finish in the top eight on Wednesday:

How FC Bayern can progress directly to the CL round of 16

The opponents: Slovan Bratislava

Bratislava qualified for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history. Vladimír Weiss' men have not picked up a single point from their seven games so far, although after comprehensive defeats to Celtic (5-1) and Manchester City (4-0) at the start, the Slovakian record champions have found their feet a bit better in the competition, putting up a good fight against the likes of AC Milan (3-2) and VfB Stuttgart (3-1). In the domestic league, which is still in the winter break, Bratislava lead with 44 points from 18 games.

We spoke with ex-FCB Women player Dominika Škorvánková about Slovan Bratislava:

Top scorers & top talents: the Bratislava players FCB must stop

The team news for Bayern vs. Slovan Bratislava

Captain Manuel Neuer is available having missed Tuesday's final training session, Kompany confirmed, but Eric Dier remains a doubt due to illness. Bayern will definitely be without Sven Ulreich (suspension), Leon Goretzka (suspension and hamstring string), Alphonso Davies (hamstring strain), Daniel Peretz (kidney) and Hiroki Ito (metatarsal). New signing Jonas Urbig is not yet registered for the Champions League.

Vladimír Weiss (illness) and Juraj Kucka (meniscus) have not travelled to Munich from Bratislava. Danylo Ignatenko is fit again after a muscle injury.

The facts on the match:

The facts ahead of FC Bayern vs. Slovan Bratislava

What the coaches say

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