A 1-1 draw against Manchester United, when they were expected to roll over the struggling English Premier League side, and then a 1-0 loss to Augsburg, which ended their chances of finishing the Bundesliga season unbeaten - this has not been a great seven days or so for Bayern Munich, and United will look to dent that previously purring Mercedes a little more when they visit the Allianz Arena for the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal clash.
Where to Watch Live:
The game is scheduled for a 8.45 local time (7.45 pm BST, 12.15 am IST, 2.45 pm ET) start with live coverage on Ten Action and Ten HD in India, Sky Sports 1 in the UK and Fox Sports in US.
The quarterfinal can be watched via live streaming online in the UK HERE, while India viewers can do the same HERE. Catch the action in the US live online HERE, while Germany viewers can live stream the match HERE, with audience in Canada able to live stream the action HERE. Catch the quarterfinal in the Middle East and North Africa HERE, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can go to the link HERE. The game can be live streamed in Latin America HERE, while viewers in Australia can go HERE.
United pulled off an impressive performance in the first leg, negating Bayern's undoubted attacking threats, while giving the Germans a scare or three on the counter-attacks with the speed and pace of their attackers, especially Danny Welbeck.
No doubt, David Moyes will go into the second leg with a similar plan in mind, and it will be up to Pep Guardiola's men to find their way past the Manchester United bodies which are going to be camped in their own half for much of the 90 minutes.
"The players have to be technically good on the ball," Moyes said. "The players need to do better in possession, but I think we need the same spirit and same determination as the first leg to get through.
"We'll need a very good performance from everybody. It's a game where you won't be able to carry any passengers. But it's also a game everyone is really looking forward to. We're really well prepared by beating Newcastle 4-0 at the weekend. The players are going into the game in a good frame of mind.
"We've given ourselves every opportunity and prepared really well. We have to go into this game knowing it's a cup final for us. We want to be in the Champions League final but we have to win this cup final first. From that point of view we can't leave anything [behind] on the night and make sure that we go through."
Guardiola was a little disappointed and frustrated after the first leg result at Old Trafford, with his impatience and exasperation spilling out during a charged up post-match press conference. The former Barcelona manager will hope his side can penetrate United's defensive lines a lot better come Wednesday, as Bayern look to overcome their recent dip in form - in relative terms of course.
"One-all is a risky scoreline, we could not win in Manchester," the Spaniard said. "But I am sure we will go through. We need a good performance and we want to win the game. Our focus in recent weeks was this game against United.
"We have to make sure we keep our form, we can't allow to happen what happened in Manchester, we must not concede a goal. We spoke with the team about what to do to win. We have to attack very well. They will wait until we lose the ball and then they will try to counterattack. So we have to be very focused."
Team news: Bayern Munich: Two big players - Javi Martinez and Bastian Schweinsteiger - are suspended for the home side, while Thiago Alcantara, Xherdan Shaqiri and Diego Contento remain sidelined. Dante, though, returns from suspension, and should fill in at centre-back.
Manchester United: Ryan Giggs, Jonny Evans, Rafael and Ashley Young are doubts, while Robin Van Persie remains ruled out, but Wayne Rooney is expected to feature despite suffering a toe injury which kept him out of the win over Newcastle. "Wayne was able to train and he is massively keen to play," Moyes said. "He's not trained all week so we have to be wary of that.
"We'll do everything we possibly can. He's happy to take an injection to play in the game, which shows you his feeling about the game and about the club.
"We think it's OK. We wouldn't do anything medically wrong. We've taken advice from the doctors and the people who advise us. Everybody knows the type of character Wayne is and he is determined to play. If he is determined we would be mad not to give him that opportunity."
Expected lineups: Bayern Munich: Neuer; Rafinha, Dante, Boateng, Alaba; Lahm, Kroos; Robben, Gotze, Ribery; Mandzukic.
Manchester United: De Gea; Jones, Ferdinand Vidic, Evra; Fellaini, Carrick; Valencia, Kagawa, Welbeck; Rooney.
