Champions League: Man Utd vs Bayern Munich Prediction
Must-Win for Manchester United
Bayern’s Group Stage Unbeaten Run on the Line
On Saturday, both Manchester United and Bayern Munich suffered heavy losses. United lost 3-0 at home to AFC Bournemouth in another embarrassing result for Erik ten Hag’s side. Meanwhile, Bayern lost in the Bundesliga for the first time this season, when they fell 5-1 on the road at Eintracht Frankfurt. On Tuesday, Man United and Bayern will face off in the Champions League group stage finale. It’s a must-win for Manchester United, while Bayern have already clinched the group. As Bayern look to extend their record-breaking group stage unbeaten run to 40 games, we’ll make a Man Utd vs Bayern Munich prediction and cover the odds.
Manchester United vs Bayern Munich
Date, time:
Location: Old Trafford, Manchester, England
Streaming: Live Sports Stream
Head-to-Head
The 2023-24 season is the first time that the Champions League draw placed Manchester United and Bayern Munich in the same group since 1998-99. Still, they have met 12 previous times in the UCL. Most recently, Bayern managed a 4-3 victory in Munich back in September in a seven-goal thriller. The pre-game Champions League odds priced Bayern as -180 favorites. Bayern are currently unbeaten in the last three meetings and are 1-3-1 at Old Trafford in the Champions League.
Manchester United Continue to Struggle
To say Manchester United’s season has been up and down would be an understatement. They’ve managed some decent results mixed in with some truly awful ones. Saturday’s loss falls into the latter category as Bournemouth got their first-ever win at Old Trafford. United failed to score at home and what was a 3-0 Bournemouth win easily could have been four if not for a late VAR check. United’s confidence looks completely gone and reports mention that Erik ten Hag has lost the dressing room.
Jadon Sancho was exiled from the side earlier this season and last season’s leading scorer, Marcus Rashford has played sparingly after an abysmal effort vs. Newcastle. United are in sixth place in the Premier League, with a 9-7 record and a -3 goal difference. Rasmus Hojlund is joint-leader in the Champions League stats, with five goals. However, the Danish striker still hasn’t scored in the EPL.
Man United enter the final Champions League group stage matchday in last place in their group. The only way they’ll be able to advance to the round of 16 is by winning and hoping that Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen draw on Tuesday. United are missing a number of players due to injury, including Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia.
Bayern Slump to Surprising Defeat
Bayern Munich suffered one of their biggest defeats in recent memory on Saturday when they fell 5-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt. After Bayern’s match vs. Union Berlin was postponed on December 2nd, it appears the extra rest didn’t do the Bavarians any good. Bayern fell behind 3-0 to Frankfurt after just 36 minutes and things didn’t get much better from there on out.
Joshua Kimmich scored a consolation goal but Bayern conceded twice more and they looked unusually vulnerable. Bayern are a resilient bunch and most of their key players available for Tuesday’s match at Old Trafford. Harry Kane is the Bundesliga’s leading scorer and he’ll be a handful for United on Tuesday. However, Matthijs de Ligt and Serge Gnabry are out injured for the UCL group stage finale.
Most Man Utd vs. Bayern Munich predictions have Bayern extending their 39-game unbeaten run in the UCL group stage. They’ll undoubtedly have their sights set on bouncing back after an embarrassing defeat on Saturday. Bayern haven’t lost two matches in a row for nearly four years.
Match Analysis & Odds
Bettors shouldn’t think this is a throwaway match for Bayern Munich. Sure, it is an opportunity for Thomas Tuchel to rotate a bit with the group already clinched, but dropping two matches in a row is nearly unheard of for the Bavarians. Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag and Manchester United will be feeling the pressure after another disappointing defeat.
United will drop out of European competition altogether with a loss but they can at least make the Europa League knockout round with a win. Coming into Tuesday’s match, United are +170 underdogs and Man United pk sits at +105 odds. Our Man Utd vs. Bayern Munich prediction is that Bayern will extend their group stage unbeaten run to 40 games. So, Bayern pk, at -125 odds, isn’t a bad choice.
Bayern have lost just one of their five previous Champions League matches at Old Trafford and are +140 moneyline favorites. A draw, which would do absolutely nothing for United, comes in at +305 odds. Over three goals are priced at -125 odds and the last match between these teams finished with seven goals.
