Bayern vs Dynamo Kiev: Die Roten look towards round of 16 spot
It looks set to be one way traffic when Bayern take on Dynamo Kiev for matchday two of the 2021/2022 Champions League on Wednesday evening. Barring a shocking collapse of epic proportions, it’s safe to say that the visitors will be in major damage control mode to avoid the kind of humiliation Bayern are well known in dishing out to their opponents. Die Roten come into this match having beaten newly promoted Greuther Furth 3-1, during which they did have to play with a man down following Benjamin Pavard’s foul on ex-Bayern man Julian Green. Still, it didn’t make things easier for the newly promoted side, who are still seeking their first win, while Bayern are now on an eight-game winning streak across all comps.
Bayern easily brushed aside Barcelona 3-0 on matchday one, and while it wasn’t the same nightmare Barcelona fans endured as their side were crushed 8-2 the last time the two teams met, it still sent a clear signal to the rest of Europe. Given that Barcelona are their toughest opponents, Bayern will effectively book their spot in the round of 16 with an expected win on Wednesday evening, especially since Dynamo Kiev ended up drawing with Benfica on matchday one.
This will be the first meeting between Bayern and Dynamo Kiev in 22 years. During the 1999/2000 term, Dynamo managed a 2-0 win at home, but were beaten 2-1 in Munich, and given that the Ukrainian outfit have won just one of their last 12 away games, it’s safe to say that it’s hard to see them getting anything out of this one. Current coach Mircea Lucescu doesn’t have fond memories of facing the Bavarian titans as he was the coach of another Ukrainian outfit, Shakhtar Donetsk, who were thrashed 7-0 seven years ago.
And to complicate matters, the visitors will be missing quite a few of their key players. Ibrahim Kargbo, Eric Ramirez, Artem Besedin, Vladyslav Kulach – all strikers – are out injured. Veteran defender Denys Popov is out for the long-haul following knee surgery, meaning that the visitors will be forced to deploy a teenager, 19-year-old Ilya Zabarnyi, to try to keep Robert Lewandowski at bay. Simply put, neutrals will surely be wishing the youngster the best of luck, as defenders nearly double his age haven’t succeeded in that matter this season.
Bayern, meanwhile, are starting to recover all their players at just the right time, with Alphonso Davies and Serge Gnabry now returning to the fold. They’ll still have to make do without Corentin Tolisso and Kingsley Coman, but as we’ve all seen, die Roten have more than enough options to deal with a few players still working their way back to full fitness. So while Dynamo may have been able to hold Benfica at bay, it’s hard to see them doing the same against a Bayern side who are vastly superior in terms of attacking prowess to the Eagles, and the best the visitors can hope for is to keep the score-line as respectable as possible, especially as they’ll be trying to sneak into a (highly unlikely) third spot and possibly qualify for the Europa League. Bayern have scored in their last 80 competitive matches – a European record – and it’s hard to find anyone who’ll be brave enough to bet against them making that 81 on Wednesday evening.
