On Wednesday evening, the remaining matches of the seventh matchday in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League will take place. Bayern Munich will host Belgian side Saint-Gilloise, aiming for a victory that would certainly propel them into the top eight, allowing them to skip the playoffs—a round they struggled through last season against Celtic.
Bayern is the clear favorite against Saint-Gilloise, though they will be without some fans due to a restriction on the south stand. Bayern’s coach, Vincent Kompany, expressed his admiration for the opponent, noting their solid scouting system and the consistency in their management despite having various coaches in recent years. “They may not have the biggest budget, but they offer good resources,” he stated.
While Bayern takes the spotlight, other significant matches are also scheduled. Hansi Flick’s FC Barcelona will face Slavia Prague away from home, and Liverpool will visit Marseille’s Velodrome, where they can anticipate a tricky encounter. Juventus against Benfica also promises to be an exciting clash.
As for Bayern, injury concerns remain, and the team must find a balance between building up recently injured players while avoiding overexertion. Joshua Kimmich is expected to start, likely partnering with Raphael Guerreiro on the full-back positions. Meanwhile, the attack features the talents of Michael Olise, Lennart Karl, Luis Diaz, and Harry Kane.
The lineups for the matches are as follows:
**FC Bayern Munich:** Neuer, Kimmich, Tah, Kim, Guerreiro, Pavlovic, Bischof, Olise, Karl, Diaz, Kane
**Saint-Gilloise:** Scherpen, Florucz, Mac Allister, van de Perre, Sykes, Burgess, Zorgane, El Hadj, Khalaili, Guilherme, David
**Chelsea:** Jörgensen, Gusto, Fofana, Badiashile, Hato, James, Caicedo, Fernandez, Garnacho, Pedro Neto, Delap
**Pafos FC:** Gorter, Sema, Luckassen, Pileas, Bruno, Sunjic, Pepe, Jaja, Orsic, Dragomir, Anderson
**Newcastle:** Pope, Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Hall, Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton, Gordon, Barnes, Wissa
**PSV Eindhoven:** Kovar, Sildillia, Tarek, Veerman, Salah-Eddine, Mauro Junior, Schouten, Wanner, Man, Perisic, Til
**Marseille:** Rulli, Murillo, Pavard, Balerdi, Medina, Höjbjerg, Kondogbia, Weah, Traore, Gouiri, Greenwood
**Liverpool:** Alisson, Frimpong, Gomez, van Dijk, Kerkez, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Salah, Ekitike
**Atalanta:** Carnesecchi, Kossounou, Djimsiti, Kolasinac, Zappacosta, de Roon, Ederson, Bernasconi, Zalewski, De Ketelaere, Scamacca
**Athletic Club:** Unai Simon, Lekue, Vivian, Paredes, Adama, Rego, Jauregizar, Gorosabel, Gomez, Navarro, Guruzeta
**Juventus:** Di Gregorio, Bremer, Kelly, Kalulu, McKennie, Locatelli, Thuram, Cambiaso, Miretti, Yildiz, David
**Benfica:** Trubin, Dedic, Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl, Aursnes, Barreiro, Prestianni, Sudakov, Schjelderup, Pavlidis
**Slavia Prague:** Stanek, Holes, Zima, Chaloupek, Moses, Dorley, Provod, Sadílek, Sanyang, Chory, Kusej
**Barcelona:** Joan Garcia, Koundé, Eric Garcia, Martin, Balde, de Jong, Pedri, Roony, Fermin, Raphinha, Lewandowski
With these thrilling matchups on the horizon, fans can anticipate an evening filled with excitement and crucial implications for the teams involved.