Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso is a major doubt for Bayern Munich's clash against Arsenal after limping out of training with an injury Getty

Arsenal will travel to the Allianz Arena to take on Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 on Wednesday (15 February).

Where to watch live

Kick-off is set for 7.45pm GMT. Live coverage of the game will be on BT Sport 1 and 1 HD. Radio commentary is available on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Overview

Bayern Munich welcome Arsenal yet again in the Champions League last-16 – their third meeting at the same stage in the last five years. It is a fixture that was predicted by the German club prior to the draw. The Germans have triumphed in their last two encounters and will be favourite to progress to the quarter-finals yet again.

Carlo Ancelotti's team are top of the Bundesliga and have lost just once in the league thus far this campaign. The Italian manager is a specialist in Europe having triumphed previously with AC Milan and Real Madrid and will be keen to take his team to the last eight of the competition.

Bayern, however, have injury problems of their own heading into the clash with Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Xabi Alonso expected to miss the crunch clash at the Allianz Arena. The latter was a late casualty after he suffered a knock during training on Monday (13 February).

Arsenal, on the other hand, are facing a bit of a slump after winning just one of their last three games. Arsene Wenger's team suffered back-to-back losses to Watford and Chelsea, which put an end to their hopes of challenging for the Premier League title, and now face a make-or-break clash against Bayern to save their season.

The Gunners have failed to qualify for the quarter-finals in the last five years, and the French coach will be hoping that his side can make it third time lucky against the Bavarian giants. Arsenal have their fair share of injuries to contend with but will welcome back Granit Xhaka, who has missed their last four games due to a domestic ban.

Granit Xhaka
Granit Xhaka will return to the first-team squad after missing the last four games due to a domestic ban Getty

Alexis Sanchez started as centre-forward in the weekend Premier League game against Hull City with Olivier Giroud on the bench. The Frenchman could return to the starting XI but Wenger also has the option of starting Danny Welbeck or Lucas Perez, both of whom have shown good form during their recent outings.

What managers say

Carlo Ancelotti: The winter break is definitely an advantage. Just like the fact we play only 34 Bundesliga games instead of the total of 38 in England, Spain and Italy. Additionally, there's no winter Premier League break. There's two cup competitions to play in too [in England] -- more games mean extra danger of players suffering injuries."

I don't see us being at a disadvantage in the Champions League. Physically we are in good condition, especially as we have only a few injuries -- although Jerome Boateng will still take a while yet. But we will have to give our all to progress. Arsenal has a strong, experienced team and a good trainer in Arsene Wenger," via ESPN.

Arsene Wenger: "Yes, we've had bad experiences against them. But I feel that this is a good opportunity. We have won there before and we play the first game away from home, so it's important we protect the second game because I feel that to have a chance to qualify in the second leg, that will be very important. We go there not high, but to defend well as a team," via Arsenal.com

Betting odds (betfair)

  • Bayern Munich win: 1/2
  • Draw: 17/5
  • Arsenal win: 13/2

Team news

Bayern Munich

Possible XI: Neuer, Lahm, Hummels, Martinez, Alaba, Thiago, Kimmich, Vidal, Lewandowski, Muller, Robben.

Arsenal

Possible XI: Ospina; Bellerin, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal; Elneny, Xhaka; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Sanchez; Welbeck

Champions League Bayern Munich