Manchester United were the penultimate team drawn by Luis Figo (Picture: Getty Images)

Manchester United have been drawn to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final stage. It is probably the toughest tie United could have faced following their 3-0 victory over Olympiacos on Wednesday which secured the club’s passage to the quarter-final.

Whilst the draw has been met by a general sense of pessimism amongst United supporters there is no doubt the club will relish the challenge of taking on the continent’s best. The midfield battle is of obvious intrigue with Bayern boasting great riches in the forms of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thiago Alcantara and the impressive Toni Kroos.

Arguably United’s best midfield performance of the season came on Wednesday evening with a central partnership of Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs and, although both were excellent, it will be difficult for the two to enjoy such time on the ball against the talents of Pep Guardiola’s midfield.



Defensively you still feel you could get at Bayern with Jerome Boateng the possible weak link however the challenge is getting into the positions to put Boateng under pressure. That is where Bayern are particularly impressive, in protecting their weaknesses.


With Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney at David Moyes’ disposal there is no doubt chances will come in both legs for United, particularly if Van Persie can replicate his off the ball movement of Wednesday evening and drag Dante out of position which could isolate Boateng and allow Rooney, Valencia et al to really put pressure on the former Manchester City defender, particularly in the first leg at Old Trafford.

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Manchester United supporters will be particularly keen to get a closer look at Toni Kroos (Picture: Getty Images)

The general consensus gained from possibly United’s most impressive period in European Competition from 2007 through to 2011 is that playing away from home first is a sizable advantage. This is a luxury which United haven’t been afforded against Bayern Munich, a team who in recent years specialise in playing away from home first.

As we have seen in both matches at the Emirates in the last two seasons as well as their visit to the Etihad Stadium earlier this term, Bayern are a team who are capable of scoring multiple away goals.

With Guardiola’s pressing game the ability to almost throttle an opponent is there and then force a mistake once the built up pressure has become too great. This is something Manchester United’s midfield will have to be aware of. Should Giggs start once again the Welshman’s exceptional energy of mid-week would have to be replicated.

With the club not expected to win the competition it could be said there is far less pressure on Manchester United in the tie against Bayern and this could prove to be a slight advantage.

There is no doubt United’s big players will turn up as they did against Olympiacos with there just being something special about European nights at Old Trafford and the manager will certainly be excited about testing his mettle against one of the most successful coaches in recent memory. One thing is for sure if United are to win the European Cup this year, there will be no doubt the club will have deserved it.

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