Bayern Munich vs Red Star Belgrade Predictions

Bayern Munich begin their latest Champions League crusade with a home game against Red Star Belgrade this week, and the Bavarians will expect to put three early points on the board in their bid to top Group B.

Bayern were dumped out of the Champions League at the Last 16 stage by eventual winners Liverpool last season, and their elimination ensured that they failed to reach the Quarter Finals of the competition for the first time since 2011.

Their continental failure in 2018/19 kicked off what promises to be a transitional period and a lengthy rebuild at Bayern, and after a busy summer, Der FCB started the new campaign with three wins, two draws and one defeat from their first six competitive fixtures.

An already noticeable characteristic of Bayern’s performances so far this term, has been the exploitable gaps in their back-line. Munich kept just one clean sheet in their opening six contests, shipping seven goals in total across that septet of matches.

Those underwhelming defensive statistics suggest that a technically talented Red Star Belgrade could find some joy in the final third on Wednesday – though any goal they do manage to plunder in Munich is almost certain to be a consolation strike.

The Serbians qualified for the Champions League proper for the first time since 1992 last season, though they were dealt some harsh lessons away from home at Europe’s top table.

PSG, Liverpool and Napoli put 13 goals past Red Star in their three Champions League Group away games, though the Belgradian outfit did develop a consistent knack for getting their names on the score-sheet.

Red Star scored in all but two of their six Group matches last season, netting twice against PSG, once in Naples and twice at home to Liverpool – in fact, Belgrade have scored at least once in 11 of their last 13 UCL fixtures overall since September last year.

Their record and Bayern’s recent defensive fragility suggests that there is real value in backing both teams to score on Wednesday at the prices available.

However, as we touched on earlier – any Red Star goal this week is likely to be a consolation. Bayern lost just three of their last 27 Champions League matches in Europe, and each of the three teams that conquered them (Real Madrid x 2, Liverpool) went on to lift the trophy.

Red Star conceded an average of 4.33 goals per UCL Group Stage away game last season, and our correct score prediction of 4-1 to Bayern is in line with that figure.