Bayern Munich vs Liverpool: 4 interesting subplots that could develop in the match | UEFA Champions League 2018/19

#2 Bayern’s midfield control

Thiago's superior quality on the ball will be on show on Wednesday

Bayern are most likely to operate in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the two holding midfielders Thiago Alcantara and Javi Martinez screening the defence. When not in possession James Rodriguez or whoever starts in the attacking midfield role will likely drop deep to make it three in midfield to thwart the Liverpool attacks.

There is no argument that Bayern’s midfield is far superior in possession as compared to their Merseyside counterparts. Thiago’s skill on the ball and James’ eye for a pass will definitely be on show on Wednesday night.

Therefore, it will be imperative for the Liverpool midfielders to intelligently use possession whenever they get a chance to do so. With Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri finding it difficult to force themselves into the starting XI these days, Liverpool’s midfield is sorely lacking in creativity, although Lallana’s recent form will provide some encouragement.

There will be moments in the game when the Bayern midfielders control possession of the ball and frustrate Klopp’s men. The Liverpool midfield be it any three of Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Henderson, Milner or even Keita will have to be patient and wait for their chance to regain possession instead of diving into rash tackles.

As soon as they regain control of the ball, a quick and precise forward pass along with good hold up play from the front three, might prove to be the recipe for Liverpool’s attacks on Wednesday night.

To sum it all up, expect lots of possession and recycling of the ball by the Bavarian midfielders, with Liverpool getting lots of bodies behind the ball, before trying to counter swiftly.