Red Bull Salzburg host Bayern Munich on Tuesday in Group A of the Champions League, with the Austrian side looking to record their first win of the campaign against the reigning champions.
Bayern have a 100% record after two matches, stretching their winning run in Europe's elite competition to an incredible 13 matches.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having almost qualified for the knockout stages for the first time at the expense of Liverpool or Napoli last season, it has been a disappointing start for Jesse Marsch's side this time around.
Salzburg were held to a 2-2 draw by Lokomotiv Moscow on the opening matchday, with Vitaly Lisakovich equalising for the Russians late in the game after the Austrians had come back from behind to lead the match.
Marsch's side once again overturned a 1-0 deficit at Atletico Madrid, with Dominik Szoboszlai in excellent form down the left flank, before Joao Felix's brace left the Austrians empty-handed in a 3-2 defeat to Diego Simeone's side.
With two matches against Bayern forthcoming, the Austrians' chances of progressing to the knockout stages look to be slim. It may now be a case of ensuring they remain in European competition by finishing above Lokomotiv in third place.
© Reuters
Bayern, on the other hand, look in a commanding position in the group having extended their winning run in the competition and looking the dominant force in Europe once again.
Hansi Flick's side ruthlessly dismantled Atletico in a 4-0 thrashing on the opening matchday, with Kingsley Coman in scintillating form to score a brace, having come into the side for Serge Gnabry.
Bayern found things considerably tougher at Lokomotiv, though, edging the match 2-1 largely thanks to Joshua Kimmich's gorgeous goal from distance in the 79th minute with the match hanging in the balance at that stage.
It is all about the three points at this stage of the competition, however, and another tight win in Austria would do Flick nicely as he looks to wrap up progression to the knockout stages as quickly as possible.
Red Bull Salzburg Champions League form: DL
Red Bull Salzburg form (all competitions): WWDWLW
Bayern Munich Champions League form: WW
Bayern Munich form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Team News
© Reuters
Patson Daka is a doubt for the test against Bayern, with the Zambian striker nursing a hamstring injury. He has scored 12 times in 11 outings this season, so Salzburg's chances of winning would significantly decrease if he is not available for selection.
Germany Under-21s forward Mergim Berisha was rested for the weekend's rout of Wattens but should return to the side.
Flick made several changes in the weekend's surprisingly edgy 2-1 victory at Koln, with Lucas Hernandez, Leon Goretzka and Robert Lewandowski all rested, but the trio should return to the side.
Alphonso Davies is out after tearing an ankle ligament, and Flick may look to rest a few different players with Saturday's Der Klassiker against Borussia Dortmund in mind.
Red Bull Salzburg possible starting lineup:
Stankovic; Nissen, Ramalho, Wober, Ulmer; Kamara, Junuzovic; Mwepu, Berisha, Szoboszlai; Daka
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Pavard, Sule, Alaba, Hernandez; Kimmich, Goretzka; Muller, Tolisso, Gnabry; Lewandowski
We say: Red Bull Salzburg 1-2 Bayern Munich
Should Daka shake off his hamstring problem to start the match, we think Salzburg can provide Bayern with another tough test, but the Bavarians should have enough to hold the Austrian champions off.
With Lewandowski receiving a rare rest at the weekend, the Pole should be raring to go, especially having failed to score in the Champions League so far this season.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Away Win:dataData Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bayern Munich win with a probability of 49.15%. A win for Red Bull Salzburg had a probability of 30.97% and a draw had a probability of 19.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayern Munich win was 1-2 with a probability of 7.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-3 (6%) and 2-3 (5.46%). The likeliest Red Bull Salzburg win was 2-1 (6.18%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 2-2 (7.12%). The actual scoreline of 2-6 was predicted with a 0.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Bayern Munich would win this match.