Will Kane be in the starting eleven? How Bayern could line up in Bergamo | OneFootball

FC Bayern face Atalanta Bergamo in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie in Italy

FC Bayern face Atalanta Bergamo in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday evening (9.00pm), with coach Vincent Kompany still without several injured players but otherwise largely able to call on his strongest squad

Jonas Urbig will once again be in goal, with the 21-year-old replacing the injured Manuel Neuer, who is still out due to a torn calf muscle. Josip Stanisic, Dayot Upamecano, Jonathan Tah and Konrad Laimer could start in the back four

Hiroki Ito (torn muscle fibre in his thigh) is still missing and youngsters such as Kiala, Klanac, Manuba and Mike are also not part of the squad

Kane should start again

In central midfield, the tried-and-tested combination of Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlovic looks set to play in the center of Munich’s midfield

In attack, Kompany could once again rely on a back three of Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry and Luis Diaz, with Jamal Musiala likely to remain on the bench for the time being as a high-quality alternative

Harry Kane is likely to start again in the center of the attack. The England striker was recently sidelined due to a calf injury, but is now expected to be fit in time to replace Nicolas Jackson in the starting eleven

Kompany expects intense duel

Coach Vincent Kompany warned of the quality of the Italians ahead of the game and expects an intense duel

„We’re playing against a physically strong team. There are similarities to the game in Dortmund – they have a back three in possession with deep runs from the wingers. But the way they press is something Atalanta have done particularly well for years.“

The Bayern coach also emphasized that Atalanta have a lot of international experience

„They now have the experience in Europe too – they won convincingly against strong Leverkusen. They are not an easy opponent, not someone you can underestimate.“

Nevertheless, Kompany also sees his own strengths: „Every expert knows that it can be an interesting duel. But we also have our strengths and are aware that it’s a strong Italian team we’re playing against.“

Likely line-ups at a glance

FC Bayern: Urbig – Stanisic, Upamecano, Tah, Laimer – Kimmich, Pavlovic – Olise, Gnabry, Luis Diaz – Kane

Atalanta Bergamo: Carnesecchi – Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac – Zappacosta, de Roon, Mario Pasalic, Bernasconi – Zalewski, Samardzic – Scamacca

Atalanta will be without Giorgio Scalvini due to suspension, but coach Palladino is otherwise likely to field his best line-up.