FC Bayern vs. PSV Eindhoven Champions League preview: Team news and predicted lineups

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·27 Januari 2026

FC Bayern vs. PSV Eindhoven Champions League preview: Team news and predicted lineups

Bayern Munich return to Champions League action on Wednesday night with a tricky away trip to the Philips Stadium, where PSV Eindhoven await in a fixture that promises intensity, tempo and especially attacking football from both sides.

Vincent Kompany was full of respect for the Eredivisie leaders in his pre-match press conference, highlighting PSV’s eye-catching results earlier in the competition: “Winning 6-2 against Napoli and 4-1 against Liverpool – those are unique results,” the Bayern head coach said. “You can see that the team believes in itself. They are strong going forward, very quick on the counter-attack. They also have players who score goals.”

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Despite PSV’s recent 0-3 defeat against Newcastle, Kompany made it clear Bayern cannot afford any complacency: “We’re Bayern, we’re more in line with Liverpool and Napoli – so we have to be careful tomorrow,” he stressed.

No rotation promises as Bayern seek response after Augsburg defeat

The game comes just days after Bayern’s defeat against Augsburg, but Kompany refused to entertain talk of another setback: “I never talk about losing when we still have a game to play. That’s not my mentality. Tomorrow is all about winning,” he said. With qualification details still important, Bayern are targeting a strong finish to the group phase. “It’s about winning our seventh game out of eight and finishing second. It will be a great game tomorrow.”

Asked whether key players such as Harry Kane could be rested amid a packed schedule, Kompany remained non-committal: “When we have so many games, I don’t decide who plays the day before. I’ll think about it tomorrow after I get up,” he explained, underlining that recent issues were not only about quality but also energy. “The quality of the pressing also depends on energy – that was our problem against Augsburg.”

What is clear is that Bayern arrive in the Netherlands with few injury concerns: “We’re in the position of having almost our entire squad available,” Kompany confirmed. Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala are back in contention, though the coach admitted there is “no soft integration” at this stage of the season, with minutes earned purely on performance. Sacha Boey is also fit again after illness and could make a brief appearance from the bench. Josip Stanišić on the other hand will still be out for this match.

Tactical mirror image?

One of the most intriguing subplots is the stylistic similarity between the two teams. Kompany drew direct parallels between Bayern and PSV, noting shared principles in build-up play, the use of full-backs and attacking midfielders and an aggressive pressing game: “PSV play high pressing and are fully oriented towards the opponents, which makes the team very compact,” he said.

That assessment was echoed by Bayern centre-back Jonathan Tah, who knows PSV coach Peter Bosz well from their time together at Bayer Leverkusen: “His style is based on dominance; he wants a lot of intensity and pace in the game,” Tah explained. “He wants brave players, with and without the ball, who play with high pressure.”

Tah: “We’re fully focused and motivated!”

Tah also addressed Bayern’s mindset following the Augsburg loss, insisting the squad has moved on quickly. “When you lose, you’re never in a good mood. But we’re all experienced enough and know how to deal with defeats,” he said. “We’re fully focused and motivated for the game tomorrow.”

The defender spoke warmly about working under Kompany, highlighting the former world-class centre-back’s influence across the squad. “He naturally has a special connection with us defenders, but he gives something to everyone,” Tah noted. “I’ve already learned a lot from him.”

With PSV’s explosive attacking numbers and Bayern’s own firepower, led by Champions League top scorer Harry Kane (7 goals, only behind Kylian Mbappé [11]), all signs point towards an open, high-quality contest under the lights in Eindhoven. Kompany summed it up best: full respect for the opponent, full belief in his squad – and only one objective in mind: victory.

Reunion

Another big talking point before the match is the anticipated reunion of some ex-Bayern players with their former teammates: Paul Wanner and Ivan Perišić.

While the Croatian winger has experienced another wonderful chapter with the Dutch side in the final years of his great career, proving very important to their attack, the young Paul Wanner is only just starting to find his feet in the Netherlands.

Wanner hasn't played a pivotal role for PSV in the beginning of the season, but he developed into a fruitful attacking midfielder in the last few weeks, scoring twice in the league this year. He will be especially keen to prove to his former club that he has what it takes to play at the highest level - and he goes into the matchup quite confidently:

“We know Bayern is one of the best teams right now, but I also know our strenghts, so I'm feeling optimistic and motivated for tomorrow!”

His coach Peter Bosz, who faced Bayern seven times in his career (2 wins, 5 losses) may not be able to promise a win against the German giants, but he can certainly promise at least a goal for his team: whenever he faced Bayern, his team scored at least one goal and 13 in total - it'll be exciting to see what'll happen this time around!

Team news

As said already, Bayern almost have their whole squad available for the last UCL game in the league phase; only Kim (red card in the last game) and Stanišić are not travelling with the team.

PSV are without forwards Ricardo Pepi and Myron Boardu for this game, both are out with injuries.

Left winger Ruben van Bommel, son of former Bayern captain Mark van Bommel, and attacking midfielder Alassane Plea are both missing with knee injuries, while defender Anass Salah-Eddine is doubtful.Centre-back Yarek is suspended for this match.