As early as their second-ever Champions League match, Pafos are faced with the ultimate challenge – hosting Bayern Munich. We've witnessed countless underdog triumphs over the years, but a home win here would rank up among the greatest Champions League surprises.
Matchday 1 can be considered a huge success, as the Cypriot side won its first point in the Champions League. It wasn’t a spectacle or an entertaining performance at all, but Pafos held their own away at Olympiacos Piraeus for a 0-0 stalemate. There is obviously a huge gap in class between them and the majority of the other CL participants, and it will only become harder from now on. Pafos finished the match with Olympiacos with 0.29 xG, 31% possession and a single shot on target.
After breaking all possible Bundesliga records in recent weeks, Bayern Munich set sail to their first international outing of the season after securing eight wins in eight games so far and beating Chelsea 3-1 two weeks ago. With 30 goals scored in eight matches, expectations are sky-high for the Bavarians this season, but we should also remember that they lost three out of their four League Phase away games last season.
How the bookies view it: The difference in class is extreme
As expected, all eyes are set on Bayern Munich and bookies expect an extremely one-sided clash. When was the last time you saw 20/1 for a home side in the Champions League? That’s how much bookies believe in Pafos, while you can pick Bayern Munich at 3/20. Lastly, the draw is also available at 7/1.
Recent head-to-head: Pafos to try and make history
Since this is Pafos’ first time in the Champions League, it is also the first official meeting between the two sides. If we consider the general history between Cypriot and German football teams, it is looking even worse for Pafos, as their compatriots have beaten a German side only once in 49 attempts.
Players to watch: Kane is here to break records
After becoming the quickest player to score 100 goals for Bayern Munich in just 104 games, Harry Kane can turn his attention to improving his Champions League stats too when he faces Pafos this week. He already has more goal involvements in the tournament than any other English player in history (53), but will certainly increase those numbers if Bayern’s form continues to improve.
With 15 goals and three assists in seven games this season, we can back him for at least a brace with confidence. He only failed to score in one out of those seven games but even then provided two assists. And if you want to switch things up a bit, you can back Michael Olise to score or assist, as he already has four goals and three assists this season.
Probable line-ups
Pafos: Michael, Correia, Luiz, Luckassen, Mimovic, Pepe, Goldar, Sunjic, Jaja, Dimata, Dragomir
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Guerreiro, Tah, Upamecano, Laimer, Pavlovic, Kimmich, Olise, Gnabry, Diaz, Kane
Anything else catch the eye?
Statistically, there isn’t a team in the world that could match Bayern Munich right now, and you can’t expect anything other than an outright win. Even a goal is extremely unlikely and probably possible only if Kompany makes too many changes in the second half and Bayern slow down. But we wouldn’t count on that at all.
GambleAware