The Champions League quarter-finals get underway on Tuesday night as high-flying Arsenal lock horns with an out of sorts Bayern Munich side at the Emirates Stadium.

This glamorous European tie marks Arsenal’s first appearance in the Champions League quarter-finals since 2010 after they knocked out Porto in the round of 16 last month. However, it was by no means plain sailing for the North London outfit with Porto forcing the tie all the way to penalties.

The Gunners lost the first leg 1-0 at the Estadio do Dragao after Wenderson Galeno curled home a terrific strike in the 94th minute to shock Mikel Arteta’s side. But Arsenal went on to win the second leg 1-0 courtesy of Leandro Trossard before eventually winning the tie on penalties in a tense night at the Emirates Stadium.

Bayern also lost 1-0 in the first leg of their round of 16 tie with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico but cruised to a 3-0 victory in the second leg through a Harry Kane brace and a Thomas Muller header. Kane is undoubtedly Bayern’s biggest goal threat having scored 32 Bundesliga goals this term and the England captain is very familiar with finding the net against the Gunners.

The 30 year-old scored 14 goals against Arsenal during his time at Tottenham Hotspur and will be looking to add to that tally on Tuesday night. Arsenal are currently top of the Premier League table and have been in red hot form in 2024. The Gunners are unbeaten in their 11 Premier League games this calendar year, winning 10 and drawing one. They have scored an impressive 38 goals in those 11 games and conceded just four.

Arteta’s side will be high in confidence heading into this one after their resounding 3-0 victory at the Amex Stadium on Saturday against a Brighton side who had only lost one home game all season prior to the match. The North Londoners will also be boosted by the fact that no Bayern fans will be allowed inside the Emirates Stadium after UEFA banned their away fans from attending the game.

This one-match ban was imposed on the German club due to their fans violating UEFA’s regulations by throwing fireworks onto the pitch during their 3-0 win over Lazio in the round of 16. Following UEFA’s decision, Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said: “We have to accept this punishment. Not only were pyrotechnics set off, but also fired deliberately onto the field, directly endangering bystanders.

This was such an explicit violation of the conditions of probation that an appeal is unfortunately futile. The fact we now have to play away without the support of our fans is a big blow. A small group of individual offenders have done a disservice to all our supporters and the team.” Bayern are also enduring a tough time on the pitch having lost two Bundesliga games on the bounce against Borussia Dortmund and newly promoted Heidenheim.

They trail league leaders Bayer Leverkusen by 16 points and Thomas Tuchel has already accepted defeat regarding Bayern’s title chances, admitting that “the title race is over.” Leverkusen are set to end Bayern’s unprecedented 11 year title run which dates back to 2013. Arsenal and Bayern met each in four out of five Champions League campaigns between the 2012-13 and 2016-17 seasons. Bayern won five of their eight clashes during this period, with Arsenal winning twice and the two sides drawing once.

2017 was the last time these two teams met when Bayern defeated Arsenal by an astonishing aggregate scoreline of 10-2 in the round 16. Team News Arsenal’s long-term absentee Jurrien Timber has been back in training for several weeks following an ACL injury that he suffered on the opening day of the Premier League season. However, Tuesday night’s match will likely come too soon for the 22-year-old Dutch defender to make his long-awaited return to the squad.

Other than that, Mikel Arteta should have a fully fit squad to choose from. Bayern Munich are sweating over the availability of several key players for Tuesday night’s game. Manuel Neuer, Sacha Boey, Noussair Mazraoui, Alexsandar Pavlovic, Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane are all doubts to face Arsenal. Bouna Sarr remains out with a long-term ACL injury.

Predicted Lineups

Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu, Jorginho, Odegaard, Rice, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.

Bayern Munich: Neuer, Kimmich, Dier, de Ligt, Davies, Laimer, Goretzka, Sane, Muller, Musiala, Kane. When & Where To Watch Arsenal v Bayern Munich kicks off at 8:00pm BST on Tuesday 9 April, 2024. Coverage for the game starts at 7:00pm on TNT Sports 1.

Score Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Bayern Munich