Lazio v Bayern Munich: Champions League last 16, first leg – live

The Bayern Munich kits hang in the dressing room at the Stadio Olimpico before the first leg against Lazio.

LIVE – Updated at 19:58

Minute-by-minute report: Join Niall McVeigh for updates as a Bayern side under pressure travel to the Italian capital.

19:58

And here’s Lazio midfielder Luis Alberto: “We must not be afraid; to play these Champions League games, you need to have a clear head. We must play our game and play with personality, as we know it will be difficult. If we leave them space, with the players they have, they will do a lot of damage.”

19:57

Thomas Tuchel with some pre-game thoughts: “We prepared in a very normal way, training first on the attacking phase and today on defending. We faced various situations, trying not to put excessive pressure on ourselves.

“The objective was to give the players the necessary information to prepare for a match like this. We do not need more pressure on such important nights.”

19:52

“I’ve put €2 on Lazio and all the soccer scribes make me feel it’s money down the drain,” writes John Mackenzie. “But I’m hoping Captain Ciro will bang a couple in and prove them wrong!”

19:17

Thomas Tuchel has scrapped the 3-4-3 setup which led to defeat at Leverkusen, switching back to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 formation. Eric Dier drops to the bench and Raphael Guerreiro is preferred to Sacha Boey at left-back, with Alphonso Davies injured. Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Müller, both on the bench for Saturday’s game, also return to the starting line-up.

Team news

19:15

Lazio (4-3-3): Provedel; Marusic, Mario Gila, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Guendouzi, Vecino, Luis Alberto; Isaksen, Immobile (c), Felipe Anderson.

Subs: Sepe, Magro, Patric, Casale, Cataldi, Kamada, Napolitano, Lazzari, Castellanos, Pedro.

Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Neuer (c); Mazraoui, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sané, Müller, Musiala; Kane.

Subs: Ulreich, Schmitt, De Ligt, Dier, Boey, Tel, Pavlovic, Choupo-Moting, Zaragoza.

19:13

Maurizio Sarri makes one change from the team that won 3-1 at Cagliari in Serie A on Saturday, with Matias Vecino replacing Danilo Cataldi in midfield. The Lazio line-up has plenty of experience, a couple of emerging talents in Mario Gila and winger Gustav Isaksen, and plenty of names familiar to Premier League viewers, from Felipe Anderson and Matteo Guendouzi to Pedro, who starts on the bench.

Preamble

18:45

It’s a big night for football lovers, but there may not be much in the way of romance in Rome this evening. In town tonight are Bayern Munich, the kind of merciless winning machine whose every blip brings gasps of excitement from neutrals. Those malfunctions are becoming more frequent these days, and the last decade has seen just one Champions League final appearance, when they beat PSG at an empty Estádio da Luz in 2020.

Still, that is more than their hosts tonight have ever managed, and a glance at the outright odds (Bayern are 5-1, Lazio 150-1) suggests that even a half-baked Bayern side should be hot favourites to progress. Lazio finished second to Napoli in Serie A last season but like the champions, have struggled to repeat those heroics this term. Currently eighth in the table, Maurizio Sarri’s side have been consistently inconsistent, and would have hoped for a more navigable last-16 tie than this.

While the trophy has slipped through their grasp several times, Bayern have reached at least the quarter-finals in every season since 2010-11, save for a last-16 exit to Liverpool in 2019. Lazio last reached the Champions League’s last eight in the year 2000, and lost 6-2 to Bayern at this stage in 2020-21. History and form suggest a similar outcome this time, but true football romantics will still believe anything is possible. Kick-off: 8pm GMT.