Viking will put their formidable home record to the test when Bayern Munich visit Stavanger’s Lyse Arena for its maiden UEFA Champions League (UCL) league-phase fixture.
Match News and Current Form
Viking lost their first-ever UCL group stage/league phase clash 3-1 on matchday one to Stuttgart, and facing German opponents again, they will lean heavily on the form that’s helped them win their last 11 competitive home games. The Dark Blues beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-1 here in August to reach this stage, and have also won all ten Norwegian top-flight home games this term, while beating Brann 2-0 on Friday also offers encouragement although their all-time European Cup/UCL proper record remains poor (W1, D1, L11). Among teams to have played at least ten games, only Valletta have lost a higher percentage than the reigning Norwegian champions (84.6%), something which doesn’t bode well for this tough encounter.
A quirk of the fixture list sees Bayern become the first side to open a European Cup/UCL proper campaign by playing two different Norwegian clubs, having swept aside Bodo/Glimt 5-0 last month to sit near the top of the early table. Although they were pushed much harder by Augsburg on Saturday, twice coming from behind to draw 2-2, the six-time European champions remain unbeaten in all competitions this term (W6, D2), while Vincent Kompany’s side have been particularly free-scoring on the road in this competition, as they’ve netted at least twice in nine of their last ten away UCL fixtures (W7, D1, L2).
Head-to-Head History
These two sides have never previously met in competitive action. Viking have lost their last four European meetings with German clubs, failing to score in three of them, while Bayern are unbeaten across their last nine clashes with Norwegian outfits (W7, D2), scoring an average of 3.3 goals per game.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Viking kept a second-half clean sheet in each of their last five games.
Viking conceded exactly once in five of their last six competitive home fixtures.
Bayern won exactly nine corners in each of their last three matches.
Bayern’s last eight UCL away games saw both teams score.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Peter Christiansen has scored five times across Viking’s last four games, twice between the 75th and 85th minute, while Ismael Saibari has netted after the 50th minute in both of Bayern’s last two fixtures - each of his last four club goals arrived in the second half.
Viking defenders Anders Bærtelsen and Martin Roseth appear unlikely to feature and Sondre Bjørshol was absent on Friday. Jamal Musiala missed Bayern’s game on Saturday.
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Betting Analysis
Viking’s home form suggests they can threaten a Bayern side with considerable European pedigree and an excellent scoring record, so backing Bayern to win and both teams to score looks an appealing option.
Author: John Pennington