Man City receive boost ahead of Champions League tie as Bayern Munich star could miss out through injury

Tobias Gavelle
Bayern star Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting on the ball

Manchester City have been handed a some good news as Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting could miss next week’s Champions League game between the two sides.

Choupo-Moting will miss his sides league game against Freiburg on Saturday and is a doubt for Tuesday’s knockout clash.

The 34-year-old Cameroon striker went down injured during Bayern’s German Cup defeat to Freiburg this week and is now out with a knee problem.

New Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said ‘Time is tight’ for the player to be fully fit for the Man City showdown.

Former Stoke City and PSG striker Choupo-Moting was primarily used as a back-up to Robert Lewandowski in his first two seasons at the club.

But since Polish international Lewandowski transferred to Barcelona last summer, Choupo-Moting has become a more important part of the team.

The striker has netted 17 goals in 28 games for the German giants this season, including four goals in six Champions League appearances.

He scored the first of his side’s goals in the second leg of the Round of 16 tie against PSG, as Bayern progressed 3-0 aggregate winners.

Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will now have to look for alternative options up front in his first European game as Bayern head coach since he replaced Julian Nagelsmann last month.

Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller or ex-Liverpool star Sadio Mane are a few of the potential candidates to replace Choupo-Moting up top.

City have striker issues of their own to deal with, star striker Erling Haaland has missed the last two games with a groin injury.

The Norwegian could feature against Southampton this weekend, and City will be hoping to at least have him back for next week’s game.

Haaland has been crucial for his side this season, racking up an incredible 42 goals in 37 games, ten of which have come in the Champions League.

The fitness of Haaland could be pivotal for City, as they look to finally win their first Champions League trophy.

Bayern will be no easy obstacle for the Manchester side, the 2020 winners have won all eight of their European games this season.

In six games against European powerhouses Inter Milan, Barcelona and PSG, the Bundesliga side scored 12 goals and didn’t concede a single one in return.

After the initial shock of a 1-1 draw against fellow German team RB Leipzig in the previous round, City found their stride to comfortably win the second leg 7-0.

Next week’s game will most likely be a close encounter between two of the preseason favourites to win the tournament.

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