UWCL Preview: Bayern Munich v Arsenal Women | Match preview ...

The stage is set at the Allianz Arena for the first of our Women’s Champions League quarter-final legs against Bayern Munich 

This is our second successive quarter-final in the Champions League and our second successive meeting with a German club at this stage of the competition, after losing out to VfL Wolfsburg last season. For Jonas Eidevall's side, the prospect of our first semi-final in ten years is tantalising. 

Standing in our way is a Bayern Munich team in blistering form. They are unbeaten since October in all competitions and have only dropped points in the Champions League so far against Spanish giants Barcelona.

Bayern Munich are in familiar territory, having reached the Champions League quarter-finals six times in the past seven years. 

Although they qualified as runners-up in Group D this time, it was far from a lacklustre showing. The German side finished level on points with Barcelona, with both teams registering five wins and only one loss in the group stage. Bayern were the team to inflict defeat on the Spanish champions, recording a 3-1 win at the Allianz Arena back in December. 

Alexander Straus joined the German side as head coach less than nine months ago and his introduction of a new system, not dissimilar to that of our Gunners, is already proving incredibly successful in the league and in Europe. Over in the Frauen-Bundesliga, Bayern trail league-leaders and perennial champions VfL Wolfsburg by two points, having conceded just four goals all season. 

With undeniably one of the strongest squads in Europe, Bayern Munich hosts a few familiar faces in its lineup. 

Alongside her seven-year stint at WSL rivals Manchester City, those who followed Euro 2022 will know the Lionesses' Georgia Stanway for breaking Spanish hearts with a wonder goal in the quarter-finals. Stanway has adapted to life in the Frauen-Bundesliga incredibly well in her debut season and is currently Bayern's top provider of assists in the Champions League.

Alongside Austria's Sarah Zadrazil and captain Lina Magull, our Gunners face a fearsome midfield on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, leading the line is prolific goalscorer Lea Schüller, who has bagged nine goals so far in the league.

Eidevall on Bayern: "We know we're gonna play against a good team but we're also a good team. There are a lot of similarities in the way that both teams play, so I think it's an exciting match-up from that perspective as well. 

"We're playing against a team that has good momentum. So both teams will come in with a lot of belief and a lot of self-confidence in their game plans. Hopefully, that will be really good for the audience and also really good for us."

Straus on us: "Arsenal are a very similar team to us. They have a lot of individual quality. They're dynamic and work very well defensively. We'll get our openings and opportunities tomorrow. They're a top-quality team who we respect, but they also have respect for us."

Steph Catley remains on the sidelines with a non-contact foot injury. Vivienne Miedema misses the chance to face her former club due to her ongoing ACL recovery, alongside Beth Mead. Gio and new signing Jodie Taylor were not selected for our Champions League squad and will not feature. Meanwhile, Sabrina D'Angelo, Victoria Pelova and Kathrine Kuhl are all eligible. 

On Bayern's side, German internationals Giulia Gwinn and Linda Dallmann will both be absent through injury. Brazilian defender Tainara also misses out.

This quarter-final will mark the first competitive match between Arsenal Women and Bayern Munich. However, we have met the German side once before back in 2019, hosting Bayern for the invitational Emirates Cup.

In Manu Zinsberger's debut for the Gunners, Melanie Leupolz was the only one on the scoresheet that afternoon as the visitors managed a narrow 1-0 victory. 

Alongside Zinsberger, Kim Little, Katie McCabe and Jen Beattie are the sole remaining squad players to feature in that match. 

We kick off in Munich at the Allianz Arena at 5.45pm (UK).

All UWCL fixtures are free to stream on DAZN's Youtube channel wherever you are in the world.