Team news and predicted lineups – Champions League 2026

Team news, predicted lineups and key insights ahead of Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal in the 2026/27 Champions League.

Recovering from disappointing draws against Augsburg (2-2) and Viking (3-3) in true Bayern Munich style, the German champions bounced back at the weekend by outplaying RB Leipzig in a 6-1 victory at the Allianz Arena, moving top of the Bundesliga on points with Borussia Dortmund.

That win came at just the right time for the Bavarians, who now head into Wednesday’s Champions League clash with English champions Arsenal on the up, looking to avenge their 3-1 defeat during last season’s league phase of the tournament.

Bayern can take confidence from the fact that they have lost just one of their seven home games against Arsenal to date, winning five of them, including their last three encounters in Munich. Two of those victories even came by a four-goal margin.

The Gunners, meanwhile, have begun their Champions League campaign in convincing fashion, taking six points from their opening two games against Napoli (1-0) and, most recently, Lille (3-0).

Mikel Arteta’s men followed up their convincing European victory over Lille with a narrow 1-0 win against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. 

That result leaves the London side second in the table, three points behind leaders Manchester City, as they prepare for one of their toughest tests of the campaign so far.

Team news and predicted lineups:

Bayern Munich have two notable absentees ahead of Wednesday’s encounter, with Michael Olise suspended and Jamal Musiala sidelined through injury. Olise is unavailable after receiving two yellow cards in last week’s draw with Viking, while Musiala continues to recover from a thigh problem.

Meanwhile, captain Manuel Neuer is a doubt due to a foot problem. After missing Bayern’s last two games, the 40-year-old returned to team training on Monday. His foot will now be assessed to see how it responds to the workload, and if no fluid accumulates, he is expected to start against Arsenal. Should he remain unavailable, Jonas Urbig is ready to deputise again.

Piero Hincapié (ankle), William Saliba (back) and Christos Tzolis (hamstring) are unavailable for Arsenal.

Click here to see our predicted Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal lineups.