Lazio v Bayern Munich LIVE: Champions League result as Immobile wins it for hosts after Upamecano red card

Manchester City resumed their Champions League defence with a comfortable 3-1 win at FC Copenhagen on Tuesday.

Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva netted either side of an unexpected Magnus Mattsson equaliser as City dominated a last-16 first leg they could have won far more convincingly.

Pep Guardiola’s side dominated in every aspect at the Danish capital’s famously atmospheric Parken Stadium and Phil Foden completed a deserved success late on.

With close to 80 per cent possession, the holders were hardly troubled and will be confident of wrapping up a place in the quarter-finals when the sides meet again in Manchester in three weeks.

Bayer Leverkusen celebrated carnival weekend in the Rhineland with a superb 3-0 win over Bayern Munich which sent them five points clear of their opponents at the top of the Bundesliga.

Josip Stanisic, the man on loan from Bayern, opened the scoring against a static defence in the 18th minute before Alex Grimaldo doubled the lead five minutes into the second half.

An exclamation point was added in stoppage time when Manuel Neuer came up for a corner and missed the ball, with Jeremie Frimpong firing into an empty net.

Now Bayern will look to bounce back from that harrowing loss against Lazio this evening.

As the players return for the Champions League knockouts this week, there’s a question being discussed by their bosses that is more engaging than who might win the competition. The latter, after all, feels even more predictable than last season.

That is why club executives have recently been talking about the potential fallout of December’s European Super League decision and exploring one potential consequence. If someone went to Uefa and came up with a competition that raised half the prize money but guaranteed historic mid-tier clubs such as Celtic, Benfica and PSV Eindhoven had a better chance of winning it, would they take the leap? Should that not be what they are looking to do now?

The latter is something the European Court of Justice ruling essentially implies, since any such challenge would involve Uefa having to do an economic analysis to show their competition benefits the wider European game. That is something that has never been properly done, but a mere glance across this season’s last-16 ties indicates its outcome would be uncertain; maybe more uncertain than many of the matches.

On the pitch, the knockout stages of the Champions League appear to be more predictable than ever – but off it, the future of European football’s premier competition looks unclear, explains Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney:

Here’s how we expect both teams to line up this evening.

Gustav Isaken, Ciro Immobile and Felipe Anderson will be charged with breaching the Bayern defence but can Lazio cope defensively? There’ll be big pressure on full-backs Adam Marusic and Elseid Hysaj to cope with a marauding Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala.

England captain Harry Kane leads the line for Bayern with Thomas Muller likely to drop in behind. Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka will patrol the midfield in front of a back four that includes Kim Minjae following his return from the Asian Cup.

Lazio XI: Provedel; Marusic, Romagnoli, Gila, Hysaj; Guendouzi, Vecino, Alberto; Isaksen, Immobile, Anderson

Bayern Munich XI: Neuer; Mazraoui, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sane, Muller, Musiala; Kane

The team line-ups are out:

Sometimes opposites can have the most in common. Bayern Munich are European aristocracy, six-time champions of the continent, a dynastic club. Paris Saint-Germain are the nouveaux riches, paying prices Bayern long considered obscene and yet never winning the Champions League. They are Qatari-owned, Bayern Bavarian to their core, even ending their much-criticised sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways.

And yet they are also inextricably linked, sharing a particular position. A Champions League campaign can define anyone’s season and, in various ways, Europe has become central to the identity of clubs as different as Real Madrid and Manchester City; but arguably Champions League campaigns define every season at Bayern and PSG more than anywhere else.

Read Richard Jolly’s full analysis of the situation facing Bayern and PSG:

If the pressure wasn’t on Bayern Munich to make a deep run in the Champions League before the start of the season, it almost certainly is now with their Bundesliga title defence in tatters.

The Bavarians produced one of their worst performances in recent memory in a 3-0 loss to league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, leaving Thomas Tuchel’s men five points adrift of first place.

Leverkusen are now 1/2 with football betting sites to end Bayern’s 11-year run as champions and having already gone out of the DFB Pokal, the Champions League looks to be Bayern’s best shot at silverware this season.

UK bookmakers have faith they can bounce back from the Leverkusen lashing when they go to Rome, making them strong favourites to win the first leg of the last-16 tie against Lazio (8pm, TNT Sports 1).

Here are our betting tips and predictions for the game:

Nicolo Rovella returns from suspension for Lazio and Mattia Zaccagni may be back in the squad after a toe injury but Spanish centre-back Patric is still struggling with a shoulder problem. Skipper Ciro Immobile will again lead an attacking triumvirate.

Lazio predicted XI: Provedel; Marusic, Romagnoli, Gila, Hysaj; Guendouzi, Rovella, Alberto; Isaksen, Immobile, Anderson

Bayern were handed a boost ahead of the weekend’s clash with Leverkusen, with the return of Kim Min-jae from the Asian Cup. However, Alphonso Davies, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry are injured.

Bayern Munich predicted XI: Neuer; Mazraoui, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sane, Muller, Musiala; Kane

When is it?

Lazio vs Bayern Munich kicks off at 8pm GMT on Wednesday 14 February at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

How can I watch it?

The game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage starting at 7pm GMT. Subscribers can also watch the match live via the Discovery+ app.

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