Liverpool vs Bayern: Three key battles that could decide Champions League clash

Where could the last-16 first leg at Anfield be decided?

Joel Matip and Fabinho vs Robert Lewandowski

If, as expected, Dejan Lovren fails to recover from a hamstring injury in time to play, then Jurgen Klopp is likely to deploy midfielder Fabinho in the centre of Liverpool’s defence instead.

With Virgil van Dijk suspended and Joe Gomez still sidelined, Fabinho is the only viable partner for Joel Matip. Together, they will need to contain and contend with Robert Lewandowski.

Though now the wrong side of 30, Lewandowski remains a deadly marksman, scoring 25 goals in 30 appearances this season. And worryingly for Liverpool, the Pole appears to be adding creative strings to his bow too.

Lewandowski has 11 assists to his name this term. That is already more than he has managed in his last three seasons with Bayern and only two away from his personal best of 13 in his first season at the club.

Former Schalke centre-half Matip knew Lewandowski well as a Dortmund player, facing him him on seven occasions in the Ruhr derby between 2010 and 2014. He will need to call on this experience to help Fabinho shackle a striker who appears to be adapting his game.

Andy Robertson vs Joshua Kimmich

Two understated yet vitally important players will meet on one flank and both are full-backs.

Andy Roberton’s marauding runs on the left have become a key component of Liverpool’s play over the past year, bringing width to an attack based around forwards who come deep or cut inside.

Meanwhile, despite being perhaps one of the most versatile players in Europe, Joshua Kimmich is expected to be deployed at right-back. The 24-year-old has spent most the campaign there under Niko Kovac but still makes important attacking contributions.

Kimmich’s 10 Bundesliga assists are more than any other player in Germany’s top flight this season, while no defender has set up more goals than Robertson’s six in the Premier League.

If one can stop the other without sacrificing any of their own attacking threat, he may help decide this first leg in his side’s favour.

Georginio Wijnaldum vs Thiago Alcantara

Another player whose importance to Liverpool is often overlooked is Georginio Wijnaldum, who was instrumental in the recent win over Bournemouth despite suffering with an illness in the days leading up to that game.

Wijnaldum has since fully recovered from his stomach bug and he will be one of the midfielders tasked with upsetting the metronomic passing of Thiago Alcantara on Tuesday night.

Thiago is the heartbeat of Bayern’s midfield and the player most likely to set the tempo of the evening. But on his way to becoming one of Liverpool’s most impressive performers this season, Wijnaldum has also become adept at disrupting the opposition’s rhythm.

The Dutchman was not known for his ability to break up play upon his arrival from Newcastle United three years ago but, at 28-years-old, he is now a more rounded player than he once was and held in ever greater esteem at Anfield.

Given Fabinho’s absence from the midfield, there will be even more onus on Wijnaldum to disrupt and unsettle Bayern’s attempts to win the battle for supremacy in the middle of the park, but it is task he appears up to.