Harry Kane set to meet familiar foes in A clash of Titans: Man U v Bayern

European powerhouses Bayern Munich and Manchester United will square off at the Allianz Arena in their first Champions League Group A match on Wednesday.

The two teams have nine European titles between them and last played in a competitive match nine years ago, when Bayern won 3-1 in a quarter-final second-leg game, while they last met in the group stage in 2001.

Bayern Munich’s perfect start to the new Bundesliga season came to an end last Friday when they were forced to settle for a point in a dramatic 2-2 draw at home against Bayer Leverkusen.

Alex Grimaldo cancelled out Harry Kane’s 300th career club goal midway through the first half, and Leon Goretzka thought he had won it for the hosts with an 86th-minute strike, but Leverkusen snatched a point in a shocking manner when Exequiel Palacios converted a penalty kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time after a VAR review.

Bayern have never lost at home to the Red Devils, winning three and drawing two, and Tuchel’s men will be confident of advancing to the Champions League knockout stages for the 16th consecutive year, given their high likelihood of topping Group A ahead of Manchester United, Galatasaray, and Copenhagen.

The German giants have established themselves as Champions League group-stage experts over the years, with a remarkable 34-game unbeaten run at this stage, the longest in the competition’s history, and they will be looking for a record-extending 14th consecutive group-stage home win on Wednesday.

Following a difficult week off the pitch, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was hoping for a positive result and performance from his players last weekend, but the Dutchman was instead left with plenty to think about after his side were booed off in a disappointing 3-1 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Danny Welbeck haunted his former club with a first-half goal, before Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro scored after the break to help a well-oiled Brighton machine cruise to victory against a disjointed Manchester United side, who have now lost three of their first five Premier League games for the first time in Premier League history.

Manchester United have only lost more Champions League games against Barcelona (five) than they have against Bayern (four), though Red Devils fans will remember the historic 1999 final triumph over the German club under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, one of only two wins against the Bundesliga side in Europe’s highest-profile club competition.