WHEN Bayern Munich’s glittering cast of footballers landed in Glasgow on Monday, several big names were notable by their absence.
The German champions are nursing a number of injury problems ahead of the Champions League Group B fixture at Parkhead this evening, with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Franck Ribery and Manuel Neuer all sidelined.
However, the depth of quality in Jupp Heynckes squad allied with their comfortable 3-0 win against the Bhoys a fortnight ago ensures they will be heavy favourites come kick-off.
Read more: Bayern Munich boss plays down Rummenigge comments over Lewandowski absence for Celtic trip
The veteran coach’s arrival earlier this month came as something of a surprise as he came out of retirement to lead the Bavarian giants through the season following Carlo Ancelotti’s sacking.
But it is has proven to be an inspired choice so far, as the 72-year-old has led his side to five consecutive wins, conceding just one goal along the way.
Here, we look at how Heynckes has fared since he returned to the Bayern hot seat for a third spell at the club.
14 October: Bayern Munich 5-0 Freiburg
Bundesliga
Heynckes’ debut went as smoothly as he could have hoped as Bayern cruised to a 5-0 league thrashing of Freiburg. An early own goal from Julian Schuster got the ball rolling, with Kingsley Coman, Thiago Alcantara, Lewandowski and Joshua Kimmich also joining in on the scoring fun at the Allianz Arena.
18 October: Bayern Munich 3-0 Celtic
Champions League
A forgettable night for the Hoops could easily have resulted in a larger deficit as the hosts strolled to a 3-0 Group B win. First half strikes from Muller and Kimmich sent Heynckes’ side in at the break with a comfortable advantage and Mats Hummels’ header after 51 minutes ensured there would be no upset.
21 October: Hamburg 0-1 Bayern Munich
Bundesliga
Bayern made it three wins – and three clean sheets – in a row under Heynckes and caught up with table-topping Borussia Dortmund in the process thanks to this away win at Hamburg. The Bundesliga strugglers had Gideon Jung sent off in the first half and the Bavarians capitalised early in the second half with Corentin Tolisso’s close-range finish.
25 October: RB Leipzig 1-1 Bayern Munich (4-5 pens)
German Cup
The fixtures continued to come thick and fast as Bayern faced a real test with a double-header against Leipzig. Midfielder Naby Keita, set to join Liverpool next summer, was shown a red card early in the second half but Emil Forsberg’s penalty then gave the hosts the lead until Thiago replied with 17 minutes remaining. The tie had to be decided on penalties, with Sven Ulreich’s save from Timo Werner enough to send Bayern through as they scored all five spot kicks.
28 October: Bayern Munich 2-0 RB Leipzig
Bundesliga
Only three days later the two sides did battle again, this time at the Allianz Arena. The visitors were once again handicapped by a red card after Willi Orban hauled down Arjen Robben after just 13 minutes and this time Heynckes’ side capitalised as James Rodriguez and Lewandowski scored before the break to send them three points clear at the top of the table.
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