Champions League: Choupo-Moting set to start — here's why

Fans and pundits alike were surprised when Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick chose Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting as injured Robert Lewandowski's replacement in Saturday's Bundesliga title clash against RB Leipzig.

Choupo-Moting did not score but made a solid contribution to the 1-0 win as Bayern took a giant leap closer to their ninth straight Bundesliga title. Serge Gnabry was the other obvious option but he started on the bench. 

Flick must now decide who gets the nod to play up front against Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg. Gnabry missed training on Tuesday due to a sore throat and Flick said it was "highly probable" he would not play against PSG. His sore throat proved to be the onset of COVID-19, with the club confirming Gnabry's positive test and subsequent quarantine on Tuesday evening.

That leaves Choupo-Moting as the obvious choice, even if world player of the year Lewandowski is in many ways irreplaceable. 

But what does the German-born Cameroon international have to offer? 

The case for Choupo-Moting

Choupo-Moting, a journeyman who has had spells at Hamburg, Nuremberg, Mainz and Schalke, as well as English side Stoke City, was recruited as a reserve forward when he joined from PSG in October, just over a month after Bayern had beaten the French side in the Champions League final.

Bayern fans saw him as a player who could be thrown on with 10 minutes to go when goals were needed. Starting him in such a big game was a bold move from Flick, but Choupo-Moting did not let his coach down against Leipzig even if he didn't hit the back of the net.

He had the most amount of shots for Bayern with three attempts at goal, and made 31 sprints, more than any other player in the game. He also won 13 of his 28 challenges or 46%, which is high for a forward. By comparison, Thomas Müller's figure was 42%. 

Leipzig's powerful center-back Dayot Upamecano, going to Bayern next season, only won 41% of his challenges — in contrast to defensive partner Willi Orban's 44% — way below his season average of 61%.

"Choupo is an important player for us. He showed his quality in Leipzig. He is also important for the team because he is a nice guy and the team rally round him," Flick told the pre-PSG press conference. 

The other reason the 32-year-old now looks almost certain to start is his knowledge of PSG. He played there for two seasons and although he was mainly a back-up to Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, he will know the defenders from training and their weaknesses.

That know-how could be key given PSG are in shaky form, losing 1-0 at home to Lille last weekend to surrender the lead in France's Ligue 1.

To his credit, Choupo-Moting has played down his usefulness as a "spy" and of course, it works both ways with PSG knowing his game well too.

"The lads have already played against each other. At this level, you know what you have to do and that you have to be 100 percent focused and produce your best form," he told Bayern's club magazine.

The case against Choupo-Moting

For all Choupo-Moting's industry against Leipzig, what Bayern miss most when Lewandowski is injured is goals — and his would-be deputy does not have a good scoring ratio.

He has played in 17 Bundesliga games for Bayern this season and started five, but he has only managed one goal from just 13 shots at goal. In the Champions League, it has gone better with two goals from 207 minutes played while he also has two goals in the German Cup.

Gnabry, on the other hand, already has nine Bundesliga goals this season as a right-winger and his positive coronavirus test comes at a bad time, ruling him out of the PSG clash. 

The ex-Arsenal man is a seasoned campaigner and would have greater pace than Choupo-Moting to stretch an uncertain PSG backline. If he is fit for the second leg, Gnabry might be more useful in Paris if Bayern need speed when on the counter-attack.

Might the superb form of Thomas Müller lead Flick to think again about going with Choupo-Moting? Müller has played as a main striker before. Could he be used up top against PSG with the much-hyped Jamal Musiala in behind?

Leroy Sane as a striker is another option but without Gnabry and with Douglas Costa injured, the Germany international looks to be needed on the wing.

On his starting line-up, Flick said: "Sometimes you get a feeling in your stomach. I'm leaving it open for now."

Variations are possible, but Flick rarely experiments too much.

Given he plumped for Choupo-Moting in a big clash at Leipzig, he looks poised to do it against PSG. He doesn't really have much choice.