Tuchel hopes to 'win first half' as Bayern face uphill battle against Man City

Bayern Munich have their work cut out as they look to overturn a big deficit in their Champions League quarter-final return leg against Manchester City on Wednesday, but coach Thomas Tuchel believes a strong first-half performance can spark a turnaround.

The Bavarians have struggled in the past weeks since Tuchel's arrival in late March, having been eliminated in the German Cup last eight by Freiburg before a 3-0 defeat at City in the Champions League first leg last week.

They then slumped to a 1-1 home draw with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday, even as the Bavarians also banned forward Sadio Mane for a game after he hit teammate Leroy Sane after the game in Manchester.

Tuchel said any talk of a 4-0 or 5-0 win against City, a team that is unbeaten in their last 14 matches in all competitions, was fanciful.

"We cannot talk about a miracle and expect it to just come by talking about it. We have to have a realistic level," Tuchel said on Tuesday.

"To talk about 4-0 or 5-0 is not appropriate and given our performance on Saturday I don't know if everyone believes it 100 per cent.

"What we want to do is win the first half. That is the first goal. Then anything can happen, if we also get that bit of luck that we did not have in the first game. It is a huge mountain to climb. We want to believe but don't want to be dreamers."

Bayern are struggling for goals, having struck only three times in their last four matches in all competitions. Facing a 3-0 deficit, they need to raise their game by many levels.

"We are not happy and we are working on it," said Tuchel of his team's finishing. "We are missing some confidence, some lightness. You can feel it. We struggle with it. We overthink it."

Tuchel can count on the return of