Gotze: If Man Utd drop their guard, Bayern will carve them open

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The German has called on his team-mates to put in a spirited performance on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final

Mario Gotze has warned Manchester United that Bayern Munich will look to tear them apart if they let their guard drop on Wednesday.

The first leg of the European giants' Champions League quarter-final tussle finished 1-1 after Nemanja Vidic's opening goal was cancelled out by Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Although Bayern dominated possession, they failed to make their chances count and will be without central midfielders Schweinsteiger, Javi Martinez and Thiago Alcantara due to suspension and injury.

Gotze has called on the Bavarians to put in a spirited performance and capitalise on any mistakes United make in order to advance to the last four of the European competition.

"We need to be even more determined and committed in the final third," the ex-Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder told the club's official website.

"And if they do let their guard drop, we will get forward at speed and use any space that opens up. That'll be the decisive factor on Wednesday.

"We'll play to win, obviously. We're utterly determined to win, score goals and play our football. It's been our hallmark this season and we want something similar on Wednesday."

Recently the reigning European champions have hit a rough patch of form, and on Saturday they lost their first Bundesliga match of the season when Augsburg beat them 1-0.