Champions League
2009-04-14 - Bayern Munich vs Barcelona
A Sports Betting Pick by Shady
Football: Europe, UEFA Champions League
Tuesday, 14th April 2009 - Kickoff 19:45
It was absolutely mouth-watering football last Wednesday night when Barcelona defeated Bayern Munich 4-0 at the Nou Camp. The movement by Barcelona in thefirst half was simply awesome.
Bayern Munich (2nd - Germany)
Home Form : Europe 3-1-0 : Domestic 9-2-2
Juergan Klinsmann was rumoured to be on the verge of being sacked had Bayern Munich's players not performed in the weekend against Frankfurt. Thankfully his players stood up and had a good performance to win 4-0 against Frankfurt and this would probably boost their morale by a little.
Klinsmann will have a entire squad to select from apart from Daniel Van Buyten and Klose. Lucio and Lahm who both missed the first leg will be recalled into the starting 11 as Klinsmann will need Lucio to keep Eto from scoring.
Jorg Butt is likely to keep his place in goal. In defense, captain Lucio and Demichelis will start at the heart of defense accompanied by Lell and Lahm. Mark van Bommel, Ze Roberto, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Frank RIbery and Tim Borowski or Podolski are all expected to start in midfield leaving Luca Toni up front as a lone striker.
Frank Ribery for me would definitely be key in this game if Bayern would want to regain some pride. His movement off and on the ball would play a big role if Bayern were to get anything out of this game.
Barcelona (1st - Spain)
Away Form : Europe 3-1-0 : Domestic 11-1-2
Pep Guardiola was very pleased with his side performance in the first match but has warned that Bayern Munich are not quite dead and buried yet.
In his reaction to his statement, Guardiola rested Samuel Eto, Xavi and club captain Carlos Puyol out of the weekend’s clash which saw them won 2-0. They had total control in the game against Recreativo Huelva but they had segments of sloppy play in midfield and defense.
Guardiola will be suspended from the touch line while Marquez will be suspended for the game. In the absences of Marquez, Carlos Puyol will partner Pique in the heart of defense accompanied by Daniel Alves and Sylvinho.
In midfield, Xavi will be recalled into the starting lineup to partner Iniesta and Toure leaving the dynamic trio of Messi, Henry and Eto up front.
Key players to watch out for Barcelona would definitely be Lional Messi. However with Lucio and Lahm back in defense, I do not expect Messi to have that much space as he had last week.
The Betting Verdict :
Barcelona don’t travel well in Europe and it was proven when they had to come from behind to hold out a 1-1 draw against Lyon in the last round.
With the style and offensive minded Barcelona have set themselves up, I do expect Bayern Munich to get something out of this game to regain their pride.
Consider trying Luca Toni to score as the big Italian would cause some problem to this Barcelona defense.
The Statistics :
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Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Take Bayern Munich and accept the +0.25 headstart.
