Champions League
2013-05-25 - Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: European Champions League
Saturday 25 May 2013 - Kick Off 7:45pm
This game is live on TV
Borussia Dortmund
The two best teams in the Bundesliga will be meeting in the first ever all-German European Cup Final on Saturday and that will make it a fairly tense affair. After winning back to back Bundesliga titles, the Borussia Dortmund fans were hoping their team could carry their form into the Champions League this season. Dortmund are aware that their side get a small window in which to win the biggest prize in European football as 'bigger' clubs target their best players and they may not get a better chance to emulate the famous side of 1997 as they have right now.
Unfortunately, Borussia Dortmund lost a bit of focus in a bid to win three League titles in a row in Germany, although Bayern Munich's form has been stellar all season. That didn't stop Dortmund coming through a tough Champions League Group that contained Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax, while they have mixed some brilliant performances with a bit of luck to get through to the Final once in the last 16 onwards.
Dortmund were fairly comfortable winners over Shakhtar Donetsk in the last 16, but needed a miracle recovery to beat Malaga in the Quarter Final as they scored twice in the last two minutes to go through, the latter being aided by a goal that should have been ruled offside. The side then needed to hold on a little bit as they beat Real Madrid 4-3 in the Semi Final.
The side had won 6 in a row in all competitions to put them in a position to end the season with a lot of momentum and also get through to the Final of the Champions League. However, Dortmund lost the second leg of the Semi Final in Madrid and that sparked a 4 game run in which they have failed to win and have lost twice. It has to be considered that Dortmund could very much have been focusing on this game and the players may have not had full concentration in their last 3 games since booking their place at Wembley Stadium.
Mario Gotze has signed with Bayern Munich, but he won't play against them in the Final for Borussia Dortmund as he has failed to recover from an injury.
Bayern Munich
It hasn't been mentioned much, but this is the third Champions League Final that Bayern Munich will be competing in over the last four seasons as they have shown plenty of consistency. However, there is every reason to think it hasn't been mentioned so much because Bayern have lost both of those Finals, including in heartbreaking fashion in their home stadium twelve months ago. Jupp Heynckes is going to be leaving his role as manager of the club this summer and he will desperately be looking to add the Champions League trophy to the Bundesliga title he helped the team win.
During this Champions League run, Bayern Munich have looked very good for the most part, none more so than when they were dismantling Barcelona in both legs of their Semi Final. However, they have had a couple of really poor performances slip through as shown by their defeat by BATE Borisov in the Group Stage and Arsenal in the second leg of the last 16 tie.
The side were very good though in games against Valencia, Arsenal in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium, and particularly in their last four games against Juventus and Barcelona in the Quarter and Semi Finals respectively. Bayern Munich will also have the experience of playing in the Champions League Finals in 2010 and 2012 to fall back on for this game.
Unlike Dortmund, Bayern Munich will be coming into this Final with plenty of confidence from recent results as they have won 13 of their last 14 and are unbeaten in all of those games since the loss to Arsenal in the second leg of the Champions League. However, it should be noted that the only game they failed to win in their last 14 was when they draw 1-1 with Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.
There are no new injury worries or suspensions for Bayern Munich ahead of this game.
Head to Head
Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are very familiar with one another with this being the fifth meeting this season and the eighth since August 2011.
This season, their two League games were both drawn 1-1, while Bayern Munich won in both the German Super Cup (2-1) and the German Cup (1-0).
Those 2 wins are the only ones Bayern have had in the last 9 games against Borussia Dortmund, while Dortmund had won 5 in a row before the games this season.
Dortmund and Bayern Munich also have met once before in a European tie back in the 1998 Champions League Quarter Final. On that occasion, both games were drawn 0-0 in regulation before a late goal in extra time sent Dortmund through 1-0 on aggregate.
Prediction
This should be a fascinating game and I do hope the mentality of 'wanting to win' is what we see, rather than the more tense and nervy 'don't want to lose' one.
With teams being from the same nation, they know one another's strengths and weaknesses and there is that added pressure of losing to a close rival that has to play on the mind. Only three times have two sides from the same nation competed in the Final and only 1 was won in regulation, while the last two both had to be settled on penalties.
Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are well matched as shown by their results this season, which have all be tight games, while Dortmund have had the better of their more illustrious rivals in recent seasons.
The absence of Mario Gotze is a concern, but tactically they do match up well with Bayern Munich and I do imagine Dortmund causing problems.
However, it is Bayern that have just had the better of the games, although I would not be comfortable at the short odds they are being quoted. Both wins Bayern Munich have had have come by the solitary goal so backing that at 3.80 to happen here looks the best option.
The Pick :
Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Bayern Munich
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back Bayern Munich to win by 1 Goal (English Handicap Draw) @ 3.80 (Ladbrokes)
