Champions League
2009-04-08 - Barcelona vs Bayern Munich
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Barcelona
I am sure the Spanish side are very happy that they have avoided all of the English teams at this stage of the competition although a meeting with either Chelsea or Liverpool awaits in the Semi Finals. They qualified for this Quarter Final after comfortably topping their group and them destroying Lyon at the Nou Camp in the 2nd round.
Barcelona are top of La Liga at the moment with a 6 point cushion after compiling a 23-3-3 record, scoring an incredible 85 goals while conceding only 24. This means they have quite clearly the best scoring record in the division and also the best defensive record. At the Nou Camp they have been just as impressive- a 12-2-1 record is backed up with 52 goals scored and only 10 conceded.
After a sticky patch where Barcelona went 5 games without a win about 6 weeks ago has been removed from memory with 5 straight victories and only 2 goals conceded in that time. Barcelona have only lost 1 of their last 12 home games in all competitions this season, and they have won the other 11. They have won 3 in a row at home, scoring 13 goals and only conceding 2 in that time.
Gabriel Milito and Eric Abidal are both out but Alexander Hleb and Yaya Toure have returned to give Barcelona close to a full strength squad available.
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich enter this stage of the competition after dismissing Sporting Lisbon 12-1 on aggregate in the last stage. They also managed to win their group in the first stage which was no easy feat when considering Lyon and Fiorentina were also in that group. This is a step up in class for the German side.
They are currently sitting in 4th position in the Bundesliga with a 14-6-6 record but they find themselves only 3 points behind the leaders Wolfsburg. Bayern have mainly struggled away from home where they have a 6-4-4 record with 20 goals scored and 16 conceded. The Germans are unbeaten away from home in the Champions League this season with 3 wins and 1 draw.
Munich had a 4 game winning run abruptly ended at the weekend when being hammered 5-1 in Wolfsburg. They have lost 4 of their last 7 games away from home in all competitions, and they have conceded 9 goals in their last 3 away games in all competitions. They have only drawn 1 of their last 13 competitive games.
Miroslav Klose and Lucio miss out for Munich and Daniel Van Buyten may be available after being given compassionate leave. Hamit Altinop is back in the squad.
Head to Head
Barcelona have not beaten Bayern Munich at home on the 2 occasions they have met here and it is in fact Munich that have won both games.
The sides last met in the 1998/99 season when Bayern Munich managed to beat Barcelona both times. The 2 sides have met 4 times over the years and Munich have won 3 with the other game being a draw.
Prediction
This game seems to have goals written all over it.
Barcelona have looked ominous at home this season and score goals for fun. If they click as they did against Lyon, the German side is going to be in for a tough time.
Bayern Munich will hold onto the fact that Barcelona have conceded the most goals in this competition of the sides left but their recent away performances do not inspire confidence and injuries are affecting key performers.
I think Barcelona are going to complete most of the hard work of this tie in this leg and I think they will be able to cover the handicap. Also going for goals is an option- over 2.5 goals should come in as neither side will look to defend even if they score early.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Barcelona 4-1 Bayern Munich
BEST BETTING TIP :
Barcelona - 1.25 AH
