Today at 20:45 GMT+1, we will see Real Madrid host Bayern Munich at Santiago Bernabeu for the 2nd leg of Champions League semi-finals. The hosts are coming into this game with a 2 away goals advantage, on the other hand, Bayern only managed to score 1 home goal in the previous match at Allianz Arena. Needless to say, Bayern must give their all to have a chance to advance to the finals, where they will meet with the winner of Roma-Liverpool match-up.
First let’s look at the Real Madrid, the most successful team regarding Champions League titles. With 12 CL titles, Real will be looking to get their 13th this year, which would also mean Real would be crowned CL champion for the 3rd time in a row. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and take a look at the upcoming fixture. The Spanish team will be happy to see most of their starting XI are well rested prior to this important match. Isco, who has missed the match against Leganes is expected to be available for tonight, on the other hand, Carvajal is injured and will not be playing. As mentioned before, Real is coming into this match with 2 away goals, which means they can lose 0-1 and still advance to the finals. But let’s be reasonable here, if their last round against Juventus taught them anything is that no lead should be taken for granted. In that regard, I do not expect them to only defend for 90 minutes and hope for the best. A tactic of scoring an early goal could be expected as it would set Bayern far behind and put them in a bad spot.
The visiting team, Bayern Munich is coming into this match with some problems in their roster. Boateng, Neuer, Robben, Vidal and Coman are all unavailable for coach Heynckes. On the bright side, Alaba, Martinez, Ribery, Lewandowski, Muller, Rodriguez and Alcantara are all scheduled to start and much like Zidane, we saw coach Heynckes resting his regulars over the weekend. It’s no secret Bayern will need to be on their best game here. They need 2 goals to advance after losing 1st leg 1-2, so we can expect an attacking approach throughout the 90 minutes, which could easily backfire, but it’s the risk they need to take. The pressure is high on both players and coach to win this one, and that goes for both sides.
Verdict & Prediction
With 2 very capable teams going against each other, betting on one or another would be too risky for my taste. Bayern will be attacking which could mean they will be able to close the gap from the 1st leg, but on the other side, Real can be really dangerous from counter attacks. I expect Real trying to score an early goal which would almost seal the deal and send them to the finals, but again this could backfire on them. With all that in mind, we will be predicting this match ending with over 3.5 goals, as a low scoring match is close to unlikely to happen. Anyway, please keep in mind that this is not one of our premium bets, as it is pretty hard to rate these teams. We will also post some J-League predictions in the evening, so check back later if interested.
Prediction: Over 3.5 goals
Odds: 1.99 Pinnacle and SBOBET
