Champions League
2012-05-19 - Bayern Munich vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: European Champions League Final
Saturday 19 May 2012 - Kick Off 7:45pm
This game is live on TV
Bayern Munich
This is what the whole season has been boiling up to for Bayern Munich as getting to, and winning, the Champions Final in their home Stadium was the ultimate ambition for the Bavarians. This will be the first time a team is playing the Final of the top European competition in their home stadium since Roma in 1984, although they were beaten on penalties on that occasion by Liverpool.
Bayern have a 10-2-2 in the Champions League this season and will rightly feel confident they can win this game as they have won all 7 games played here in this competition this season. The team have scored at least 2 goals in each of those games at home and they have beaten the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Napoli and Marseille here this season.
They had been unbeaten in 6 games in all competitions, but they were humbled by Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup last week as they were beaten by the Champions 5-2. Bayern have won 13 of their last 14 games in this stadium since losing to Borussia Dortmund, and they have scored at least two goals in all of those games bar the exception which is a 0-0 draw with Mainz.
Holger Badstuber, Luis Gustavo and David Alaba are all suspended and will be missing.
Chelsea
It has been said that Roberto Di Matteo's future as Chelsea manager will rest entirely on this result despite the fact he has added the FA Cup to the trophy cabinet. This is a very important game for Chelsea as they look to finally fulfil the dream Roman Abramovich had when buying the club and winning the top prize in European football, although the pressure of not competing in the Champions League next season looms over them if they fail to win.
Chelsea are 7-3-2 in the Champions League this season, but the majority of their wins have come at Stamford Bridge. They have struggled somewhat on their travels in Europe, compiling a 1-3-2 record, although the have scored in all of those games but only only scored more than one goal in 1 of those games. Chelsea will have gained a lot of confidence from beating Barcelona in the Semi Final, but there were beaten at Napoli and in Germany at Bayer Leverkusen.
The team have interchanged wins and losses in their last 5 games coming into this one, although they did make changes to their starting line up down the stretch with the FA Cup Final and this game in mind. Chelsea had been unbeaten away from in 6 games in all competitions before the loss at Liverpool last time out.
Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Raul Meireles and Ramires are all suspended. Didier Drogba is likely to be starting what could be his last game for the club, while Florent Malouda is a doubt. David Luiz and Gary Cahill should be passed fit and able to take their place at the heart of the defence.
Head to Head
This will be the third meeting between the teams in competitive games.
They met in the Quarter Final stage of this competition in the 2005 Champions League with both teams winning their home game in high-scoring matches.
Bayern Munich won in their old stadium 3-2 in that round.
Prediction
This is a fascinating Final and one that not too many would have predicted at the Semi Final stage as both sides had to overcome massive tests in the form of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
However, I think backing Bayern Munich to win the competition within the regulation period is the only way to go with all the statistics pointing to them doing so.
Chelsea have been poor away from home in European competition for much of the season, although they did earn a special 2-2 draw at Barcelona when coming from 2 goals down and defending valiantly with just ten men in the second half of that game.
However, they are missing two key defenders, while the midfield looks a little slow to me without the dynamic Raul Meireles and Ramires and I think they will find it hard to keep a special Bayern Munich attack from causing them problems.
Bayern Munich have also been very strong at home all season in this competition and have scored at least 2 goals per game including against Manchester City and Real Madrid. They also have a striker in Mario Gomez that will make them tougher to defend than Barcelona who can be a little one dimensional at times.
An unfamiliar back four may just struggle to contain the fluid Bayern attacks and the fact that they have scored at least 2 goals here in each of their Champions League games, as well as in 13 of their last 14 overall, makes them the choice for me.
The Pick :
Bayern Munich 2-1 Chelsea
