Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich Preview

The second-leg of this Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich is probably the biggest match of the season so far. Not only is it a huge European tie between two of the biggest clubs in the world, but both have a particularly seductive reason to want to get their hands on Europe’s top prize this term. Real are chasing their ‘decima’ Champions League triumph, while Bayern are aiming to be the first club to retain the Champions League trophy.

Real take a more than useful 1-0 lead into this second-leg, and will thus know that if they manage to score a single goal, Bayern will require three to book a place in another European final. Given the wealth of attacking options that Los Blancos have at their disposal, keeping them quiet is extremely difficult, and the lack of away goal in the Bernabeu first-leg could ultimately cost Bayern dearly.

The first game took the shape of many coached by the former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola, as Bayern dominated possession and often territorially and Real attempted to hit them on the break. Now that Real are one goal up and away from home, it is extremely difficult to see them altering this approach in any way, so we can expect this second-leg to play out very similarly.

The two keys to this fixture will be whether Bayern can do a better job than last time out of breaking down the massed ranks of the Real rear guard, and whether Real can nick the critical away goal on the break. It seems certain that Bayern will enjoy vast swathes of possession in this one, and whether they can put it to better use than in the first-leg will determine whether or not they will advance to the final.

Looking at the odds for this one, Bayern are actually odds on to win on the evening. It is rare that any side is ranked as an odds on favourite to beat the might of Real Madrid, given that they have been European champions on nine previous occasions. But Bayern are generally regarded to be the strongest team in Europe at present, and this is reflected in their favourites tag for this fixture.

However, the bookies make Real a slight favourite to progress, and this must be mainly due to the fact that Bayern didn’t acquire the critical away goal in Germany. With two such closely matched teams this could turn out to be absolutely vital, as not many teams are able to shut out Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.

So looking at possible tips for this match...Bayern Munich will not be giving up their Champions League title lightly. They have an awesome record at the Allianz Arena, and I think they will win on the evening. But shutting out Real Madrid is far from easy, and Bayern’s defence has been a bit leaky of late. Thus, I think Los Blancos will score in Munich. This will leave Bayern needing to score three to progress, and I feel that they’ll fall just short of this aim.

Safe Bet – Bayern Munich to win
Value Bet – Bayern Munich 2 – 1 Real Madrid

Go To bet365

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29/04/2014     © Frixo 2026