Robben can come back to haunt his former club
BAYERN MUNICH vs CHELSEA
Tomorrow 7.45pm – ITV1
ALTHOUGH Bayern Munich and Chelsea are giants of European football, the contestants of this year’s Champions League final finished just second and sixth in their respective leagues.
Roberto di Matteo has made a strong impression since taking the reins at Stamford Bridge. The FA Cup is already in the bag, but the Italian may be looking for a new job in the summer – even if he delivers the Champions League.
The Blues produced one of the great battling performances in European history to defeat Barcelona in the semis and they will have to do it the hard way again tomorrow. Skipper John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramires are all suspended, while there are injury worries with Florent Malouda, David Luiz and Gary Cahill.
Chelsea still have plenty of quality in their line-up and they will be relying heavily on Didier Drogba and Juan Mata to cause Bayern problems. However, it’s their backline I’m worried about, as they are up against a top quality attacking side.
Jupp Heynckes’ men also showed fantastic character to come back from two down against Real Madrid in their semi-final second leg, before progressing on spot kicks. Arjen Robben was the star of the show against his previous club and he’ll be coming face-to-face with former colleagues again tomorrow.
Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger are other world class players, while Mario Gomez has netted 12 goals in this year’s competition. Bayern also have the advantage of playing at their own ground and, for me, it all points to the Germans lifting their fifth European Cup.
Chelsea will be desperate to repair the heartbreak from their penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United in Moscow four years ago, but I think the combination of a weakened squad and Bayern’s offensive prowess will count against them. Munich are 4/5 with Coral to win the match and I can’t see past the favourites.
The worry is that Bayern finished eight points behind Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and were hammered 5-2 by the same side in the German cup final last weekend. I’m not too concerned about that final, though, as they surely already had one eye on tomorrow’s match.
Robben’s had a strong season, scoring 18 goals, and looks the value in the first goalscorer market at 7/1 with Ladbrokes. He takes penalties and would love nothing more than to net at the Allianz Arena against his old friends.
Neither team have a particularly solid defence, so expect goals. The last eight finals have all produced a minimum of two and I fancy both sides to get on the scoresheet.
The 2-1 Bayern win at around 8/1 on Betfair makes plenty of appeal and I wouldn’t put anyone off buying Sporting Index’s total goals quote at 2.65.
There are some fantastic promotions from the bookmakers on this match. Paddy Power are refunding first/last goalscorer, correct score and scorecasts if Chelsea lift the trophy, while Coral will refund the same markets if Fernando Torres repeats his semi-final feat of scoring the last goal.
Pointers…
Bayern Munich at 4/5 with Coral
Arjen Robben first goalscorer at 7/1 with Ladbrokes
Bayern Munich to win 2-1 at 8/1 on Betfair
Buy total match goals at 2.65 with Sporting Index