Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Bayern Munich had to inflict a vulgar display of power on their opponents in the last round to progress to their semifinal with Barcelona, but the health of their squad could yet scupper their bid for Champions League glory.
The Bavarian superclub, who recently retained their Bundesliga crown, are without Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Holger Badstuber, David Alaba and Sebastian Rode, per the Mirror, but Robert Lewandowski may make a shocking return after suffering major facial injuries in the German Cup final—with the team hoping he can play with a protective mask.
Here is a preview of Wednesday night's important match and some predictions that will influence the final score:
As good as Bayern Munich are, there is a feeling that Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez have finally attained the devastating chemistry they need to succeed on the grandest stage of all.
Bayern destroyed the Blaugrana in the 2013 Champions League semifinal, winning 7-0 on aggregate, but the La Liga leaders are in much better shape in modern times.
However, Barca's record against the German team is not exceptional, with Bayern often coming out on top, per the Champions League official Twitter account:
After a slow start to his Barca career, Suarez is proving he was worth the money, and the team finally have a striker who can genuinely lead the forward line. Much like David Villa in years gone by, Suarez can drift wide and find space, but his prowess in front of goal is undoubted.
Suarez has six goals in seven Champions League appearances this term, per WhoScored.com, and he will be as dangerous as any player on the pitch Wednesday night.
Barca have scored an astonishing 14 times in their last two La Liga matches, with the Uruguayan collecting five goals, per WhoScored. He is in sensational form—and Bayern would struggle if he was the only attacking opponent on the Camp Nou's hallowed turf.
However, in Messi and Neymar, Barcelona have the perfect balance in their front line, scoring goals for fun and setting up Suarez at will.
Real Madrid face elimination after losing to Juventus in their Champions League first-leg clash, offering Lionel Messi the chance to fire Barca to the final and steal back his crown from Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Argentina captain has seen his stock fall in the past couple of seasons as CR7 collects the biggest prizes in the sport.
But things could be about to change with the Catalan superclub's magician back in top form and ready to eclipse his Galactico foe.
Bayern coach Pep Guardiola claims Messi is currently unstoppable and that his team have no tactics that can hurt the player, per BBC Sport: "There is not a system or coach to stop talent of Messi's magnitude. The way he has been playing over the past four or five months, you cannot stop him. He is too good."
