Europe Champions League Quarter-finals 1st Leg 11-12. April

[spkutano]

 

[spkutano]

Manchester City vs Bayern Munich Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester City:
Ederson; Akanji, Ruben Dias, Ake; Stones, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland

Bayern Munich:
Sommer; Pavard, De Ligt, Upamecano, Davies; Goretzka, Kimmich, Sane, Musiala, Coman; Muller

Manchester City welcome Bayern Munich to the Etihad in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. The English Champions are hungry for European glory. Pep Guardiola's side made it past Red Bull Leipzig 8:1 on aggregate in the last 16. The Citizens are second in the Premier League, three points behind leaders Arsenal. Nevertheless, according to the pundits, Manchester City are main favorites for the title. The Citizens are in good form, they won the last eight matches across all competitions. They are easily scoring goals - 21 on the last four matches. Erling Haaland is the key name in attack, scoring 30 in the Premier League and additional 10 in the Champions League this season. However, Haaland has no success playing against Bayern and he lost all seven encounters during his time with Borussia Dortmund. Guardiola has some additional worries as Phil Foden is still recovering from his appendix surgery. The Spaniard also has some "sweet dilemmas", like in the midfield where he should decide between Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez.

Bayern Munich were fantastic in the previous round when they managed to eliminate Paris Saint-Germain. The French Champions were between the candidates for the trophy in the Champions League, but suffered two defeats. Bayern first won 1:0 in Paris and then 2:0 at Allianz Arena. Two clean sheets against players like Messi and Mbappe is something that should be respected. However, the club officials were not too impressed and decided to change coach Julian Nagelsmann with Thomas Tuchel. According to me, it is a big mistake. The former Chelsea manager started with a 4:2 win over title rivals Borussia Dortmund, but then suffered a shock cup defeat to Freiburg. Just four days later Bayern beat the same opponents in Bundesliga thanks to Matthijs de Ligt's lone goal. The inconsistency isn't the only problem for Tuchel. He will probably miss striker Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting due to a knee injury. Sadio Mane is far from his best and could be replaced by Kingsley Coman, who scored the winning goal away in Paris.

Manchester City vs Bayern Munich Prediction:

Manchester City are hosts, they will strongly attack from the first minute. Erling Haaland is in fantastic form this season, he has scored 30 goals in the Premier League and additional 10 in the Champions League. Bayern on the other side, have no such player, but they are strong as collective. The Bavarians have won all eight Champions League games this season. Just to remind You, they beat Barcelona 3:0 at Camp Nou and Inter 2:0 at Meazza during the group phase. I expect an efficient match at the Etihad.

Manchester City vs Bayern Munich Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.66 with Pinnacle

 

[spkutano]

Real Madrid vs. Chelsea Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Real Madrid:
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Modric, Camavinga, Kroos; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Junior

Chelsea:
Kepa; James, Fofana, Koulibaly, Chilwell; Kovacic, Fernandez, Kante; Sterling, Havertz, Felix

The holders Real Madrid will host the European Champions from the season 2020-21 Chelsea at Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night. Los Blancos were terrific in the previous stage, beating Liverpool 6:2 on aggregate. Everything was decided on the first match played at Anfield. Liverpool scored two fast goals and it looked like they have full control of the game. However, Real turned the match out and won 5:2 at the end. They became the first side to score five goals at Anfield in Europe. Carlo Ancellotti's men have humiliated the Reds, but that wasn't all. Real also beat 4:0 Barcelona at Camp Nou and secured Copa del Rey final. The players confidence is high, although they lost 3:2 to Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday. Ancellotti has most of the players ready, only Ferland Mendy is sidelined with a calf injury sustained in training last month. He should be the hosts' only absentee for this contest. The likes of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Eder Militao and Eduardo Camavinga - who were rested against Villarreal - should all be in line for recalls to the starting lineup.

This season is awful for Chelsea, but still successful in Europa. This is the third time in a row that Chelsea have reached the Champions League quarter-finals. Last season they also faced Real, losing 5:3 on aggregate. However, something else should be mentioned - the Blues won in Madrid. Exactly 365 days on from triumphing in the Spanish capital, Chelsea will try to repeat the success. Lampard, who become the third manager this season, has some injury worries. Mason Mount has served a Champions League suspension and could play here, but he is rated as doubtful due to abdominal issues. Armando Broja and Thiago Silva remain sidelined, both with knee injuries, while Cesar Azpilicueta is still recovering from head injury. Some of the players (Benoit Badiashile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana) are not part of the Champions League squad. N'Golo Kante, who has just recovered from injury, skipped the match against Wolverhampton. According to the medical team, it was a precaution.

Real Madrid vs. Chelsea Prediction:

Real Madrid are big favorites here. Furthermore, they are genuine favorites for the trophy. Chelsea have lot of issues this season, they have changed two managers so far. Frank Lampard is the third coach this season, after Tuchel and Potter. His start wasn't promising, they lost to Wolverhampton during the weekend. The players confidence is questionable, so I expect their misery to continue.

Real Madrid vs. Chelsea Pick: Real Madrid to win @ 1.74 with Pinnacle

 

[spkutano]

Manchester City vs Bayern Munich Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.66 with Pinnacle

3-0

 

[Giresse]

Manchester City vs Bayern Munich Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester City:
Ederson; Akanji, Ruben Dias, Ake; Stones, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland

Bayern Munich:
Sommer; Pavard, De Ligt, Upamecano, Davies; Goretzka, Kimmich, Sane, Musiala, Coman; Muller

Manchester City welcome Bayern Munich to the Etihad in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. The English Champions are hungry for European glory. Pep Guardiola's side made it past Red Bull Leipzig 8:1 on aggregate in the last 16. The Citizens are second in the Premier League, three points behind leaders Arsenal. Nevertheless, according to the pundits, Manchester City are main favorites for the title. The Citizens are in good form, they won the last eight matches across all competitions. They are easily scoring goals - 21 on the last four matches. Erling Haaland is the key name in attack, scoring 30 in the Premier League and additional 10 in the Champions League this season. However, Haaland has no success playing against Bayern and he lost all seven encounters during his time with Borussia Dortmund. Guardiola has some additional worries as Phil Foden is still recovering from his appendix surgery. The Spaniard also has some "sweet dilemmas", like in the midfield where he should decide between Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez.

Bayern Munich were fantastic in the previous round when they managed to eliminate Paris Saint-Germain. The French Champions were between the candidates for the trophy in the Champions League, but suffered two defeats. Bayern first won 1:0 in Paris and then 2:0 at Allianz Arena. Two clean sheets against players like Messi and Mbappe is something that should be respected. However, the club officials were not too impressed and decided to change coach Julian Nagelsmann with Thomas Tuchel. According to me, it is a big mistake. The former Chelsea manager started with a 4:2 win over title rivals Borussia Dortmund, but then suffered a shock cup defeat to Freiburg. Just four days later Bayern beat the same opponents in Bundesliga thanks to Matthijs de Ligt's lone goal. The inconsistency isn't the only problem for Tuchel. He will probably miss striker Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting due to a knee injury. Sadio Mane is far from his best and could be replaced by Kingsley Coman, who scored the winning goal away in Paris.

Manchester City vs Bayern Munich Prediction:

Manchester City are hosts, they will strongly attack from the first minute. Erling Haaland is in fantastic form this season, he has scored 30 goals in the Premier League and additional 10 in the Champions League. Bayern on the other side, have no such player, but they are strong as collective. The Bavarians have won all eight Champions League games this season. Just to remind You, they beat Barcelona 3:0 at Camp Nou and Inter 2:0 at Meazza during the group phase. I expect an efficient match at the Etihad.

Manchester City vs Bayern Munich Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.66 with Pinnacle

This was a match with very good values. I hope today's match will also bring much profit. Any good pick?

 

[spkutano]

Real Madrid should win, Chelsea in crisis this season.