Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich preview

April 24, 2012
By: Frank Beresford

The late goal they scored in the first leg ensured Bayern take a one-goal advantage to Madrid, but the 2-1 victory achieved at Alianz Arena does not make Bavarians the favourites to go through.

Boosted by the El Clasico victory that saw them virtually clinch La Liga title, Real Madrid will fancy their chances of qualifying for the Champions League final.

Los Blancos are on the road to make this season one of the most successful in recent history and the El Clasico victory at Camp Nou certainly took a big weight off the players’ shoulders.

Jose Mourinho’s men finally proved they can beat their arch rivals at their own ground and the 2-1 victory, albeit a lucky one, saw them practically ensure the first place in the league standings.

The success won’t be complete if Real fail to make it to the Champions League final, which is why los Blancos have kept their celebrations to the minimum and tried to fully focus on the Bayern clash.

Paddy Power sees Real Madrid as odds-on favourites, paying 1.53 (8/15) on home win, whereas Bodog offers 1.73 (8/11) on Real to qualify for the final.

Jose Mourinho has absolutely no selection problems at the moment, meaning we could see the same side that started the Barcelona game.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Casillas – Arbeloa, Ramos, Pepe, Coentrao – Alonso, Khedira – Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo – Benzema.

Bayern Munich once again failed in their attempt to win the Bundesliga title, but the Bavarians can make things right by winning the Champions League trophy.

That will be no easy task seeing that sides like Real Madrid and Barcelona stand in their way, but with the final game set to be played at their Alianz Arena, Jupp Heynckes’ side will have plenty of motives to overcome the last two obstacles.

The Bavarians are hoping the late goal scored by Mario Gomez will prove crucial to their hopes of reaching the final, but in spite of the 2-1 victory in the first leg, the Germans are 2.20 (6/5) with bet365 to qualify.

The lucky victory over Werder Bremen helped keep the spirits high before the trip to Santiago Bernabeu, while Jupp Heynckes used the game to rest his star players before the most important game of the season.

David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Mario Gomez and Toni Kroos are, therefore, set to return to the starting line-up.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Neuer – Lahm, Boateng, Badstuber, Alaba – Gustavo, Schweinsteiger – Ribery, Kroos, Robben – Gomez.

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