Barcelona v. Bayern Munich Champions League Betting Preview
- Details
- Category: Soccer
- Created: Friday, 14 August 2020 17:26
The premier game of the quarterfinal round of the Champions League is Friday in Lisbon, Portugal as Barcelona takes on Bayern Munich. Both teams have five European Cup/Champions League titles and have combined for six since 2001. Bayern won the Bundesliga earlier this summer but Barcelona fell apart at the end of the season and finished second in La Liga behind rival Real Madrid.
These heavyweights have met in the Champions League before. Bayern won both games in group play in 1998-99 while Barcelona eliminated Bayern on aggregate 5-1 from the 2008-09 quarterfinals. Bayern trounced Barcelona in the 2012-13 semifinals with a 7-0 aggregate win while Barca won the last meeting in the 2014-15 semis with a 5-3 aggregate win.
Barcelona Outlook: Messi Magic
Barcelona returned to play on Saturday with a 3-1 home win over Napoli to advance to the Champions League quarter finals . Clement Lenglet scored the opener in the 10th minute before Lionel Messi doubled the lead in the 23rd minute. Messi won a penalty right before halftime and Luis Suarez converted from the spot for a 3-0 lead.
Messi had another monster season with 31 goals and 24 assists in 43 games. Suarez has 20 goals and 11 assists while Antoine Griezmann has 15 goals. Marc-Andre ter Stegen has allowed five goals in seven Champions League games this season without a loss.
Barcelona have played in every Champions League since the 2003-04 season with four wins in that span. This is their 13th straight quarterfinal and they have advanced to the semis in eight of those seasons but just once since 2015. Last season Barcelona was knocked out of the semifinal round with a 4-0 loss at Liverpool after the Spaniards won the first leg 3-0 at home.
Bayern Munich Outlook: Pick Up Where They Left Off
Bayern Munich returned to action on Saturday and thrashed Chelsea 4-1 in the second leg of the Round of 16 Champions League contest. Robert Lewandowski scored the first and fourth goals with Ivan Perisic and Corentin Tolisso scoring in between. Those strikes take Lewandowski’s total to 53 on the season and he leads all Champions League scorers with 13 goals in seven games.
Serge Gnabry is second on the team behind Lewandowski with 20 goals and 12 assists. Thomas Muller leads the team with 25 assists in 47 games this year while also scoring 12 times. Neuer has started 48 of Bayern’s 50 competitive games and he has all eight Champions League wins while allowing just six goals in the competition.
The four-time Champions last claimed the title in 2013 and they have played in the competition every year since 2007-08. Last year was the first year since 2011 that Bayern missed out on the quarterfinals as they lost in the Round of 16 to Liverpool with a 3-1 home setback in the second leg. The Bavarians won six of the previous seven quarter final appearances since 2012.
Barcelona v. Bayern Munich Betting Lines By Scoresandstats.com
Barcelona +236 to win
Bayern Munich -106 to win
Draw +274
Over/Under 3 goals (O -120, U -108)
Bayern Munich are co-favorites with Manchester City to lift the trophy and those teams could meet in the semifinals. The German champions have won 26 of 27 games since Hans-Dieter Flick took over as manager in November and he has yet to see his side lose. Barcelona really struggled down the stretch in La Liga and they will need to help Messi if they are to reach another Champions League semifinal and upset Bayern.
When making this pick, head to our favorite pay per head bookie site at www.a1pph.com and take : Bayern Munich to win (-106).
Comments powered by CComment