Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Bayern München vs Juventus (UEFA Champions League Matchday 2) Preview

Tonight Bayern München will host the Champions League blockbuster against Juventus. This is an important group match but not fatal. Plus they have league matches to concern so that I believe the match will be close and high quality, but not intense. Now here's the preview:

Bayern München: Bayern München did well in the last Champions League match and led them to have a lead in Group A. Even last week they have lost the important top table clash against Hamburger SV, they still have high moral and full fitness. Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben will start this match, but the starting striker is still a question, Ivica Olic and Mario Gomez have a fair chance to get into the starting lineup. I believe Louis van Gaal will not play any tricks on the formation and tactics, and he will stick into the winning 4-3-3 formation. So the pace will be their way to win.
What makes Bayern München to win: Pace. As mentioned, Ribery and Robben are the fast paced players that bring so much threats to the opposition in terms of pace. On the other hand, it is predicted that Bayern München will tend to play counter attacks, as Fabio Cannavaro and Nicola Legrottagli are not the fast paced defender. So fast paced attack will nake them win.
What makes them down: Midfield domination. Bayern München must control the midfield in order to provide better counter attack. Anatoliy Tymoshchuk is playing an important role in order to stop Diego. If Tymoshchuk does his job, Bayern München is very likely to win.

Juventus: Juventus missed the chance to win the last Champions League match as they failed to score the second goal to win. Same as last week's Italian Serie A, they failed to score one more goal and led their opponent Bologna equalized the game at the very last minute. It showed that they need to score goals in order to secure their win. Diego is likely to start this match who is back from injury and he will play a very important role in the game. Vincenzo Iaquinta and David Trezeguet are likely to start the match and they must finish the play well in order to win at Allianz Arena.
What makes Juventus to win: Midfield creation. Diego plays an important role on the creation. If Diego does his job well, I believe the finishing from Iaquinta and Trezeguet will also be improved. So the Germany return trip of Diego will be essential.
What makes them down: Finishing. As mentioned, they have to score more goals in order to win. As Bayern München attack are fast paced and threatening, they have to lead more than one goal in order to make Bayern München harder to bounce back.

General prediction: I believe this match will be very high quality but not very intense. Both teams will cancel each other out and it is very hard to determine who will be the winner. Bayern München will have upper hand as they have home court advantage. However, Bayern München will be happy to get a draw as they will still maintain the lead. On the other hand, Juventus will not be urged to get an away win as they should realize that the most important matches are the two-match series against Maccabi Haifa, which they must take all 6 points. So, I believe Bayern München has the upper hand but draw is likely to happen.

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