This
Saturday the UEFA Champions League takes us to the final destination in Munich
at the Allianz Arena Chelsea taking on the home team Bayern Munich.
History
in the making is guaranteed after the final whistle thus a club winning the
Champions League title for the first time (Chelsea) or Bayern Munich becoming
the first club to win the title in front of their home crowd.
Chelsea
saw off Barcelona in the semifinals, but the talk from terrace is that the
Blues have been riding on their luck for too long and the home teams are the
favourites to lift the title. The merits of that argument have left a lot to be
desired after watching the German Cup final where Borussia Dortmund destroyed
Bayern 5-2. You just feel that there is a chance for Chelsea to win because
Munich’s defense is also not convincing especially with the absence of
suspended Holger Badstuber.
Bayern
are at home and Chelsea will have to be at their best to get anything in
Munich, and to do that they need their entire centre backs fit, but John Terry
and Branislav Ivanovic, are suspended. Roberto Di Matteo is likely to go with
Gary Cahill and David Luiz, but the problem with that is the two haven’t been
playing for a while due to injuries; their match fitness will be a huge factor.
The
last time they were paired together in central defense Napoli ran rampage on
Chelsea, this time around they will have to marshal their powers of
concentration as limited as they maybe because if they sleep at the back then
Franck Ribery or Arjen Robben will slip through.
With
two weakened defenses, we might see goals in this final, if the right balls are
played to Drogba, he might expose Munich but Chelsea’s midfield will have to
dig deep in the centre of the park or they might just go for a counter attack
and him their target man straight. On the other hand one would feel that
Bayern’s forwards will be pushing Chelsea’s defense to the extreme, Ribbery,
Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben have 78 goals this season.
Suspensions
Seven
players are going to be missing for the final; the home team will be without
the services of David Alaba, Holger Badstuber and Luiz Gustavo. Chelsea will
have to battle out without their captain John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic,
Ramires and Raul Meireles.
It’s
now a question of, who does that affect the most. Again you would feel that the
Blues are the one who are affected the most because Ivanovic and Terry have
been key and Ramires helped them to see off Barcelona and the Brazilian played
a huge role in that F.A Cup final against Liverpool.
However
some might disagree and say, obviously Chelsea have more suspensions than
Bayern but Roberto De Matteo has alternatives provided Luiz and Cahill are
match fit. Chelsea still have pieces that fit together, they have a deeper
squad, they can go 4, 3, 3 or 4.2,3,1 anyone who is playing will be at their
normal position.
According
to the latest best available odds Bayern Munich are 5/6 to win, Chelsea are
16/5 to win and 14/5 for a draw. Robben is at 2/1 to score and Bayern Munich
win in 90 minutes. On the other hand Drogba is at 7/1 to score and Chelsea to
win in 90 minutes.
Forget the odds, who
do you think will be crowned Champions of Europe on Saturday, will it be
Chelsea for the first time or Bayern Munich for the fifth time and what’s your
opinion on the game itself?
By Terence Mthembu
Email: terencemthembu@hotmail.co.za
