It isn’t well known where Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo currently stands in his bid to become the permanent leader of the London club, or at least as permanent as any is in that job, but it is widely accepted that this competition, and game in particular are crucial to the goal being achieved. In their way Chelsea find a Bayern Munich side playing in their home stadium, albeit not quite with a home crowd, and packed with established performers at the highest level.

While the Germans have a better pedigree in this tournament than their ‘guests’ it is worth noting that the gap between them is not as wide as some suggest, and certainly no bigger than the gap between Chelsea and Barcelona. Add to that the fact Chelsea will expect to finish this game with eleven men and you’d have to say rumours of their demise are over-anticipated, but whoever comes away with the cup will have to give everything they have to do so.

Bayern played out what was actually the better of the two semi-finals in the eyes of a lot of educated observers, their clash with Real Madrid being as technical and brilliant as any two-legged affair in recent memory, and balancing the squad in terms of their confidence may be the biggest hurdle for Jupp Heynckes to overcome after winning that, albeit on penalties. The underdog spirit suits the London club more, with many players having been taught siege mentality by the master Mourinho in his time at the club.

Both sides has some suspensions to deal with, although Chelsea arguably the more damaging with the loss of Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires, Raul Meireles and captain John Terry, suspended after a moment of genuinely stupidity against Barca. I’d personally say that while Terry is a big man at the club the loss of Ramires is the more serious, given his excellent form, and arguably Ivanovic is just as much of a key man, but the news Gary Cahill and David Luiz have returned to training may help cheer di Matteo up as he contemplates his defensive options.

Bayern will miss Luis Gustavo, Holger Badstuber and young David Alaba, who was excellent against Real after conceding an early penalty, but of those only Gustavo can be considered a key player at this stage in their career. The likes of Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Robben and Ribery are all available, as is goal machine Mario Gomez, the Chelsea defenders will need to play perfectly to contain the Bayern attack.

Bayern come in as a 5/6 favourite with SkyBet, while Chelsea are 18/5 with VictorChandler, and I think that is a little bit generous to the Germans. Playing a game of this magnitude requires concentration and poise, and defending is easier than attack, so Chelsea have a great chance if they can score on the break. Bayern winning 1-0 is on at 13/2 with VictorChandler, who have 7’s on a 1-1, and you’d be mad to bet on lots of goals, but I think there’ll be many a twist and turn afore this one is through.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

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