With the big final of the 2009-2010 Champions league decided to be a duel between Bayern Munchen and Internazionale Milano, who do you see as champions?

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Barcelona – Inter 28 April 2010

*matches in all competitions

Barcelona last 5 matches:  

Barcelona last 3 home matches: 

Inter last 5 matches:

Inter last 3 away matches:

The return leg of the second semi-final in the Champions League and Barcelona looks like they have a mountain to climb as they need to overcome a 3-1 aggregate scoreline against Inter on Camp Now this Wednesday.

Barcelona lost the first round played in Italy and worst than that they had very few opportunities to make any difference with their star player Lionel Messi marked at all times by 2 of Inter’s defenders.  They manage to win last week against Deportivo Xerez but their game was not impressive especially in the first half when the team looked very fragile in defense.

They hope that the home ground advantage will make the difference as they have made Camp Nou a fortress this season and most certainly Guardiola has studied Inter in dept to find their weak spot.

Inter is heading into this match with a very good morale both from the victory against Barcelona and more recently by reclaiming the top spot in the Serie A with a very good chance of keeping it to the end of the season thanks to their close victory away to Fiorentina and AS Roma’s defeat at the hands of Sampdoria.

Although their away play was not at all impressive this season, with a 3-1 advantage they will do what they know best and that is defending in my opinion from the start of the match and clustering players in their half so Barcelona will not have much space to work with.

My tip:  Barcelona to win

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Lyon – Bayern Munchen 27 April 2010

*matches in all competitions

Lyon last 5 matches:  

Lyon last 3 home matches: 

Bayern last 5 matches:

Bayern last 3 away matches:

The return leg of this semi-final in the Champions League and Bayern Munchen is traveling to Olympique Lyon with an aggregate advantage of just one goal.

Lyon has taken dramatic plunge in results in all competitions in which they are involved, both the French Ligue 1 and the Champions League. They are now out of the race for the title of champions in the domestic league and even in danger of missing out on any European tournaments next season as they currently sit on the 5th spot with pressure from next in line Bordeaux.

A positive factor for the French giants could be the fact that they have not played any matches last week in the championship and this could lead to a fresh display on the pitch but with no victories in the last 4 games played, morale is a real problem.

Bayern Munchen will be heading into this crucial match after a 1 all draw in the Bundesliga against Borussia Monchengladback in a very closed game with few opportunities on both sides. Even with this negative result, the team manages to keep their first spot of the table but only in front of Schalke 04 due to goal ratio.

They have the better chance in advancing with their one goal victory in the first round and especially the fact that they did not concede any. I expect them to play a very defensive match and base their offensive strategy on Robben and Ribery’s speed and tactical display.

My tip:  Draw

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Bayern Munchen – Lyon 21 April 2010

*matches in all competitions

Bayern last 5 matches:  

Bayern last 3 home matches:

Lyon last 5 matches: 

Lyon last 3 away matches:

The second semi-final match of the Champions League 2009-1010 season and with Bayern Munchen welcoming Olympique Lyon we are guaranteed yet another night of spectacle in the competition.

No doubt the big favorite to win this match and even advance is Bayern Munchen as they eliminated one of the big favorites for the trophy in 2 dramatical games against Manchester United 2-1 on home ground and a 3-2 loss away.

The first part of this season when Bayern’s season seemed compromised is a total different story for what the team is achieving now, semi finalist in the Champions League so far and 2 points advantage in the Bundesliga table.

They certainly are a very strong team on home ground and their fantastic 7-0 victory over Hannover 96 this weekend speaks volumes about their offensive force, morale and current form.

Olympique Lyon, on the other side, seems to have taken a plunge with no victories in the last 3 matches played in all competitions, a loss against Bordeaux in the return leg of the Champions League and 2 consecutive draws in the French Ligue 1 championship.

Away matches have been a problem with their record showing only 1 victory in the last 6 played and without victory in the last 3 Champions League trips against Fiorentina, Real Madrid and Bordeaux.

My tip:  Bayern Munchen to win

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Inter – Barcelona 20 April 2010

*matches in all competitions

Inter last 5 matches:  

Inter last 3 home matches: 

Barcelona last 5 matches: 

Barcelona last 3 away matches:

First semi-final of the Champions League, a true match of champions as Internazionale Milan welcome Spanish giants Barcelona for the 3rd clush between them this season after the group confrontations.

Barcelona dominated in the group confrontations in the start of the season with a goalless draw on Inter’s pitch and a 2-0 victory on Camp Nou, but now the Italian squad seems to have the upper hand and the favorite status at least in this first leg.

Inter is heading into this match with a very good morale after maintaining themselves in the Serie A championship title chase last week with a victory over rivals Juventus and displaying a very good form in the process.

Home matches are their specialty with superb statistics both in the domestic league and the Champions League but the team needs to start in force against Barcelona and block all Catalan attempts to score if they are to stand a chance for the big final.

Barcelona will be heading into this match highly motivated after losing ground last week in the Spanish Primera Division with their goalless draw against local rivals Espanyol. A very though trip for them which saw Dani Alves leaving the pitch on the 62′ after receiving the second yellow card.

They don’t seem to have any complex against Inter or their coach but i expect a very close match with both teams striving to get a goal in whilst concentrating on the defense.

My tip:  Draw

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Manchester United – Bayern Munchen 7 April 2010, Champions League

*matches in all competitions

Manchester last 5 matches:  

Manchester last 3 home matches: 

Bayern last 5 matches:

Bayern last 3 away matches:

One of the most exciting and disputed matches of this stage in the Champions League with Manchester United starting with one goal deficit against Bayern Munchen.

The first round of the confrontation was started perfectly by Manchester United with a goal in the early minutes but then gradually, Bayern took th lead of the game and managed to score the winning goal late, making the outcome of this clash very hard to predict.

The pressure seems to be on Manchester United as the team lost the derby match last week against Chelsea on home ground and felt on the second spot with 2 points gap from their adversaries. Two defeats in a row is not something that Man United is used with and with the Champions League trophy as an objective, determination is not a problem.

The home side has some problems with the players as top striker Wayne Rooney is out due to injury as well are O’Shea and Anderson to name the most important.

Bayern Munchen is heading into this important match with a very good morale as they managed to defeat Schalke 04 in the weekend and reclaim the top spot of the Bundesliga. In the first leg of the match they have proven once again that until the final whistle blows nothing is decided.

They have had great results in away matches recently and will step into this one with defense as their main strategy hoping that Ribery’s speed will cause real problems on counter-attack.

My tip:  Draw

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Barcelona - Arsenal 6 April 2010

*matches in all competitions

Barcelona last 5 matches:  

Barcelona last 3 home matches: 

Arsenal last 5 matches: 

Arsenal last 3 away matches:

The first leg of this clash surely left us wanting more and with a 2-2 aggregate scoreline miracles are still possible on Camp Now this Tuesday.

Barcelona dominated the first match with a crushing possession especially in the first half but failed to win the game as the last minutes caught them defending and trying to keep the ball as far away from they goalie as possible.

They are clear favorites to win this match and advance to the next phase of the competition especially with 2 goals scored away and this season’s performances on their home ground.

Arsenal pulled a very satisfying result especially when appreciating how the match hard but they have their work cut out as a victory on Barcelona’s ground will be very hard to achieve.

The team still shows some weakness in they away play in the Premier League and this match will be the first in 3 consecutive ones played whilst traveling, a schedule which can cause some discomfort for the Gunners.

My tip:  Barcelona to win

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Arsenal – Barcelona 31 March 2010

*matches in all competitions

Arsenal last 5 matches:  

Arsenal last 3 home matches: 

Barcelona last 5 matches: 

Barcelona last 3 away matches:

The Champions League is closing down to the big final with only top teams battling out in this stage as the case here where current champions Barcelona will travel to Arsenal for a match that announces itself as very spectacular.

Arsenal, with the third spot of the Premier League secured is trying the impossible in a championship battle against giants Chelsea and Manchester United, showing a great form with very good results lately in all competitions.

In the previous round of the competition they had a very though time in the first leg against FC Porto but recovered in time for the return to thrash the Portuguese side 5-0.

Only Birmingham managed last week to put an end to a superb 6 match winning streak with a one all draw but Champions League is a different matter and a match on home ground is very important for the overall outcome of the campaign.

Only on the second spot in the Spanish Primera Division due to Real’s better goal ratio, Barcelona is showing as well a fine form making me to believe that this match will be a real show especially as both teams have a great appetite for scoring goals and pushing on the offense.

A very similar situation for Barcelona in the previous phase of the tournament, after being held to a 1-1 draw by Stuttgart, the Catalan side got it’s revenge and marched over the Germans 4-0 at the final whistle.

My tip:  Barcelona to win (over 2.5 goals)

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Sevilla – CSKA Moskva 16 March 2010

*matches in all competitions

Sevilla last 5 matches:  

Sevilla last 3 home matches:

CSKA last 5 matches:

CSKA last 3 away matches:

One all result in aggregate before this decisive match will kick off and Sevilla has the motivation and support of the home crowd to go past the Russians from CSKA Moskva.

Sevilla is not doing so well these last few week with the team’s last victory dating back on 20 of February, almost one moth without the taste of success for this highly competitive Spanish side in all competitions. These latest performances let them fall to the 4th spot of the Primera Division and created a 3 point gap from third Valencia and mounted the pressure from next in line Mallorca and Deportivo for a spot in next season of the Champions League.

The goal scored in the first leg of the confrontation will give them a very important advantage over their competition as in theory they can settle for a goalless draw and still qualify. This would be a very risky strategy and Sevilla will most likely search for a goal before closing all paths to it’s own goalkeeper leading me to believe that this will be a match with few goals.

CSKA Moskva presence in this stage of the Champions League is enough reason to celebrate for them but we have to note the result obtained in the first leg as they had not played any official matches this year.

The Russian Premier League joust kicked off and for CSKA it was a good debut as they went past Amkar Perm one goal to nil. They have left the impression of a team concentrated on defense with little initiative in attacking fact supported by their recent result, only one goal per match scored in the last 3 played.

My tip:  Sevilla to win (and qualify, under 2.5 goals)

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Chelsea – Inter 16 March 2010

*matches in all competitions

Chelsea last 5 matches:  

Chelsea last 3 home matches:

Inter last 5 matches:

Inter last 3 away matches:

With Internazionale Milan leading in overall with 2-1, this should make a very exciting and disputed match on Stamford Bridge with Chelsea having the advantage of the home crowd and away goal.

Chelsea will most certainly push for the offensive from the start but the English team will have to worry in defense as a goal received from Inter will make life very difficult. The team’s form has seem a big improvement since their trip to Italy as they won in the FA Cup against Stoke and last week crushed West Ham in the Premier League 4-1 to stay joust 2 points behind leaders Manchester United in the table.

Their home matches have been their strong point this season, losing only once in the domestic league and no matches without points in this season of the Champions League.

Inter is on a downward spiral both in match performance and results, their loss last week against Catania 3-1 left them with joust one point advantage over rivals AC Milan in the Serie A, far from their comfortable lead in the start of the year.

Their match against Chelsea on home ground was a good one and especially Jose Muorinho has a point to make against the English side. Their mission is very hard and with a goal received on home ground, qualification in the next round is especially difficult.

My tip:  Chelsea to win (and qualify)

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