Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho broke his media silence on Monday with some harsh words for his Champions League opponents Bayern Munich. Bayern who host tonight’s first leg fixture at the Allianz Arena have a pretty impressive home record against Los Blancos having never lost to them.
Of course, Mourinho being himself dismissed all talk surrounding Bayern’s record calling it ‘meaningless’ and saying that his side was equally motivated to win the match.
“The past is all about meaningless numbers. History will not play a factor. This will be a different match from the previous ones. This is a semi-final; those who play it want to win.” Mourinho said.
“Bayern have the special motivation as the final is in Munich, but we have the motivation of being here for the second year in a row. We will see what happens.
“Bayern will play with a lot of heart, which is nice in football, but they can also play very well. I think that this match will be more tactical than normal and that it will be a great game.”
Bayern will be a full strength squad with Heynckes expected to play a 4-2-3-1 formation with Gomez playing as the lone striker in front of a three prong attack consisting of Robben, Muller and Ribery. Holding the midfield will be Gustavo and Kroos while Lahm, Boateng, Badstuber and Alaba make up the defense.
Mourinho is also expected to play a similar formation with Frenchman Karim Benzema leading the attack in front of Di Maria, Ozil and Ronaldo. In midfield, Khedira and Alonso will hold fort while Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos and Marcelo will be in Defense.
Predictions
My prediction for this match is a 1-1 draw. Bayern’s squad looks very strong and it would be foolish to assume Madrid will walk away with a win going by their recent form. That said, it’s game to win.
photo credit © prismatico
