This week, the football world will be full of excitement and anticipation as four of not only Europe’s, but the world's best teams will clash in the first legs of the champions league semi finals. Bayern Munich will host Real Madrid at the Allianz arena on Tuesday, while Barcelona will travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea on Wednesday night. With so many incredible players on show, both games will be footballing spectacles that every football fan should enjoy. So here are some bold predictions for what will happen in these two games.
The David Luiz and Lionel Messi battle will be one to savour
With John Terry seemingly missing this vital game due to injury, it means David Luiz will have the dreaded task of marking the world's undisputed greatest player: Lionel Messi. Some are suggesting Messi will completely and utterly destroy the Brazilian centre back; however I think Luiz may be able to do the seemingly impossible. If Luiz isn't too rash, his will to win, energy and pace may give Messi a tough night, and if Luiz does really well, it could lead to Chelsea going through. A message to Messi: underestimate Luiz at your peril.
Barcelona's midfielders will cause Chelsea a great deal of problems
Three years ago, at this same stage in the champions league, Chelsea were two minutes away from reaching the champions league semi final in Rome. A last minute goal from Andrés Iniesta ended up denying Chelsea this opportunity, but overall Chelsea's midfield, and particularly Michael Essien did a reasonable job of keeping both Xavi and Iniesta quiet throughout the course of the two legs. However, due to a spate of injuries received by the Ghanaian midfielder over these last three years, Essien isn't anywhere near as effective as he was back then. Some say Ramires or the recently much improved John Obi Mikel should be given this role, but in my opinion, neither player is proven enough at keeping such dazzling, skilful players quiet in a big game situation such as this. If this proves to be correct, Barcelona will dominate, and Chelsea's defence will be inundated.
Chelsea will score at least one goal
Now the general consensus heading into this first leg is that Barcelona will dominate possession and that they will frustrate Chelsea. However, although I won't deny Barcelona will probably dominate possession, I think Chelsea will bring the game to Barcelona, just like they did back in 2009. Barcelona's questionable full backs may struggle to cope with Mata's trickery, and Chelsea’s marauding full backs, Ivanovic and Cole will make defending even tougher for the Catalan. Plus, with Torres showing signs of getting back to his former self, Pique and Puyol may again struggle against an English team.
Mario Gomez will score at least one goal
Over the last year, German striker Mario Gomez has shown himself to be more than worthy of being considered one of the world’s top strikers, having scored a sensational 39 goals in 45 games. If Real Madrid fail to stop the man who is the champions league’s top scorer on 12 goals, then getting to the final may be a tough ask for La Liga’s leaders. Plus, with the likes of Robben and Ribery in the Bayern team, Gomez should expect to receive a great deal of service. I predict that the expected defensive partnership of Pepe and Sergio Ramos will struggle to contain the in-form striker, which could lead to Gomez scoring one, maybe two goals.
Philip Lahm v Cristiano Ronaldo
This is the sort of match-up football fans dream about. In one corner you have Philip Lahm; a battling, determined player who many fans consider to be one of the best fullbacks in world football. In the other corner, you have Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese forward who has scored an incredible 48 goals in just 53 games, and since joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2009, he has scored 137 goals in 139 games. Two superb players who many would put in their dream world XI will go up against each other in this match, and if Lahm manages to keep Real Madrid’s star man quiet, it could significantly hurt Madrid’s chances of advancing.
Real Madrid’s defenders will make some questionable tackles
Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao aren’t thought of as the cleanest of players and despite Real Madrid’s fantastic season in La Liga this year, Los Merengues and specifically manager Jose Mourinho have received criticism in some quarters for having too many divers and dirty players. At this stage of last season’s champions league in a match with Barcelona, Pepe was controversially sent off after a tackle on Dani Alves. With Bayern possessing creative, skillful players such as Robben and Ribery in their squad, and being in the intense, hostile atmosphere of the Allianz arena, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of Real Madrid’s more aggressive, immature players lose their cool and commit a potentially dangerous foul, which could result in something damaging, like a penalty or a red card.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this article and be sure to look out for some of these things to happen in these two massively important games.
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