Well, it’s about that time again, that’s right, it’s finals time in the UEFA Champions League competition and boy do we have some mouthwatering fixtures in our hands. Unfortunately due to the publishing schedule this year, the usual quarterfinal predictions were not possible. But fear not, edition 3 of “Football fortune teller” delves into the all-important semi-finals, with predictions of who may be facing off in the championship game of Europe’s premier club tournament.
Semi-final 1 – Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich
This clash will certainly be surrounded by a lot of hype, and rightly so. Two giants of European football face off in what many people would’ve loved to see in a final.
Bayern were heavy favourites throughout the tournament to progress all the way to the final this year again and with right reason. Their lineup is star-studded and has the potential to absolutely dominate teams. In saying this, they have been quite underwhelming in the knockout stages when playing away from the Allianz drawing both to Arsenal and Manchester United. Guardiola’s men certainly can’t afford to do that against Real Madrid.
Real Madrid is, again, another all-star lineup with a plethora of talent. Their attack has run absolutely rampant on teams in this year’s competition, breezing through the round of 16 with a 9-2 aggregate against Schalke. They did have to survive a scare against Dortmund in the quarterfinals however only winning 3-2 on aggregate after losing the second leg. They have yet to play a team with the firepower that Bayern have though so it will be interesting to see what they can do.
Both teams look the goods but I feel Bayern will end up proving too strong for the Spanish giants.
Prediction: 1st leg – Real Madrid win 2nd leg – Bayern Munich win (Bayern Munich progresses on aggregate or away goals)
Semi-final 2 – Chelsea vs. Atletico Madrid
Interesting match up in this one with perhaps two teams weren’t expected to make it to the semis facing off. Atletico Madrid eliminated Barcelona in the upset of the quarterfinals. Atletico are having a stellar season and haven’t lost yet in the competition. They’re domination of AC Milan in the round of 16 was a sign of things to come and they certainly brought their game when playing Barcelona.
Chelsea meanwhile overcame a 3-1 deficit in the first leg of the quarterfinals against Paris Saint Germain to win on away goals. Jose Mourinho has plenty of experience in big games and being the masterful tactician that he is he will have hatched a game plan by now. Being a defensive-minded manager, will he be able to stop Atletico’s rampant attack in this competition?
This one was hard to pick, but I think Mourinho’s boys will scrape into the final.
Prediction: 1st leg – Atletico Madrid win 2nd leg – Chelsea win (Chelsea progress on aggregate or away goals)
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