What: Champions League Quarter-final (second leg)
Who: Bayern Munich (2) vs Marseille (0) (first leg score in brackets)
When: Tuesday 3rd April, 2012, at 19:45 UK Time
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
Plain Sailing?
Bayern Munich won comfortably at Marseille last week, and rarely does a team take a 2-0 away win into a home leg and not go through. Throw in that the Bavarians have won their last seven home games in all competitions, scoring 32 and conceding just four, and Jupp Heynckes will undoubtedly be comfortable when he takes his seat in the dugout at the Allianz Arena. Complacency however is a dangerous enemy, and the former Leverkusen boss will have to warn his team of that.
The Bundesliga giants have recently conceded just one goal in 540 minutes of play, and their solidity at the back is returning after a mid-season blip. A game with Real Madrid is now on the cards in the semi-final, and two matches with the Spaniards as well as the task of hauling back league leaders Borussia Dortmund could understandably distract Bayern Munich from the job at hand – particularly given Dortmund’s 4-4 draw with Stuttgart on Friday, which gave Heynckes’ men fresh hope in the title race.
Bayern Munich face Dortmund next weekend in a crucial match, but Heynckes insists that will not influence his thinking ahead of the game with Marseille. "There are some crazy games waiting for us, but we can’t think too far ahead, that’s no good," he said.
But the German giants must be wary; the first leg was not all one way traffic, and they had to withstand some tricky Marseille pressure before the French side’s third choice goalkeeper, Elinton Andrade, let slip a Mario Gomez shot with half time approaching. The tie should be over, but football is a funny game, particularly with Marseille.
Another Unlikely Comeback in Germany?
Didier Deschamps’ side have flipped between the brilliant and the disastrous this season. At the bottom of Ligue 1 at the start of the campaign followed by a 16-game unbeaten run and now a stint which sees the French giants without a victory in the league since January, is testament to that.
The first leg though, was not as simple as the scoreline suggested. Marseille threatened, and if Loic Remy was sharper as he attempted to come back from injury, the striker may have scored for the French team before Gomez gave Bayern Munich the lead. Marseille will also be helped by the French league’s decision to allow the side to postpone their game with league leaders Montpellier to next week from the weekend to help their preparations for this tie.
What was most impressive and encouraging for Deschamps though, in spite of the scoreline last week, was that his team gave the German side a real match, and a difficult test. Bayern Munich will do well to note Marseille’s comeback against Dortmund earlier this season, when they scored twice in the final minutes in Germany to secure a remarkable 3-2 win and a place in the last 16.
Marseille may have to pull off similar heroics to reach the semi-final, but they have at least shown they are capable of that already this year.
Recent form
Marseille:
Quevilly 3-2 Marseille (20/03; Coupe de France)
Nice 1-1 Marseille (24/03; Ligue 1)
Marseille 0-2 Bayern Munich (28/03; Champions League)
Bayern Munich:
Bayern Munich 2-1 Hannover (24/03; Bundesliga)
Marseille 0-2 Bayern Munich (28/03; Champions League)
Nurnberg 0–1 Bayern Munich (31/03; Bundesliga)
Key absences
Marseille: Souleymane Diawara; Alou Diarra; Andre Ayew (doubt)
Bayern Munich: Daniel Van Buyten; Bastian Schweinsteiger; Breno
Players to watch
Marseille – Loic Remy: Remy returned from injury against Bayern Munich and will hope that, having already attempted one comeback in recent weeks, this time he stays fit. Remy has been Marseille’s key goalscorer this season, and will be needed at his most prolific in Munich if the French outfit are to have any chance of an unlikely comeback. He missed three chances in the first leg, one glorious opportunity after Rod Fanni’s header from a corner was saved and fell invitingly in his path. Remy cannot afford to miss chances like that this time around.
Bayern Munich – Philipp Lahm: The Bayern Munich skipper has been key in the recent run of form his team have enjoyed, marshalling a defence which is finding their stability once again. His experience and intelligence will be vital as the Bavarians hope to maintain their lead and not give Marseille a chance to get back into the game. Lahm noted last week that his team still have vital work to do, but he will need to lead by example if Bayern Munich are to ensure they do not suffer the same fate that Dortmund did against the French side.
Match Prediction
Marseille will look to attack with pace through the Ayew brothers as they attempt to stretch the German defence and find a way back into this game. It is difficult to see them finding a way past a resolute Bayern Munich backline however.
For the hosts, it would be a surprise if Heynckes plays his first choice attack, as the Bavarians look to hunt down leaders Dortmund in the Bundesliga, a side they face a week on Saturday.
Therefore it would not be a surprise if Bayern Munich sought to dominate possession but struggle to find a way through the Marseille defence this time – they are unlikely to be urgently seeking goals with the comfortable lead they already have. But Marseille will need to commit men forward whilst also being patient so as not to concede a goal which would end the tie completely, if it is not over already.
In a game like this, with a home team trying to prevent their opponents from scoring as much as they look for a goal themselves, there is usually only one result. And with Bayern Munich’s formidable defence getting back to its best, that is even more likely still. Bayern Munich 0-0 Marseille.
This Bayern Munich v Marseille clash is when the Champions League gets serious. But who will win? Make sure you visit OLBG for tips and to compare the current odds and betting markets available at all the important bookmakers.
