Adrian Mills’ selections for Tuesday night’s Champions League semi-final first leg include a win for Los Blancos and a goal for a Bayern star.
Having both conquered Premier League opposition, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are just one step away from the Champions League final and they are set to slug it out over the next week in a semi-final showdown.
Real have arguably had it harder so far, as they overcame previous tournament favourites Manchester City, while Bayern edged past Arsenal in their quarter-final.
The opening salvo in this last-four contest will take place at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Tuesday, in a tasty tussle of European royalty that kicks off at 20:00.
These sides have won this competition 20 times between them and Bayern are 7/5 to win this opening encounter, while Real are 17/10 and the draw is a 13/5 shot.
Best bets
Real Madrid to win
17/10
Over 1.5 Real Madrid goals
11/10
Harry Kane to score
11/10
More misery likely for Bayern
Bayern have had a shocking season by their own standards and things may yet get worse for the German giants.
The perennial champions in their domestic competition, Bayern have relinquished their Bundesliga title for the first time in 11 seasons, to Bayer Leverkusen, while they also failed to make an impact in the DFB-Pokal, where they were dumped out early on by third-tier side Saarbrucken.
So this competition is Bayern’s last chance of glory but they could be playing catch up, with Real fancied to win this opening instalment at 17/10.
Los Blancos have won on their last three visits to the Allianz Arena and they pitch up in Munich this week in great shape.
A 1-0 win over Sociedad on Friday extended Real’s lead at the top of La Liga to 14 points and that result came on the back of a 3-2 win over bitter rivals Barcelona in El Clasico.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men are on a 40-match unbeaten run in all competitions – a sequence stretching back to September – and they should be too hot for Bayern to handle over the course of this semi-final, starting on Tuesday.
Goals to flow in Munich
Meetings between these two giants of European football are often lively and this latest match-up may follow suit.
Eight of the last 10 tussles have seen both teams score, while over 2.5 goals has been a winning bet in 9 of the last 10 contests.
However, there is little value in either of those markets this week, but backing Real to score twice at 11/10 could yield a return.
Ancelotti’s men have scored at least twice in six of their last seven meetings with Bayern, who shipped two or more goals in four of their last eight outings.
Kane too hot to handle
Bayern may have struggled this season, but Harry Kane’s debut season in Germany has been an overwhelming success.
The England skipper has bagged 46 goals so far this season and he looks a decent bet at 1/1 to score once again in the Allianz Arena.
Real have kept a clean sheet in four of their last 10 matches and, if anyone can breach the Spanish defence on Tuesday, then look no further than the former Spurs man – who will likely be on penalty duty too – to help push the bet towards a profitable return.
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