Champions League 2014-15 Semifinals: Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona, Real Madrid vs. Juventus Make For Unique Rematches
The Champions Draw announced the semifinals matchups, and they results were quite interesting.
Real Madrid and Juventus got a chance to take on one another for the second straight year, while Pep Guardiola will test his Bayern Munich against his former club Barcelona. Which teams have the edge in these matchups?
Real Madrid vs. Juventus
Last season, these two sides met in the group stage. Los Blancos pulled out a 2-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu before managing a 2-2 draw in Turin. Last year Juventus did not get out of the group stage while Madrid went on to win the entire tournament.
But anyone thinking that Carlo Ancelotti's men are the automatic winners of this tie need not overlook a very good Italian club.
Led by Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo, this team has plenty of firepower to match Ancelotti's men.
Defensively, this is the best team remaining as well with only five goals against through 10 matches in this tournament. Three of those goals came against Olympiakos in the group round while the latter two were goals against Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid possesses firepower with questionable defense. But the team is coming off an emotional win against its crosstown rival Atletico Madrid and could use that boost to help its game moving forward.
Prediction - Real Madrid will get Gareth Bale and Marcelo back for the next round, which should boost the team overall. Los Blancos will likely win this tie.
Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona
This is the tie that everyone will watch and anticipate tremendously. Possession vs. possession. Pep Guardiola vs. his former team and teammate. Barcelona's looking for revenge from the 7-0 loss it accumulated two years ago.
Will Lionel Messi and his duo of Neymar and Luis Suarez overcome Bayern's depth? Will Arjen Robben be back and ready to aid his team? Can Bayern win on foreign soil? Will Barcelona's defense, which has been terrific all year, hold up against a juggernaut that has scored 13 goals in its last two homes games in this tournament?
Many wanted this to be the final and it is not hard to see why. These two teams are arguably, on current form, the very best in the world, and in some ways they will each play knowing that a win here makes them the favorite to win it all in late May.
Barcelona has has conceded seven goals in 10 games so far while Bayern has allowed eight in that span. But the offensive firepower of these two sides is unmatched. Bayern has 30 goals in 10 games, an average of three per game while Blaugrana has 23 in that span. Barcelona has yet to concede three goals at home all year, while Bayern has been unstoppable at its home park with a record of five wins and no losses and a goal scoring count of 18 goals in five games and only one conceded in that span.
Prediction: Barcelona gets home field first, but Bayern has thrived on winning at home second. It will not be a 7-0 result, but Bayern will expose Barcelona's defense and win this tie.
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