Besiktas v Bayern Munich – Turkish outfit can worry Bavarian giants

It’s approaching the end of the night, it’s been a great night at the black-tie ball you’ve attended so you pull off your bow tie to rest it around your shoulders, signalling the end of the night is nigh.

Following their 5-0 demolition of the Turkish League outfit in the first leg of this tie – no pun intended – the opening paragraph is an accurate analogy; Bayern have finished the contest but now they’re just awaiting the cab into the next round.

What can we expect?

With Jupp Heynckes at the helm, Bayern Munich are rolling back the years in the Bundesliga with complete dominance. Robert Lewandowski is spearheading a ferocious side in Bavaria and he’s just registered his 100^th Bundesliga goal for the German juggernauts.

However, the same can be said for Besiktas since the drubbing in Germany. Despite the sale of Cenk Tosun to Everton in January, the Black Eagles have kept a commanding presence in front of goal, especially at Vodafone Park, where they’ve scored in 96% of their home matches.

The hosts will know a revival in this tie would spawn celebrations of ilk to the boat party on the Bosporus Strait (if you haven’t seen Besiktas’ title celebrations yet, give it a watch). However, realistically all involved with the hosts will know this is merely a pipe dream.

That being said, they will be keen to show their worth against elite opposition and prove their involvement in this round is no fluke. Moreover, it not unreasonable to expect a rotated side for Bayern given the scale of first leg dominance.

The betting

When I was penning the piece on the first leg for WeLoveBetting, I highlighted Bayern’s defensive frailties. However, after much deliberation, I came to the conclusion that the quality and experience of the German side would pay dividends and come away with a win to nil.

This time, I’m going to back the hosts to score, because they are a talented side in front of goal and Bayern are far from impenetrable. However, merely backing Besiktas to score represents little value so I’m combining it with over 2.5 goals.

This isn’t my only fancy for this match, as it must be noted that Pepe and Antic Nukan are injured for the hosts, and that’s failing to mention the suspension to Domagoj Vida who was red carded in the first leg.

This doesn’t bode well for the hosts, as Bayern are still frighteningly good on the road with their last eight matches away from home resulting in victory, and that’s why I’m going to side them to leave Istanbul with another win, too.