IN a repeat of the 1987 European Cup Final, Porto meet Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) gives us his thoughts.
Porto v Bayern Munich | Wednesday 19:45 | Sky Sports 1
Bayern Munich head the betting in the Champions League outright market at 2/1 and go into this game 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and searching for a 33rd win from 41 games this season. 5/6 on them winning in Portugal looks pretty fair.
It has to be said that Bayern are suffering something of an injury crisis at the moment. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Franck Ribery have joined Arjen Robben, David Alaba and Javi Martinez on the sick list and that’s probably why we’re seeing quotes of 5/6 kicking about.
Porto are locked in a battle with Benfica for the Portuguese league title and find themselves three points behind with six games left. It’s been another solid season for Julen Lopetequi’s side but I fear they’ll have their work cut out here.
Porto’s path to this stage has been a generous one. In their group (which they won well) they came up against Shakhtar Donetsk, Athletic Bilbao and BATE Borisov. 14 points out of 18 were accrued, but you’d have to say it was one of the weaker groups in the competition.
In the Last 16 they drew Swiss side FC Basle, arguably the easiest side they could have met. After salvaging a draw in Switzerland in the opening leg, they were very impressive in the return winning 4-0 at the Dragao.
While Porto drew twice with Shakhtar in their Champions League group, Bayern mauled them 7-0 on aggregate in the Last 16. Munich of course also beat Roma 7-1, CSKA Moscow 3-0 and were too good for Man City at the Allianz.
There are certainly reasons to be cautious when backing Bayern at odds on here. They’re ravaged by injury and, as we’ve seen in the past, Pep Guardiola may wish to protect first in the away leg and attack in the home return, but at odds of 5/6 I’m happy to take a chance. Bayern are bankable at that price against anyone other than the Spanish sides.
TOPICS European Football FootballBest Bets
Porto v Bayern Munich – Bayern Munich to win (5/6 BetVictor)
