Bayern Munich vs. Fiorentina Allianz Arena, Munich Germany 2:45 PM EST Wednesday February 17, 2010
by Jason Green at Predictem.com
Match Odds: Fiorentina 7.00 / Bayern Munich 1.5 / Draw 4.00
Over/Under: 2.5 goals
Moneyline: Fiorentina +600 / Bayern Munich -225 / Draw +300
In Munich on Wednesday night in the first leg of their Champions League knockout phase Bayern Munich host Fiorentina. Since Bayern spanked Juventus 4-1 in Turin to advance to the knockout phase they have been en fuego. The German giants are currently in 2nd place in the Bundesliga and they have won 12 straight matches.
Even though Bayern is playing well and they are really attacking and putting pressure on other teams they did not play well at home in the Champions League group stage. At the Allianz Arena in Munich they only got 4 out of a possible 9 points and they only found the back of the net once at home and that was against a far inferior squad in Maccabi Haifa of Israel.
It is interesting that Fiorentina was the only Italian squad that won their group stage and was the 2nd highest scoring team. They also beat Liverpool in England, which is never an easy task. However, since qualifying for the knockout phase the wheels have fallen off for them, as they currently sit in 11th place in Serie A and they have only won 1 of their last 7 matches.
Fiorentina has never won in Germany, 3 losses and 1 tie, and they have not reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League since way back in 1970. However, Fiorentina has been solid in this competition on away soil and they have only lost 2 out of their last 11 matches away from home. Fiorentina's domestic season is not turning out well at all, but if they go far in the Champions League all will be forgiven.
This season in their domestic leagues Fiorentina has scored 28 goals and given up 27 and Bayern Munich has scored 48 goals and only given up 19.
Bayern Munich Recent Form:
2/13/2010 Bayern Munich 3 Borussia Dortmund 1 (Bundesliga)
2/10/2010 Bayern Munich 6 SpVgg Greuther Fuerth 2 (DFB Pokal)
2/6/2010 Wolfsburg 1 Bayern Munich 3 (Bundesliga)
1/30/2010 Bayern Munich 3 Mainz 0 (Bundesliga)
1/26/2010 Ingolstadt 0 Bayern Munich 2 (Friendly)
Fiorentina Recent Form:
2/13/2010 Sampdoria 2 Fiorentina 0 (Serie A)
2/7/2010 Fiorentina 0 AS Roma 1 (Serie A)
2/3/2010 Inter Milan 1 Fiorentina 0 (Coppa Italia)
1/31/2010 Cagliari 2 Fiorentina 2 (Serie A)
1/24/2010 Palermo 3 Fiorentina 0 (Serie A)
Not only is Bayern Munich playing great, but they will also have a full squad for this match with no injuries or suspensions. Bayern will have an attacking midfield in this match in order to pressure the struggling Fiorentina defense.
DF Alessandro Gamberini was injured in Fiorentina's last match and he will be out a couple of months. Mario Santana, Adrian Mutu, and Cristiano Zanetti are also injured and will not play in this big match. Since these guys are generally in the starting 11 Fiorentina coach Prandelli will have to count on a few back ups to play well in this match.
Bayern's Franck Ribery has battled injuries all season, but in the 10 Bundesliga matches he has played this season he has 2 goals and has 4 assists. He will be a key player in this match and against a depleted Fiorentina he will find the back of the net.
In Bayern Munich's last 10 matches they have scored an impressive 33 goals and they will score a few tonight, as the Over 2.5 goal total is a great pick.
Even though Fiorentina has only mustered 2 goals in their last 5 matches they played great in the group stage and they will take advantage of the suspect central defense of Bayern and score at least 1 goal.
Fiorentina GK Sebastien Frey has been solid lately saving his team from getting killed, as he has only given up 3 goals in his last 3 matches, but do not expect him to have a clean sheet in this match, as Bayern will attack from the opening whistle.
Jason's Pick: Even though Fiorentina has played well in the Champions league this season their recent struggles will flow over to this match. They have a few key guys injured and Bayern will take advantage of that. I see Bayern winning by a score of 3-1, which will put a lot of pressure on Fiorentina in the 2nd leg of this tie.
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