Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid Spain, 2:45 PM EST Saturday May 21, 2010
by Jason Green at Predictem.com
Match Odds: Inter Milan 2.30 / Bayern Munich 3.10 / Draw 3.30
Over/Under: 2.5 goals
Moneyline: Inter Milan +135 / Bayern Munich +185 / Draw +230
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Well, Saturday night is for all the marbles, as Inter Milan faces Bayern Munich in the Champions League final that will be held in Madrid. Both teams have already won their domestic leagues and it is interesting twist each team is going for the trifecta, as each has not only won their league, but their league cup, and the Champions League will complete a near-perfect season.
Inter Milan is the slight favorite in the match and it is not hard to see why since they had a very tough road to the finals. They beat Chelsea and then they had to take out last season’s Champions League winner Barcelona in the semis.
Bayern did not start of the season well, but ended up winning the Bundesliga and while their road to the finals was not as hard as Inter’s they did take out Manchester United in the quarterfinals and schooled Lyon in the semifinals not giving up a goal in the home and away series.
Bayern Munich is looking for their fifth European crown, which would tie them for the most with Liverpool.
This season in the Bundesliga Bayern Munich scored 72 goals and gave up 31 and in Serie A Inter Milan scored 75 goals and gave up 34.
This will be a very tactical match, but the team that can play their style will win this HUGE match.
Inter Milan Recent Form:
5/16/2010 Siena 0 Inter Milan 1 (Serie A)
5/9/2010 Inter Milan 4 Chevio 3 (Serie A)
5/5/2010 AS Roma 0 Inter Milan 1 (Coppa Italia)
5/2/2010 Lazio 0 Inter Milan 2 (Serie A)
4/28/2010 Barcelona 1 Inter Milan 0 (Champions League)
Bayern Munich Recent Form:
5/15/2010 Werder Bremen 0 Bayern Munich 4 (Dfb Pokal)
5/8/2010 Hertha Berlin 1 Bayern Munich 3 (Bundesliga)
5/1/2010 Bayern Munich 3 Bochum 1 (Bundesliga)
4/27/2010 Lyon 0 Bayern Munich 3 (Champions League)
4/24/2010 Borussia Moenchengladbach 1 Bayern Munich 1 (Bundesliga)
For Inter Milan Davide Santon is out for this match due to an injury and even though Wesley Sneijder cramped in the last Serie A league match he will play and likely start against Bayern Munich. The big loss for Inter Milan will be Thiago Motta, who was sent off with a red card in the Barcelona match and suspended for this one.
After many appeals Bayern Munich lost them all and they will be without their star Franck Ribery for the match and Hamit Altintop will probably start in his place. Even though Ribery is out Bayern Munich is match healthy with no injury concerns.
Inter Milan has an Over/Under 2.5 goals record of 6-4 in their last 10 matches and Bayern Munich has a record of 7-3.
Inter Milan’s defense was the reason they staved off Barcelona in Spain, with only 10 men, and hey have had 5 clean sheets in the last 10 matches.
Wesley Sneijder is an attacking midfielder and is great on free kicks and a great passer and he will have to be keyed on by Bayern’s defense. However, he has played great in Inter’s run and he will either come up with a goal or set one up in this big match.
Arjen Robben will be counted on for offense in this match, especially since Franck Ribery is out. However, the Inter Milan defense will really play him tight and he will not score in this match.
Inter Milan G Julio Csar has played great all season and I think his play along with Milan’s great defense equals a clean sheet. I mean Barcelona has a much better offense than Bayern and they could only score one late goal against a 10-man Inter squad in the semifinals.
Jason’s Pick: This is Inter’s year after struggling in the Champions League for the past several seasons. Their defensive toughness and midfielders will be the key in this match, as I think they will win by a score of 1-0 or 2-0.
