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UCL-Draw: FC Bayern vs. Real Madrid

FC Bayern v Borussia Dortmund - 12.04.2014

 

 

 

Danas rođendan slavi budući najbolji igrač na svijetu, a sadašnja fudbalska poeta, umjetnik starog kova i vizionar neke nove igre...

Nek mu je sa srećom, uz želje za brzim povratkom na teren.

Bayern Dortmund preview, the battle of German pride

Bayern Dortmund preview: the developing rivalry resumes. With little but pride at stake, FC Bayern will host Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, in a psychologically important clash.

Dortmund, hanging in there

Injuries: Subotic, Gündogan, Schmelzer, Bandowski, Blaszczykowski, Bender

“Sky is the limit” was a realistic statement when BVB fought tooth and nail to the most honourable of defeats against Bayern in the Champions League final in 2013. Nobody else challenged the Bavarians to that extent in the same season. Nobody thought that they could beat Real Madrid as decisively as they did in the semi-final.

This season hasn’t been a continuation of that, with a pile of injuries preventing Jürgen Klopp from building on previous results. The likes of central midfielder Ilkay Gündogan, left-back Marcel Schmelzer and central defender Neven Subotic all have major injuries to deal with, and it has showed. BVB struggled for several months, regaining form only in the last 5 or 6 matchdays.

The 4-2-3-1 with intense pressing is still there, but Dortmund’s consistency is what took a beating.

Without its general in Subotic, the back four has been weaker than usual against the final pass and against runs in the area. The whole team remains shaky against the long ball, which Bayern exploited when meeting at Signal Iduna in the first half of the season. Challenged frequently, Robert Weidenfeller has made more mistakes. Sometimes, he comes out without letting his defenders do the work, leaving the goal empty.

Playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been a very nice fit in Dortmund’s attack, with great passing and one-on-one skills. His problem is finishing. By himself, he could have buried Real Madrid in the Champions League quarters. He missed opportunities in the Bundesliga, too.

Winger Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang remains one of BVB’s most exciting prospects, with super pace and finishing skills. What could be fine tuned is his ball control. Other youngsters have shown some promise. Midfielders Milos Jojic and Jonas Hofmann are not regular starters, but they do fit within Klopp’s game plan. They will be interesting to follow in the next couple of years.

Robert Lewandowski, Bayern’s next signing at striker, has struggled for a while. He was poor defensively and not as powerful when attacking. But his form has returned and he is on par with Mario Mandzukic with 17 goals. I expect him to play like a pro and challenge Bayern on Saturday.

Dortmund still benefits from the services of Marco Reus, one of Germany’s finest wingers. His explosiveness and shooting accuracy haven’t changed.

Kudos for their 2:0 win against Real Madrid earlier this week. It took hard work to hand them a rare defeat despite missing so many key starters.

Possible lineup

Bayern, out of the mini-slump?

Injuries: Thiago, Shaqiri, Starke

Are Bayern’s offensive struggles over? You would think so after seeing the team score three goals in a very short time against Manchester United in midweek.

Before we can make the statement, we’ll wait and see if Pep Guardiola makes any adjustments on Saturday. It took a goal by Evra to put Bayern’s back against the wall, on the brink of elimination, to see the direct attacks that we were looking for. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pep asked them to go back to the tiki taka that he “installed” this season.

Only pride is at stake on Saturday, but the game does have its psychological importance. If FCB defeats Dortmund decisively, it says “we remain the kings in Germany”. If the opposite happens, BVB can say “look, we beat the best and we have something to look forward to”. Pride does count.

Pep will once again have to draw a plan to deal with BVB’s pressing, perhaps with more of those long passes. It would also be nice to see full-backs playing wide again instead of putting almost all players in the middle.

I don’t know how much fuel remains in Borussia’s tank after that brilliant midweek performance, but I sure expect at least 60 minutes of intense pressing on their part. Their energy level in the second half could be the most important factor in the game.

A win by one goal would be satisfying. Dortmund is still tough.

Possible lineup

Već sam na Realovom stranici napisao kako mislim da Bayer ima prednost prema Realu. Ima kompletniju ekipu i više rezervi na razini prvotimaca, Za razliku od Reala, koji nema ni prvih jedanaest vrhunskih (desni bočni i Pepe nisu ta razina), te nema adeklvatne zamjene.
Samo ima još jedan detalj, a to je i trenutno raspoloženje, koje bez obzira na sastave može biti odlučujuće. Zato se u ništa ne može biti 100% siguran.