Fresh off their FA Cup triumph and the miracle 10 man win vs Barca last out in the SF 2nd leg, Chelsea find themselves pretty decimated by suspensions and injuries; all of Ivanovic, Meireles, Terry and Ramires are out. Their failure to make the top 4 in EPL makes winning this is the only avenue for a return to CL next season. Few would have rated them to get here after the sacking of coach Vilas Boas following the quarters but his replacement de Matteo masterminded comebacks vs Napoli then Barca. His motivation; ‘the players seem able to do something special when they need to…its in their DNA’, the catalyst. Drogba (5) leads the scoring and he’ll likely be the lone striker and they’ll play defensive counter attack, 4-2-3-1, as they presented for Barcelona. Mata, Lampard and Kalou will set up behind him and Essien may join Mikel in a holding role in front of Cole, Cahill, Luiz and Bosingwa. While under strength and the dog here it hasn’t stopped them to date.
Bayern have lost 1 from 16 vs British opposition at home. They edged Madrid on penalties last out to get here with GK Neuer saving on Ronaldo and Kaka. His consistency the key for a Bayern side that looked unbeatable early but stumbled its way to here since the quarters. Their renaissance coincided with the return of talisman Schweinstieger, the finest holding midfielder in Europe. They’ll likely attack from a 4-1-3-1-1 with Lahm, Boateng, Badstuber and Alaba as the back four and Tymoshchuk, flanked by Robben and Ribery ahead of Schweinsteiger. Kroos will sit behind a lone striker, Gomez (12). The two have met just once in Europe, Chelsea getting it 6-5 on aggregate in ’05. Bayern have looked better right through for power, pace and class and that their own home ground was drawn is worth a goal.
Bayern Munich by 1