Bayern Munich seem to have timed their sprint to the finish line this season to perfection and I expect them to establish a first leg advantage on Wednesday.
A place in the Champions League final awaits the winner of the tie between the German side and their opponents, Lyon and both will fancy their chances of progressing.
It is Luis van Gaal’s side that are tipped to contest the Madrid May showpiece however and they should be in the driving after the clash at the Allianz Arena.
While Wayne Rooney shocked Van Gaal’s men with a goal inside the first minute of Bayern’s last eight tie against Manchester United, the Dutchman’s side showed terrific character to rally from one down to take a lead to Old Trafford and again when they were blitzed by the Red Devils in England.
Bayern recovered from an improbable situation to knockout the 2009 runners-up on away goals, thanks to a terrific strike from Arjen Robben, and Bayern certainly seem to be coming to the boil at just the right time.
Having edged to the top of the Bundesliga, Van Gaal will be delighted to see his key men performing at their best and in Robben he possesses one of Europe’s finest. The winger scored a hat-trick in Bayern’s 7-0 romp over Hannover on the weekend, a win which saw them establish a two point lead, and is certainly the man Lyon will be fearing in Germany.
Lyon themselves were impressive in edging past Ligue 1 rivals Bordeaux in the last eight, clinging on at the home of Laurent Blanc’s men to advance 3-2 on aggregate, but their overall form this season has fallen short of what is surely required to succeed at the very highest level and this may be a step too far.
Indifferent domestic form has seen Lyon tumble nine points behind leaders Marseille and, while they will welcome back main striker Lisandro Lopez following European suspension for the trip to Munich, I think the hosts will have too much firepower.
Bayern have won 12 of their last 13 games on home soil in all competitions, scoring 37 goals in the process, and the widely available 1.73 will do for me.
2pts Back Bayern Munich (vs. Lyon) @ 1.73 (various)