Bayern Munich hope to stave off elimination in the Champions League on Tuesday as they try to battle back from a 1-0 deficit against Villarreal.
Can the German giants turn the tables already with the first half? Bookmaker 10bet has the odds at 2.10 for one first-half goal being scored and at 2.50 for two goals in the first half.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: April 11th, 1:00 P.M. (EST)
Bayern’s situation is quite similar to the one they had in the round of 16 against Salzburg. They barely scraped a 1-1 draw in the first leg away from home before completely dominating in Munich. Will history repeat itself?
Robert Lewandowski set a new Champions League record with a 23-minute hat trick and Bayern ended up crushing the Austrian champions 7-1.
The Bavarians have now won 11 of their last 12 European outings on home turf. They boast a superb scoring record in front of their fans and also don’t concede a lot of goals, which makes this an incredibly tough fixture for Villarreal.
The Yellow Submarine has to make sure that Lewandowski is held in check and that there won’t be too much focus on how Bayern plays. Staying true to your own style of play is very difficult against a top side like Bayern, especially away from home, but Villarreal can’t afford to drop off too much. Manager Unai Emery will have to find a good balance between the attack and defense.
Villarreal have already taken down one European giant in the competition after knocking off Juventus last month. They were considered underdogs for the second leg after playing out a 1-1 draw at home but played a smart game and ended up with a big 3-0 victory. Emery will hope to get similar performance levels out of his men on Tuesday.
Winning the first leg at home typically gives a side a very solid base to build on. Bayern are among the best teams in Europe but even they have struggled to turn things around after starting a tie with an away loss. There have been 10 defeats in the last 13 such occasions for the club.
With only one goal separating the two teams, Tuesday’s game could end up being a real roller coaster ride for both sets of supporters and the neutral fans should enjoy the clash as well. It would be very surprising if this one ends up as another low-scoring game.
