Prediction: Draw
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The UEFA Champions League is back once again this week as the remainder of second leg ties are played across Europe. A handful of sides have already been able to make fairly emphatic statements within their own right, and on Tuesday night, Chelsea and Bayern Munich will be awarded the opportunity to do the same thing. These two clubs have history with one another and with two wins apiece in their overall head to head, these next two games could serve as the tiebreaker.
Chelsea
It s been a mixed bag of a season thus far for Frank Lampard but above all else, it feels as if he s starting to settle really nicely into life as Chelsea manager. They re in a comfortable position in the Premier League, they re going steady in the FA Cup and they were able to qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League despite being in a pretty tough group. They ll be viewed as the underdogs for this tie, but that isn t going to worry them one bit.
Team News
Kante is still out through injury whereas Hudson-Odoi is a doubt to play against the team that desperately wanted to buy him once upon a time. Pulisic and Pedro will also be assessed prior to kickoff with Giroud hoping to keep his place.
Bayern Munich
While they may have been slow out of the gate this season Bayern appear to be trending in the right direction as we head into the last few months of the domestic campaign. In addition to being in full control of the Bundesliga they ve also been pretty dominant in Europe, too, which included their demolition of Tottenham Hotspur in the group stage. Chelsea would ve kept an eye on that game, whereas Bayern will take confidence from dispatching of the Blues rivals so easily.
Team News
Perisic and Sule are injured right now with Martinez being assessed before the game, whereas Hernandez is tipped to come into the starting XI in place of Boateng.
Factors to Consider
The last UCL meeting between these teams took place in the 2012 final with Chelsea winning on penalties.
Chelsea have won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six games.
Bayern Munich have won five and drawn one of their last six games.
Chelsea have scored eight goals and conceded nine in their last six games.
Bayern Munich have scored 19 goals and conceded seven in their last six games.
Conclusion
While Bayern have proven themselves to be an incredibly free-scoring team they can also be drawn into a firefight as and when they re called upon. Chelsea have what it takes to do that and while we think this is hardly going to be a defensive masterclass, it s certainly going to make for an entertaining spectacle. We re going to back a 2-2 draw with Bayern taking two away goals back home to Germany for the second leg which, logically speaking, should set them up nicely to progress.
Prediction: Draw
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