According to the Euro Club Index, only one place
separates Bayern Munich and Chelsea; they are placed fifth and sixth
respectively. However, after their battle on the Allianz Arena turf tomorrow, I
can only see Bayern Munich extending this lead.
Firstly, Bayern Munich have won all seven of their
UEFA Champions League games at the Allianz Arena this season. They recorded
impressive victories against Manchester City and Real Madrid, and they also
destroyed FC Basel 7-0.
But, home advantage may be less effective than
predicted. UEFA Champions League finals, in recent years at least, have had an atmosphere
dominated by corporatism. Bayern fans will take up 17,500 seats on Saturday
evening. On a normal match-day, over 60,000 Bayern fans are present. This may
have a psychological effect on the players, as they are not used to this. Psychological
factors play a huge part in football, and their effects are often overlooked. Chelsea
may be able to exploit this.
Chelsea also have many key personnel ineligible;
John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramires are all suspended.
All four players scored en route to the final, and they will be significantly
weakened by this. Chelsea will especially miss the leadership qualities of
their controversial captain.
With Chelsea’s weakened back line, and Bayern’s
formidable strike force of Mario Gomez, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry, the Germans
are likely to claim their fifth UEFA Champions League title. Although Chelsea
memorably defeated FC Barcelona in their semi-final clash, I do not believe
that Chelsea can repeat a performance of this magnitude.
By Kelvin Jones
@Kelvin_Jones
Statistics courtesy of euroclubindex.com and whoscored.com
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