Tuesday, 3 May 2016

WHO GOES THROUGH ?

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BAYERN MUNICH: Failing to grab an away goal for a third semifinal in succession on Spanish soil in that bitterly disappointing 1-0 defeat in Madrid has left Bayern with the proverbial mountain to climb. Following exits to Real and Barcelona in previous seasons, many are questioning why this year should be any different.
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Stating the obvious, starting Thomas Muller will help a great deal. Tuesday's return promises to be another cagey affair, following the same pattern as the opening joust in Madrid. Bayern will again dominate possession while the visitors will be only too happy to sit deep and strike on the counter attack. Atletico beat Barca in the quarters, but let's not go overboard about their away form. Diego Simeone's side drew blanks at Astana of Kazakhstan in the group stages and also at PSV in the round of 16.
Pep Guardiola must stress that his side have 90 minutes to claw back this one-goal deficit. Rushing in like a Bavarian bull in a china shop, as they did against Juventus, will not cut it this time. Patience will be the key in front of the Munich masses.
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ATLETICO MADRID: Having secured a priceless 1-0 win at the Vicente Calderon courtesy of Saul Niguez's sumptuous individual effort, Atletico will travel to Munich full of confidence they can get the job done. Antoine Griezmann was back among the goals at the weekend and with the likes of Saul, Filipe Luis and the immense Augusto Fernandez able to put their feet up, they will be fresh and raring to go. The Germans need to score and that will suit Atleti just fine. They showed in the first leg they are capable of soaking up pressure -- even without Diego Godin, who could well return for Tuesday -- and hitting on the break. Yannick Carrasco's return to fitness will be key to this counter-attacking approach.
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Should Godin not return, the performances of Jose Maria Gimenez, Lucas Hernandez and Stefan Savic of late will give boss Simeone sufficient confidence that his Uruguayan stalwart will not be too sorely missed. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Jan Oblak appears to have forgotten what it is like to concede, keeping six clean sheets on the spin. Gimenez had Robert Lewandowski in his pocket in the Spanish capital and if the same ensues at the Allianz, it will be Atleti who are heading through.

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