This evening Chelsea host German giants Bayern Munich in the first leg of the last-16 in the Premier League. The tie is certainly a tough one for the inconsistent Blues. At least they head into the game on the back of a 2-1 home win over London rivals Tottenham.
Bayern are dangerous in attack
The win over Spurs saw an improvement of performance from Frank Lampard’s side. However, Tottenham head to Stamford Bridge without their two main attacking threat in Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son. Without the pair, they looked toothless in attack and the Blues looked relatively solid in defence.
However, Bayern offers a major attacking threat to opposition teams. In fact, the reigning German champions have scored at least twice in ten of their last 11 matches in all competitions. They coasted through the group stages, winning all six games and firing home at least two goals in each win. A 7-2 win at Tottenham was a particularly eyeing catching result.
The key to Bayern’s attacking play is, of course, the prolific Polish international Robert Lewandowski. The 31-year-old is joint-top goalscorer in the Champions League this season alongside Dortmund wonderkid Erling Haaland. He has also scored an impressive 25 Bundesliga goals.
The Blues defence will have to produce much better displays than they have done this season to keep the Pole out. Winger Serge Gnabry has also found form this season too, as the former-Arsenal star has scored four times in the Champions League and ten in the Bundesliga.
A test of character
This season Chelsea have done okay considering they were not able to bring in new additions last summer. Head coach Lampard also decided not to sign anybody in the January transfer window either. Instead, he has kept faith with the players at the club.
At times this season the Blues have been inconsistent and have not produced the expected results, especially at Stamford Bridge, where they have suffered seven defeats in all competitions. This is a chance for the current squad to show Lampard that they have the quality and even maybe more important the mentality to pick-up a big result against one of the top teams in Europe.
Youngsters like Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have done more right than wrong and have become established first-team players, despite Mount’s recent run out of the team. These are the sort of games that will help their development and turn them into better players.
Chelsea the underdogs in the tie
Considering the circumstances, Chelsea were always likely to be the underdog against any team they faced in the last-16 of the Champions League. The Blues are odds of 11/4 to win the first leg of the tie, with Bayern Munich 10/11 to claim a win at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have defied the odds this season by remaining in the Premier League’s Champions League spots for so long. However, that could have something to do with the teams below them being wildly inconsistent this season.
It would be a major feather in the cap of Lampard to guide his team into the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season. Bayern Munich are one of the favourites to lift the trophy, so Chelsea has a big job on their hands. However, as we know in football anything can and does happen, so you just never know. Lampard’s team may just pull off a surprise.
Can Chelsea upset the odds and beat Bayern Munich?
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