Champions League Semi Final Predictions

What a fantastic line up for the semi-finals. Arguably the best 4 club teams in the world right now. Although, I would personally place Athletico Madrid above Juventus.

So what are the predictions? Well it seems like a given that Real Madrid will ‘coast’ past Juventus over the two legs. The likelihood is that this may actually happen, however, it most definitely won’t be plain sailing. Pirlo, Pogba, Vidal and Tevez and 4 of the best players, in their positions, on the planet. However Real Madrid do still have the far superior squad.

Prediction:

1^st Leg: Juventus 1 – 1 Real Madrid

2^nd Leg: Real Madrid 2 – 0 Juventus

Real Madrid through 3 - 1 on aggregate. 

On to Bayern vs Barca, the clash I am personally most excited to see. Last time these two met, Pep Guadiola was managing Barcelona and they were smashed 7-0 on aggregate, signalling the end of tiki-taka football, or so it seemed. Since then Guardiola has taken over at Bayern and turned them into the pass masters who have dominated everything domestically and smashed their way through to the semis when the pressure was on.

Barcelona are in a rich run of form and although they don’t play quite as they used to, they are arguably now an even better side. Messi, Suarez and Neymar are quite possibly the 3 most creative players in the world and provide a simply unstoppable force at times.

I can see these three players being key. The strength and depth of Bayern’s squad is quite frankly ridiculous, there are more world-class players than there are positions available, they are a better team than Guardiola’s Barcelona of four years ago in terms of resilience. However, Messi will be the best player on that pitch and Suarez may well be the second best player. I can see this one being close but I think Barcelona will edge it if their front three remain in top form.

Prediction:

1^st Leg: Barcelona 2 – 1 Bayern Munich

2^nd Leg: Bayern Munich 2 – 2 Barcelona

Barcelona through 4 - 3 on aggregate.

Yes I am predicting an El Classico final but one other thing to remember, and yes this is a get-out-clause if my predictions are horribly wrong. With world-class players on the pitch, any score line can occur and there is no predicting that. There’s nothing Real Madrid can do if Pirlo scores 4 free kicks over the two legs, even if they are the better side, just as there is nothing Bayern can do, even if they have 70% possession and create twice as many chances as Barcelona, if Messi goes on several mazy runs that result in a goal. That is what makes these ties so exciting and the Champions league so exciting.