A Champions League tie that was expected to be an easy sweep for
Manchester United has turned into a struggle reminiscent of the 1999 Champions League final between the same two clubs. Last tuesday the European giants clashed at Allianz Arena in Munich where the Red Devils took the early lead through a Nani free-kick that was deflected into goal by none other than United's talismanic striker Wayne Rooney. 75 minutes passed without incident until
Franck Ribery converted a set-piece that took an admittedly lucky deflection. The equalizer seemed to breathe new life into Bayern as a renewed assault on goal finally produced results in stoppage time when Ivica Olic dribbled through 3 United defenders to put away the game winning goal.
Munich's second goal was hardly the biggest blow for United last Tuesday. Shortly before Petric gave Bayern the lead,
Wayne Rooney had to leave the pitch after rolling his ankle and incurring a semi-serious sprain. Rooney's absence proved to be a deciding factor as Manchester were noticeably impotent up front against Chelsea as the Blues beat United at
Old Trafford and claimed the league's number 1 spot. Early estimates by both doctors and bookies had Rooney out for 2-4 weeks, but the young striker has made a much speedier recovery than even the most hopeful fan could anticipate. Word has come from the United camp that Rooney could be ready to face Bayern on Wednesday and will be fit for Sunday's clash against Blackburn at the very latest. Recovery in one week from an ankle-sprain is nothing short of miraculous and could be the deciding factor for United's Champions League chances.
Manchester's fortunes definitely took a turn for the worse after last week's Champions League encounter, but
Bayern Munich have once again claimed the top spot in Germany's Bundesliga. A 2-1 victory on the road against title rivals Schalke 04 will have the Reds soaring with confidence. Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller put Bayern up 2-0 before the 30' and although Kevin Kuranyi got one back just a few minutes later, a tough Bayern defense held on to put the Bavarian club one point ahead of the northern challengers.
Bayern manager Louis van Gaal is optimistic about
Arjen Robben's chances to travel with the team to Manchester. The Dutch winger is no stranger to big European games as he played for Chelsea for 3 years and would be invaluable experience-wise for the trip to Old Trafford. Robben is not injured but suffering from strained calf muscles. Van Gaal is trying to play it safe with one of his team's top players but will no doubt want him in contention for such an important match.
Sir Alex may fear that his players have a lack of belief without their talismanic frontman and will be crossing his fingers that
Rooney will be fit before kick-off on Wednesday night. This could be the single most important factor in the outcome of the second leg as
Van Gaal is likely to deploy a defensive formation to protect his team's lead with a draw or better. Without the vision and quality of Wayne Rooney up front, Manchester are in danger of losing their 3rd straight game in much the same fashion as last weekend's defeat to Chelsea.
Manchester United vs Bayern Munich
Wednesday 7 March, 2010
Kickoff: 8:45 PM (CET)
Venue: Old Trafford (Greater Manchester)
Tip: Bayern Munich +0 (Asian Handicap)
Best Odds: 3.70 @ Bet365
