Arsenal and Bayern Munich face off in the second leg of the round of 16 Champions League match on Tuesday.
Most pundits think that this tie is essentially over. Munich stormed into Arsenal, took over the game and came away with a 2-0 win. Arsenal's Mesut Ozil missed a penalty shot in the opening 10 minutes and then proceeded to have the most forgettable match of his prolific career. Meanwhile, goalie Wojciech Szczęsny earned a red card for a foul against Arjen Robben; on the ensuing penalty David Alaba also missed.
The game remained 0-0 heading into the second half when Munich completely took over despite a stingy Arsenal defense. Toni Kroos eventually took complete control of the match and scored the opener; Thomas Mueller scored what many believed to be the nail in the coffin.
Now Arsenal must do something that it did a year ago when it went to Munich in the second leg of the round of 16 in the UCL. The Gunners came away with a 2-0 win at the Allianz Arena, but wound up losing on away goals after a 3-1 beating a home. Can Arsenal pull off a miracle?
Arsenal
The Gunners are seeing their dreams of a Premier League title slip away after a 1-0 loss against Stoke City last week. However, the team is still contending for the FA Cup, possibly the side's only hope at a trophy in 2013-14.
This match should be interesting for the Gunners for a number of reasons. First of all, the team proved that it could play with Munich in the first leg. The team dominated the opening of that match by taking advantage of Munich's high line and by outpacing them. Even when they were down a man, Arsenal managed to play sturdy defense.
Another interesting angle for this game will be how Ozil responds to the criticism from the first leg. He was awful and even had to deal with his own teammate Mathieu Flamini for a poor defensive play. Will he respond?
Bayern Munich
Pep Guardiola's team is in the driver's seat and is looking to extend its unbeaten run to 49 games; however, Guardiola's own comments would suggest that his team is not taking the 2-0 lead for granted.
"It's better to go into the match with a 2-0 lead," Guardiola said, according to ESPN. "But it's a final, it's a knockout game. That is always dangerous.
"We must be aggressive, with the ball or without it. I don't want to see my team trying to control the result," he said. "When we start playing for time and only defend the result, we will run into major problems.
Player to Watch: Ozil has the most at stake. He was embarrassed in the first leg and will likely want to redeem himself in some way. When he is on his game, he is arguably the most talented player on either side. If he can carry Arsenal on his back, then maybe the English side has some hope.
Prediction: Expect a 1-1 draw or even a scoreless tie.
The match kicks off at 2:45 p.m. EST and can be streamed online on Fox Soccer 2 Go. It can also be viewed on Fox Soccer Plus.
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