Manchester United and Bayern Munich will contest the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.
For many this match is a foregone conclusion. Bayern Munich is arguably the greatest team on the planet with an unbeaten run of well over 50 games. Meanwhile Manchester United's season has been a massive disaster from the start up until now.
For the club, the only remaining trophy that it can win is the Champions League. United sits in seventh in the Premier League and is unlikely to qualify for this tournament next year... unless it wins the tournament. In order to do that the Red Devils would have to topple the defending champions; manager David Moyes thinks this is a feasible possibility.
"We want to win the game as much as Bayern Munich. We go into the game knowing that on our day we are as good a side as any. We don't show it often enough but I have great belief in the players," said Moyes according to ESPN.
It is ironic that United is coming into the match after a 4-1 win this weekend, while Munich is coming off arguably its worst performance of the year in a 3-3 draw in the Bundesliga. Manchester United can also take solace in the fact Bayern Munich's four previous matches against English side have not been completely convincing. The wins at the Ethiad and Emirates against Manchester City and Arsenal were solid, but the subsequent games at home were a 3-2 loss and a 1-1 draw. Even in the first leg against Arsenal, the team struggled early on and nearly conceded a penalty goal in the opening 10 minutes.
The inverse of that is that Munich has played exceedingly well in England this year, meaning that the opening leg at the Old Trafford could end negatively for United.
The midfield battle will be of utmost attention for both sides. Bayern Munich has dominated the midfield this year, while United's biggest weakness has been its midfield play. The English side has been unable to manage solid possession of the ball and has lacked the creativity to penetrate strong defenses. Munich has had no such trouble and should be the superior side in this matchup when it comes to ball retention. Expect the German side to retain the ball 65 percent of the time.
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If Manchester United has any hopes of pulling off a win, then it will need Wayne Rooney to be at his game-changing best. Rooney leads the team with 15 goals this season and has come up with huge strikes in huge games. The injury to Robin Van Persie, who scored the three goals against Olympiacos in the second leg of the round of 16, makes Rooney of even greater importance to the club.
Prediction: Bayern Munich comes away with a 3-0 win.
The match kicks off at 3:45 p.m. EST and can be streamed online on Fox Soccer 2 Go. It can also be viewed on Fox Deportes.
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