Bayern Munich vs Roma – Champions League 

Benfica vs Hapoel Tel Aviv – Champions LeagueGroups E’s first round game with Bayern Munich hosting AS Roma. A great game at sight, between two teams with a good european tradition.

Bayern Munich’s team hasn’t started the way they hoped for in the Bundesliga (1 Loss, 1 Draw, 1 Win) but is always a strong team to take in consideration. Last year they got to the final and certainly this year’s objective is the same. It’s a very strong team playing at home setting a fast pace in the game. In this match they will control the game most of the time and will have to find ways to pass the Roma’s defense and get to the goal. They should be aware of Roma’s counter-attack, which is strong, and also from set pieces. Bayern will have to play a patient game, which won’t have their brightest stars in the game. Arjen Robben is injured while Ribéry is suspended. Although both are heavy losses, the bavarian team has other great players in its team, which could make a difference also, like Ivica Olic or Muller. I think that playing at home, they start strong and i see a clear victory, which could boost morale to a team that has started the season not so well.

Starting eleven: Butt, Lahm, Demichelis, van Buyten, Badstuber, van Bommel, Schweinsteiger, Pranjic, Muller, Olic and Klose.

Roma also hasn’t started this season well, having just one point after two Calcio rounds. The romans come from a humiliating defeat (5-1) against Cagliari last weekend. The italian team returns to the Champions League, after securing 2nd place in last season’s championship. In this first round they won’t have an easy match, meeting Bayern in Germany. The current moment isn’t the best and i expect many difficulties to this team. During the game they will have a defensive approach, trying to break in counter-attack taking advantage of any german mistake. It’ll be an hard game for the italians and it will be a difficult test. For this match, they also, have important absences, amongst them Castellinni Tadei, Vicinic, Mexés and Riise. So, should be Totti leading the team, helped by Menez and Borriello. As i said, i expect great difficulties for the italians, and they should lose this game.

Starting eleven: Júlio Sérgio, Rosi, Juan, Burdisso, Cassetti, De Rossi, Pizarro, Perrotta, Totti, Menez and Borriello.

Conclusion: I see a hard fought game, very intense and with the home team controlling the game. Bayern is the current vice-Champion and they’re going to give it all in front of their fans. Setting a fast paced game, putting pressure over the roman defense reaching for goal. I think that if they score early, they will have a great win. Roma is not in it’s best moment and there’s already some fuss in the background. This is not the best game to turn the situation around, given that Bayern is an excellent team and is playing at home. I think that the bad moment the Italian team has currently, with the fact that Bayern is playing at home and has a better team organization, will lead to a clear victory for Bayern.