Two years ago Bayern destroyed Barcelona at the same stage, recording a 7-0 aggregate win on their way to winning the title. The 3-0 success they enjoyed in the Camp Nou remains the Blaugrana’s only home Champions League defeat in the last six years (33 matches), and while Barca will be to looking to avenge that humiliation, a familiar face at the helm of the Bundesliga champions is intent on compounding their misery.
Nobody knows the Catalans better than Pep Guardiola, the man who won 14 trophies during his tenure at the Camp Nou, and having swapped Catalonia for Bavaria, the Bayern boss will have surely formulated a plan to try and contain a free-scoring Barca side. Sitting in the opposing dugout is Luis Enrique, Guardiola’s friend and former teammate, and the current Barca manager has seen his side truly blossom in 2015 to sit top of La Liga with three games to go.
Central to their success this year has been the blistering form of the front three and Messi, Neymar and Suarez, netting 108 goals between them in all competitions.
Without injuries, playing at home and with plenty of confidence, it is unsurprising to find Barcelona as the favorites, with the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook dealing the Spanish club at -150 odds. It is a price you rarely see the hosts offered at when playing at the Camp Nou, and it is surely worthy of some consideration.
The draw meanwhile is offered at +300 with Bayern available at 4-to-1 odds, yet the Germans do not have the best away record in the competition. Indeed the side from Munich has won only two of their last seven matches on the road in the Champions League, and in the previous round they suffered a 3-1 loss in Porto.
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Furthermore, Bayern have seen some of their key players suffer injuries in recent weeks, with Arjen Robben out for the season, Frank Ribery a major doubt, and Robert Lewandowski potentially only available to play with a protective mask. The injuries had a profound impact on the odds. At the beginning of last week, the Westgate priced the match Barca -105, Munich +290, draw +260.
It is a far from ideal situation for the Germans who will surely be looking to just contain Barca in order to try and win the tie at the Allianz Arena next week. Given all these factors, backing a home win makes sense, and the price of -150 is as big as you will find for a Barcelona triumph.
Goal.com best bet: Barcelona to win at -150..This story has been edited since its original version on Goal.com to reflect the odds offered in Las Vegas.
