Champions League Betting – Bayern Munich at Barcelona

Bayern Munich (+425) at FC Barcelona (-137) (Draw +290)

Arguably the two best teams in Europe will meet in one UEFA Champions League semifinal on Wednesday when FC Barcelona host Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp in the first leg of the two-game series (2:45 PM ET). The winner (based on aggregate goals in the two games) will advance to the final in Berlin and face the winner of Real Madrid vs. Juventus.

Domestically, Barcelona sit atop Spain’s La Liga, two points up on Real, and come into Wednesday’s game after hammering Getafe 8-0 on the weekend.

“It’s true that we are in really good form, but with each new game you have to create the type of chances that help you get those good results,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said after the lopsided win. “Today the result was a big one thanks to the efficiency we had. But up to the 39th minute, we had two or three clear chances, and it looked like the ball didn’t want to cross the line.

Bayern Munich obviously represent much stiffer competition that Getafe, though, and have historically given Barcelona problems; Barca have won just one of their eight previous matches against the Bavarians in European competitions (1-2-5) and the last time they met in the UCL semis (in 2013), Bayern crushed Barcelona, 7-0.

Of course, a lot has changed since then; among the notable differences is the fact that former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola now directs the German sideline. Tomorrow’s game will be the first time he has faced his former squad.

Enrique knows that coaching against Guardiola will bring unique challenges.

“Guardiola is the best because he has won trophies with attacking football, because he is capable of adapting to another country,” said Enrique.

On the injury front, Bayern Munich will be without playmaker Arjen Robben, who was lost for the rest of the season with an abdominal injury, and striker Robert Lewandowski will wear a protective mask to cover his nose and jaw, which he fractured in a game against Dortmund last week.

“We will see Monday, Tuesday what shape he is in,” Guardiola said about Lewandowski. “In the first few days the injury is painful.’’

The Bavarians are making their fourth straight semi-final appearance in the Champions League which is a new record for the club; they made it to the finals twice with Heynckes on the bench but lost last season under Guardiola.

Bayern are a bigger underdog than most expected, sitting at +425 to win at the Nou Camp. The high payout is largely due to the team’s key injuries – in particular to Robben – and it would indeed be a surprise if Barcelona doesn’t come out on top playing at home against a beleaguered squad.

Pick: Barcelona -137.

(Photo credit: By Lluís from Sabadell (Barcelona), España (LFS_14039) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)