Bayern Munich - Match Preview

[Jase 43,479]

The Match

Chelsea go head-to-head against Bayern Munich once again in the 38th edition of the UEFA Super Cup on Friday in Prague at 8pm BST and it promises to be an intriguing encounter. Many have been looking forward to this game ever since both clubs claim the two club European honours back in May as Chelsea and Bayern Munich won the Europa League and Champions League respectively. These two sides will need no introduction as they last met just over a year ago in the dramatic 2012 Champions League final in Munich. The Blues famously clinched their very first Champions League success on 19th May last year, after overcoming the odds by beating the German giant 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 stalemate after extra time.

Much then has been made about Bayern wanting to get their revenge over the Blues and although one of their key players Thomas Muller admitted they have a ‘score to settle’, he was keen to play down the idea ‘revenge’ after last season’s treble win. "We've got a score to settle with Chelsea but last season healed those wounds, so I don't really think about it anymore and nor do the team” said Muller. After the Bavarian ended the 2011/12 season as runners-up in the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League, they turned into a rampant force last season and brushed aside all comers on their way to claiming all the three aforementioned trophies.

The German international then went on to insist that their aim is to continue proving his club is the best in Europe by winning the UEFA Super Cup. "Our target now is to beat Chelsea. We want to show that it was no coincidence we won the Champions League and that we're still among the best in Europe. We're especially motivated going into this game".

The objective and focus, however, is very much different for their opponents Chelsea. The Blues was also involved in last season’s UEFA Super Cup but suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid in Monaco and defender Branislav Ivanovic has said he and his teammates want right the wrongs of that night. "We're taking this game very seriously. We didn't manage to win this trophy in 2012, so it's good to have another chance. We will be really motivated and will do everything we can to win. We're going to play it like a final" he told UEFA.com.

His manager Jose Mourinho has also echoed his sentiment in that the team should approach the game with a full confidence and look to test themselves against the best, despite managing a younger squad than his Friday’s opponent. “We can compete against them; when you compete eye to eye it means you think you can win, and we think we can” said the Portuguese manager in his pre-match press conference yesterday.

While no doubt the football world’s main focus will be on this game, there is also interest shown towards the rivalry of both sides’ manager – Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. The dislike between two figures have been well publicized after having faced no less than 15 times across various competitions between 2010 and 2012 especially when Mourinho was managing Real Madrid and Guardiola at Barcelona. They were constantly involved in public spats with one another and even though they are now managing different clubs, Mourinho was provoked when being asked questions about Guardiola during his press conference earlier and he responded in anger.

Watching two of Europe heavyweights clash with one another is already fascinating as it is but with these subplots around, it only intensify this content even further. Both Chelsea and Bayern Munich will want add another trophy to their success and win for different reasons and for the managers, they would relish the opportunity to get the better over the other once more in a game neither would want to lose.

About the Teams

Bayern Munich

Pep Guardiola’s side head into this game in decent form after recording 3 wins and 1 draw from the first four Bundesliga matches. Their 100% record in the league came to a grinding halt on Tuesday after conceding a late equalizer away against Freiburg. Many had expected Guardiola to implement the infamous ‘Tiki-Taka’ football style of Barcelona at his new club Bayern but that has not been the case. The Spaniard has the kept the same playing style of the club by continuing to play with wingers in Ribery and Robben with the only minor tweak coming in midfield. Under previous regimes, the Bavarians have typically deployed the 4-2-3-1 formation but under the new manager, he has inverted the midfield three thereby turning it to a 4-3-3 formation which was his favoured system at his former club as he wants his team to dominate the game through midfield.

The former Barcelona manager has been utilizing Bastian Schweinsteinger as the deepest midfielder of the three with Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller ahead of him looking to support the attack. Bayern’s backline of defence remains the same consisting of ‘Alaba-Dante-Boateng-Lahm’ though Lahm has been deployed in midfield several times by his new manager. Despite only minor changes being implemented, Bayern Munich have yet to fully convince in their matches played so far as they continue to adapt to Guardiola’s demands. On occasions, his side have looked laboured in possession with passes being made in non-threatening areas and not creating any real chances and also a lack of proper pressure defensively mean they can be caught vulnerable and exposed to attacks especially in counter attacks

Chelsea

Similar to their opponents, Chelsea also come into the game in reasonably good form having won 2 and drawn 1 of their opening three Premier League with the players putting in encouraging performances although Mourinho was criticized for his negative approach against the English champions Manchester United. Otherwise, the Portuguese tactician is looking to build a side that represents his image and also one that is capable of playing attractive football particularly with plethora of attacking talents at his disposal in the likes of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Oscar and Kevin de Bruyne.

The Blues have showed glimpses of the offensive and exciting style of play against Hull City that Mourinho is looking to build and he would also want to instil the tactical discipline and defensive solidity into the team so that it provides a platform for his young talented squad to express themselves, especially after experiencing troubles of having the right team balance offensively and defensively in recent years which has proved costly in matches.

Past Meetings (vs Bayern Munich – W1 D1 L1)

2004/05 Champions League Quarter Finals 1st Leg (6th April) - Chelsea 4-2 Bayern Munich

2004/05 Champions League Quarter Finals 2nd Leg (12th April) – Bayern Munich 3-2 Chelsea

2011/12 Champions League Final (19th May) – Bayern Munich 1-1 Chelsea [Chelsea won 4-3 on penalties]

2013/14 Season Recent Form (Last 5 Games)

Bayern Munich (W4 D1 F12 A2 CS3)

5th Aug: German Cup 1st Round – BSV Schwarz Weiss Rehden 0-5 Bayern Munich

9th Aug: Bundesliga – Bayern Munich 3-1 Borussia Monchengladbach

17th Aug: Bundesliga – Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Bayern Munich

24th Aug: Bundesliga – Bayern Munich 2-0 Nurnberg

27th Aug: Bundesliga – SC Freiburg 1-1 Bayern Munich

Chelsea (W2 D1 F4 A1 CS2)

18th Aug: Premier League – Chelsea 2-0 Hull City

21st Aug: Premier League – Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa

26th Aug: Premier League – Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea

Team News

Bayern Munich

Pep Guardiola rested many of his key players against Freiburg on Tuesday and his gamble backfired after seeing his side conceding a late equalizer and Bayern’s 100% record in the Bundesliga in the process. It then got worse for him as Schweinsteiger went off injured late on against their league opponents with a sprained ankle and is labelled doubtful for this game.

Another player doubtful for this game is Javi Martinez, who has yet to feature under Guardiola with an abdominal injury but he is likely to be on the bench at most, if given the green light, as his lacks match fitness to start. Other absentees for Bayern include summer signing Thiago Alcantara who has been ruled out for two months with a ligament injury and defender Holger Badstuber after suffering his second rupture cruciate ligament injury in six months back in May and was ruled out for ten months.

On a positive note, Guardiola’s other summer signing Mario Gotze has recently just recovered from a thigh injury and started against both Nurnberg and Freiburg this past week and may well be in the starting XI again as he looks to get back to 100% match fitness. Guardiola, otherwise, still have a strong squad to choose from:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Tom Starke, Lukas Raeder

Defenders: Dante, Daniel van Buyten, Rafinha, Jan Tilman Kirchhoff, Jerome Boateng, Philipp Lahm, Diego Contento, David Alaba

Midfielders: Franck Ribery, Javi Martinez, Arjen Robben, Xherdan Shaqiri, Mario Gotze, Mitchell Weiser, Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos

Strikers: Mario Mandzukic, Claudio Pizarro, Patrick Weihrauch

Doubtful: Bastian Schweinsteiger (sprained ankle), Javi Martinez (abdominal injury)

Injured: Thiago Alcantara (ligament injury), Holger Badstuber (cruciate ligament injury)

Chelsea

In comparison to his counterpart, Jose Mourinho does not have any injury headache to deal with and he has been boosted this week by the return of David Luiz from injury. However, the manager was keen to point out that the Brazilian defender will not be thrown straight into the action as he looks to slowly integrate him back to the team.

The game should also see a few changes being made to the starting line-up as nine players - Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Cole, Ramires, Lampard, Hazard and Oscar – have all played 3 games in 9 days recently with Mourinho looking to rest certain players and provide opportunities to others to regain their match fitness.

However, the new signings Willian and Samuel Eto’o will not be involved for this game as they had only signed for the club in the past two days but should feature sometime soon in upcoming fixtures next month. Other than that, the manager has a fully fit squad of 23 players to choose from:

Goalkeepers: Petr Cech, Mark Schwarzer, Jamal Blackman

Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ryan Bertrand

Midfielders: Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Oscar, John Obi Mikel, Kevin De Bruyne, Marco van Ginkel, Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Andre Schurrle

Strikers: Romelu Lukaku, Demba Ba, Fernando Torres

Stats and Facts

1. Jose Mourinho has faced Pep Guardiola 15 times in all competitions - with Inter Milan & Real Madrid vs Barcelona – and has won just 3 of those meetings – W3 D5 L7.

2. Pep Guardiola has failed to beat Chelsea in 4 European matches - D3 L1.

3. The UEFA Super Cup remains one of the only two trophies Jose Mourinho has yet to win along with the FIFA Club World Cup.

4. Jose Mourinho lost one and his only previous appearance in this competition back in 2003 when his – UEFA Cup Winner - Porto side lost 1-0 to Carlo Ancelotti’s AC Milan. He then guided the same club and Inter Milan to Champions League in 2004 and 2010 respectively but left the club shortly after.

5. Bayern Munich have participated in the UEFA Super Cup the most time without winning – lost to Dynamo Kiev in 1975, Anderlecht in 1976 and Liverpool in 2001.

6. Chelsea will be playing in their third UEFA Super Cup and their previous record reads W1 L1. They defeated Real Madrid 1-0 in the 1998 – managed by Guus Hiddink then – but lost 4-1 to Atletico Madrid in 2012.

7. Chelsea have won 7 of their 14 European matches against German oppositions – D3 L4 – while Bayern Munich recorded 14 wins, 13 draws and 11 losses in 38 matches against English teams in Europe.

Match Odds (Final Result/Full Time)

Bayern WIN – 8/11

DRAW – 11/4

Chelsea WIN – 7/2

(Odds obtained from SkyBet)

TV

The match can be seen live on Sky Sports 1HD or ITV 1/ITV HD if you are from the United Kingdom. Alternatively, you can also catch the game FOX Sports 2 in the United States, Al Jazeera Sports if you are from the Middle East or Ten Action in India. There should be many match streams that can be found online if your local sports channels are not broadcasting the game or if you happen to be busy and cannot catch the game live, follow TalkChelsea on Twitter as it would provide live match commentary on the action.

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[Jase 43,479]

*bump*

[ZanSnake 1,211]

So we have two Romelu Luakaus?

Great preview

[Jase 43,479]

So we have two Romelu Luakaus?

Great preview

Oh dear.

Cheers for pointing that out and the compliment.

[NishC300 1,865]

The Match

Chelsea go head-to-head against Bayern Munich once again in the 38th edition of the UEFA Super Cup on Friday in Prague at 8pm BST and it promises to be an intriguing encounter. Many have been looking forward to this game ever since both clubs claim the two club European honours back in May as Chelsea and Bayern Munich won the Europa League and Champions League respectively. These two sides will need no introduction as they last met just over a year ago in the dramatic 2012 Champions League final in Munich. The Blues famously clinched their very first Champions League success on 19th May last year, after overcoming the odds by beating the German giant 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 stalemate after extra time.

Much then has been made about Bayern wanting to get their revenge over the Blues and although one of their key players Thomas Muller admitted they have a ‘score to settle’, he was keen to play down the idea ‘revenge’ after last season’s treble win. "We've got a score to settle with Chelsea but last season healed those wounds, so I don't really think about it anymore and nor do the team” said Muller. After the Bavarian ended the 2011/12 season as runners-up in the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League, they turned into a rampant force last season and brushed aside all comers on their way to claiming all the three aforementioned trophies.

The German international then went on to insist that their aim is to continue proving his club is the best in Europe by winning the UEFA Super Cup. "Our target now is to beat Chelsea. We want to show that it was no coincidence we won the Champions League and that we're still among the best in Europe. We're especially motivated going into this game".

The objective and focus, however, is very much different for their opponents Chelsea. The Blues was also involved in last season’s UEFA Super Cup but suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid in Monaco and defender Branislav Ivanovic has said he and his teammates want right the wrongs of that night. "We're taking this game very seriously. We didn't manage to win this trophy in 2012, so it's good to have another chance. We will be really motivated and will do everything we can to win. We're going to play it like a final" he told UEFA.com.

His manager Jose Mourinho has also echoed his sentiment in that the team should approach the game with a full confidence and look to test themselves against the best, despite managing a younger squad than his Friday’s opponent. “We can compete against them; when you compete eye to eye it means you think you can win, and we think we can” said the Portuguese manager in his pre-match press conference yesterday.

While no doubt the football world’s main focus will be on this game, there is also interest shown towards the rivalry of both sides’ manager – Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. The dislike between two figures have been well publicized after having faced no less than 15 times across various competitions between 2010 and 2012 especially when Mourinho was managing Real Madrid and Guardiola at Barcelona. They were constantly involved in public spats with one another and even though they are now managing different clubs, Mourinho was provoked when being asked questions about Guardiola during his press conference earlier and he responded in anger.

Watching two of Europe heavyweights clash with one another is already fascinating as it is but with these subplots around, it only intensify this content even further. Both Chelsea and Bayern Munich will want add another trophy to their success and win for different reasons and for the managers, they would relish the opportunity to get the better over the other once more in a game neither would want to lose.

About the Teams

Bayern Munich

Pep Guardiola’s side head into this game in decent form after recording 3 wins and 1 draw from the first four Bundesliga matches. Their 100% record in the league came to a grinding halt on Tuesday after conceding a late equalizer away against Freiburg. Many had expected Guardiola to implement the infamous ‘Tiki-Taka’ football style of Barcelona at his new club Bayern but that has not been the case. The Spaniard has the kept the same playing style of the club by continuing to play with wingers in Ribery and Robben with the only minor tweak coming in midfield. Under previous regimes, the Bavarians have typically deployed the 4-2-3-1 formation but under the new manager, he has inverted the midfield three thereby turning it to a 4-3-3 formation which was his favoured system at his former club as he wants his team to dominate the game through midfield.

The former Barcelona manager has been utilizing Bastian Schweinsteinger as the deepest midfielder of the three with Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller ahead of him looking to support the attack. Bayern’s backline of defence remains the same consisting of ‘Alaba-Dante-Boateng-Lahm’ though Lahm has been deployed in midfield several times by his new manager. Despite only minor changes being implemented, Bayern Munich have yet to fully convince in their matches played so far as they continue to adapt to Guardiola’s demands. On occasions, his side have looked laboured in possession with passes being made in non-threatening areas and not creating any real chances and also a lack of proper pressure defensively mean they can be caught vulnerable and exposed to attacks especially in counter attacks

Chelsea

Similar to their opponents, Chelsea also come into the game in reasonably good form having won 2 and drawn 1 of their opening three Premier League with the players putting in encouraging performances although Mourinho was criticized for his negative approach against the English champions Manchester United. Otherwise, the Portuguese tactician is looking to build a side that represents his image and also one that is capable of playing attractive football particularly with plethora of attacking talents at his disposal in the likes of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Oscar and Kevin de Bruyne.

The Blues have showed glimpses of the offensive and exciting style of play against Hull City that Mourinho is looking to build and he would also want to instil the tactical discipline and defensive solidity into the team so that it provides a platform for his young talented squad to express themselves, especially after experiencing troubles of having the right team balance offensively and defensively in recent years which has proved costly in matches.

Past Meetings (vs Bayern Munich – W1 D1 L1)

2004/05 Champions League Quarter Finals 1st Leg (6th April) - Chelsea 4-2 Bayern Munich

2004/05 Champions League Quarter Finals 2nd Leg (12th April) – Bayern Munich 3-2 Chelsea

2011/12 Champions League Final (19th May) – Bayern Munich 1-1 Chelsea [Chelsea won 4-3 on penalties]

2013/14 Season Recent Form (Last 5 Games)

Bayern Munich (W4 D1 F12 A2 CS3)

5th Aug: German Cup 1st Round – BSV Schwarz Weiss Rehden 0-5 Bayern Munich

9th Aug: Bundesliga – Bayern Munich 3-1 Borussia Monchengladbach

17th Aug: Bundesliga – Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Bayern Munich

24th Aug: Bundesliga – Bayern Munich 2-0 Nurnberg

27th Aug: Bundesliga – SC Freiburg 1-1 Bayern Munich

Chelsea (W2 D1 F4 A1 CS2)

18th Aug: Premier League – Chelsea 2-0 Hull City

21st Aug: Premier League – Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa

26th Aug: Premier League – Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea

Team News

Bayern Munich

Pep Guardiola rested many of his key players against Freiburg on Tuesday and his gamble backfired after seeing his side conceding a late equalizer and Bayern’s 100% record in the Bundesliga in the process. It then got worse for him as Schweinsteiger went off injured late on against their league opponents with a sprained ankle and is labelled doubtful for this game.

Another player doubtful for this game is Javi Martinez, who has yet to feature under Guardiola with an abdominal injury but he is likely to be on the bench at most, if given the green light, as his lacks match fitness to start. Other absentees for Bayern include summer signing Thiago Alcantara who has been ruled out for two months with a ligament injury and defender Holger Badstuber after suffering his second rupture cruciate ligament injury in six months back in May and was ruled out for ten months.

On a positive note, Guardiola’s other summer signing Mario Gotze has recently just recovered from a thigh injury and started against both Nurnberg and Freiburg this past week and may well be in the starting XI again as he looks to get back to 100% match fitness. Guardiola, otherwise, still have a strong squad to choose from:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Tom Starke, Lukas Raeder

Defenders: Dante, Daniel van Buyten, Rafinha, Jan Tilman Kirchhoff, Jerome Boateng, Philipp Lahm, Diego Contento, David Alaba

Midfielders: Franck Ribery, Javi Martinez, Arjen Robben, Xherdan Shaqiri, Mario Gotze, Mitchell Weiser, Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos

Strikers: Mario Mandzukic, Claudio Pizarro, Patrick Weihrauch

Doubtful: Bastian Schweinsteiger (sprained ankle), Javi Martinez (abdominal injury)

Injured: Thiago Alcantara (ligament injury), Holger Badstuber (cruciate ligament injury)

Chelsea

In comparison to his counterpart, Jose Mourinho does not have any injury headache to deal with and he has been boosted this week by the return of David Luiz from injury. However, the manager was keen to point out that the Brazilian defender will not be thrown straight into the action as he looks to slowly integrate him back to the team.

The game should also see a few changes being made to the starting line-up as nine players - Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Cole, Ramires, Lampard, Hazard and Oscar – have all played 3 games in 9 days recently with Mourinho looking to rest certain players and provide opportunities to others to regain their match fitness.

However, the new signings Willian and Samuel Eto’o will not be involved for this game as they had only signed for the club in the past two days but should feature sometime soon in upcoming fixtures next month. Other than that, the manager has a fully fit squad of 23 players to choose from:

Goalkeepers: Petr Cech, Mark Schwarzer, Jamal Blackman

Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ryan Bertrand

Midfielders: Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Oscar, John Obi Mikel, Kevin De Bruyne, Marco van Ginkel, Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Andre Schurrle

Strikers: Romelu Lukaku, Demba Ba, Fernando Torres

Stats and Facts

1. Jose Mourinho has faced Pep Guardiola 15 times in all competitions - with Inter Milan & Real Madrid vs Barcelona – and has won just 3 of those meetings – W3 D5 L7.

2. Pep Guardiola has failed to beat Chelsea in 4 European matches - D3 L1.

3. The UEFA Super Cup remains one of the only two trophies Jose Mourinho has yet to win along with the FIFA Club World Cup.

4. Jose Mourinho lost one and his only previous appearance in this competition back in 2003 when his – UEFA Cup Winner - Porto side lost 1-0 to Carlo Ancelotti’s AC Milan. He then guided the same club and Inter Milan to Champions League in 2004 and 2010 respectively but left the club shortly after.

5. Bayern Munich have participated in the UEFA Super Cup the most time without winning – lost to Dynamo Kiev in 1975, Anderlecht in 1976 and Liverpool in 2001.

6. Chelsea will be playing in their third UEFA Super Cup and their previous record reads W1 L1. They defeated Real Madrid 1-0 in the 1998 – managed by Guus Hiddink then – but lost 4-1 to Atletico Madrid in 2012.

7. Chelsea have won 7 of their 14 European matches against German oppositions – D3 L4 – while Bayern Munich recorded 14 wins, 13 draws and 11 losses in 38 matches against English teams in Europe.

Match Odds (Final Result/Full Time)

Bayern WIN – 8/11

DRAW – 11/4

Chelsea WIN – 7/2

(Odds obtained from SkyBet)

TV

The match can be seen live on Sky Sports 1HD or ITV 1/ITV HD if you are from the United Kingdom. Alternatively, you can also catch the game FOX Sports 2 in the United States, Al Jazeera Sports if you are from the Middle East or Ten Action in India. There should be many match streams that can be found online if your local sports channels are not broadcasting the game or if you happen to be busy and cannot catch the game live, follow TalkChelsea on Twitter as it would provide live match commentary on the action.

Click here to view article

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