Chelsea will need a bit of everything – tactics, luck, over-the-top performances – to stay in the tie against Bayern Munich starting tonight at Stamford Bridge.
On paper… on a European night… the last time… We all know the canards and caveats, but do Chelsea really have a chance against Bayern Munich? Our writers are… shaky.
Barrett Rouen: Chelsea 1 – 3 Bayern Munich. I hate to do this but I think the Blues are going to get hammered. Let’s not forget that Andreas Christensen was outmuscled and outmaneuvered by Antony Martial the other day. Can you imagine what Robert Lewandowski is going to do? The Germans still have several players in their squad who remember why they should hate London’s only European champions.
I hate betting against Chelsea but maybe I will be cursed for it and then Chelsea will win and then everything will be wonderful.
Scott Brant: 0 – 1. I expect Chelsea to play a very good match. They will be ready, and play just as well as they did against Spurs. The problem is Bayern won’t be as bad as Tottenham. They will not want to concede, but won’t risk too much going forward. Robert Lewandowski will do what he does and make something out of nothing. The Blues play their best, and it’s still not enough.
Abhishek Pancholi: 0 – 3. This two-legged tie will be settled in the first hour of the first leg. While Frank Lampard may have won club football’s biggest prize against the Bavarian giants, he will find this hurdle a bit too high to overcome at this stage of his Chelsea side’s evolution.
Chelsea will be left chasing shadows for most of the game while Robert Lewandowski grabs a hat trick. Bayern will ease off in the last 30 minutes, having vehemently made their point in the preceding hour. That won’t be enough for the home side to break down a stubborn defence and salvage something from the game.
Kevin Peacock: 1 – 1. Will Bayern Munich want to come to Stamford Bridge and pay back Frank Lampard for that one night in Munich? You can bet your life they will. The Germans will arrive confident of doing the deed. However, as they did eight years ago, they will underestimate Chelsea at their peril.
On paper, it looks like a Munich win but the reality will always give Chelsea a chance. Lampard may not be able to engineer a win, but a draw is possible. Olivier Giroud loves European football and will be keen to continue to stake his claim to lead the line. With Munich not wanting to risk another defeat they settle for sharing the spoils.
Olaoluwa Nwobodo: 0 – 0. This seems like a nervy game. It looks like the kind of game that will be heavily tactical, with both parties doing everything they can to make sure they don’t concede first. Chelsea will be well aware of their defensive problems, so they’ll be focusing on that. If they can keep a clean sheet at home, they have the advantage going into the second leg.
Varun Dani: 2 – 1. Frank Lampard showed his tactically astute side against Spurs, going for a bold combination of three at the back with four central midfielders. It worked, but this was a rare occasion of brilliance in an otherwise mistake-ridden season for him.
Repeating the same trick is a risk, as Tottenham were missing the one thing Bayern assuredly have: a world class striker. The game will be decided on how well the midfield and wingbacks can cut the supply to the forwards to limit their inevitable onslaught.
I, for one, believe the Spurs game was a turning point for the season, a much needed morale victory and my prediction draws on using this spirit to upstage the Bavarian favourites once again.
Tan Yi Hao: 1 – 3. Considering how Chelsea win every time I predict them to lose, Im going for 3-1 against. Now go do your thing.
Nate Hofmann: 1 – 2. Unfortunately for Chelsea, Bayern have saved their best performances for the Champions League this season. They pulled off a perfect group stage, including a glorious demolition job against Spurs, which, while enjoyable in the moment, doesn’t bode well for the Blues’ lax defense. Add in Chelsea’s dearth of healthy attacking options, and things look fairly dire at both ends of the pitch.
The return leg in Munich has the chance to be exceptionally ugly, but this home tie should only be somewhat unsatisfactory.
Vansh Ambashta: 1 – 0. Chelsea will be defending for the majority of the game. And with some heroics from the returning Kepa Arrizabalaga, Bayern will not score despite keeping most of the possession.
Chelsea will break on the counter in the dying moments and Willian will score the winner to fetch the win.