Ah, the pageantry of the Semifinals of the UEFA Champions League. With only two games to follow, gone is the need to dual-monitor your matches, watch games on broadcasting delay, and (for me at least) read many, many lines before figuring out how to predict a match. Its truly the best time of the year.
But enough of my waxing poetic, on to the predicting!
Tuesday, 20 April 2:45 EDT
Internazionale Milan v. FC Barcelona [O/U 2.5 even -130] - The Special One gets a second crack at Barcelona in this year's Champions League as Inter welcome Barcelona to the San Siro Tuesday. During the group stage, Inter drew 0-0 at home despite being dominated statistically by Barca. Will it happen again? I am not so sure this time around, as these teams are not the same ones that met in the fall. Noticeably absent from the Blaugrana is Andres "lo puto crack" Iniesta, whose play in the midfield is instrumental to an efficient Barcelona side. Guardiola has been experimenting with different looks to make up for his absence, most notably bringing up Maxwell and Dani Alves into more midfield roles in the past couple of games, to mixed effect. Xavi has picked up the slack as well, as my beloved Real side can attest. And finally, how can we forget about this guy:
I really don't know what he is looking at so intently, but its kind of frightening. Maicon, the Special One, and the rest of Inter would be wise to keep their eyes on the little magician as he is easily the most dangerous player in the multiverse right now. (Even Thong Boy agrees, kind of!) Honestly, I would be shocked if Mourinho hasn't prepared his side to the utmost to deal with the Messi Problem, so his impact on the game may be somewhat muted. The real question for me is how much will Mourinho push his men to go for the aggressive strategy of attaining a home goal or play the conservative counterattack to contain Barca's offense. I see the match falling somewhere in-between:
Prediction: Inter 1-1 Barcelona
Wednesday, 21 April 2:45 EDT
FC Bayern Munich (-.5) v. Olympique Lyonnais [O/U 2.5 -110 -120] - Yes, yes we have all heard it before. Germany v. France, World War overtones, et cetera et cetera. Really though, perhaps the best and most notable thing about this match is that it will probably be recreated in Lego form by some ingenious (insane?) Germans:
If you haven't seen that yet, you really, really have to watch. The Robben moneyshot is incredible. Anyways, I think this should be a rather compelling tie. I have hated on both of these teams in the past, predicting the downfall of Bayern at various stages and underestimating Lyon's ability to get by Bordeaux. As John has pointed out to me (in a bit of pro-German bias I think? What propaganda has Eisbar been feeding you?), Bayern score with great aplomb. The facts actually bare this out; Bayern have a fat +24 GD in games at home in the Bundesliga. They are also the 4th highest scoring team this year's CL. Lyon have been nothing if not plucky in defense, though. Through the competition, they have been able to frustrate the competent offenses of Madrid and Bordeaux. How will strength play against strength at the Fussball Arena Munchen? I will look for Bayern to come away with the win in a close and exciting match:
Prediction: Bayern 2-1 Lyon
And what would be a matchday featuring Inter be without a Special guest appearance?
"Shut up, Messi!"
