Bayern Munich vs. Atletico Madrid Preview
Where: Allianz Arena – Munich, Germany
When: Tuesday, December 6, 2:45 PM ET
Line: Bayern Munich -181 vs. Atletico Madrid +410, tie +270; total 2.5 – view all Champions League soccer lines
TV Broadcast: Fox Sports 1
Writer’s Pick: Draw
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Betting on Bayern Munich (-181)
It’s been a rather disappointing debut campaign thus far for Bayern Munich under new manager Carlo Ancelotti. The German champions have not been the all-conquering force they were in the Bundesliga under Pep Guardiola. They are currently second, three points behind surprise package RB Leipzig.
The Bavarians are also stuck in second place in their Champions League group behind Atletico after a 3-0-2 record through the first five games. Bayern were stunned in their last Champions League assignment as they lost 3-2 away to FC Rostov. Bayern have won their first two home games, scoring nine goals and conceding just one.
The Germans will be without central defender Jerome Boateng due to a shoulder injury. This could be an area of concern, as Bayern have struggled defensively in recent games. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in eight straight games.
Ancelotti is also expected to make a few more changes to his team, but don’t expect too much of a drop-off in quality. Bayern’s reserves include the likes of excellent midfielder Arturo Vidal, who has been sidelined for the past month, as well as highly-rated 19-year-old Renato Sanches.
Bayern beat Atletico 2-1 in the home leg of their semifinal clash last year, but crashed out on away goals.
Betting on Atletico Madrid (+410)
Like Bayern, Atletico are struggling in the league. They are now nine points off the pace in La Liga, and suffered another disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Espanyol over the weekend.
Atleti have been much more convincing in Europe, though. They are the last team in the competition with a perfect record through five games. They’ve scored just seven goals, but have also conceded only once – tied for the fewest thus far.
Even with top spot all sewn up, Atleti will be gunning for that rare distinction of completing the Champions League group stage with six wins out of six, something only six other teams have done.
Ateltico have had a fair bit of success against Bayern, although that was when Guardiola was still the Germans’ manager. Atleti have won two of their last three meetings – both at home. That includes their earlier group stage match, which ended 1-0 care of a Yannick Carrasco winner.
Dating back to last season, it’s been 10 matches since Atletico have failed to score a goal in the Champions League. With a terrific frontline headed by Antoine Griezmann (9 goals this season, 3 in the Champions League), they should be favored to breach a leaky Bayern defense.
Writer’s Prediction
Neither team will be killing themselves to win, so this final group game ends in a 1-1 stalemate (-337).
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