Why Bale should be backed to score against Bayern Munich
After a night of goalless anguish at the Vicente Calderon, punters can rejoice at the arrival of a mouth-watering Champions League semi-final clash with a history of high scoring affairs.
Chelsea’s park-the-bus approach should prove a stark contrast to this fixture which sees Bayern Munich – a team that has scored in every one of their Champions League games this season – head to Real Madrid to face a Los Blancos side that has scored three or more in each of their last nine.
Real are 11/8 for the win, with a draw 5/2 and a Bavarian victory 15/8 at Ladbrokes and this could be close with both teams scoring in five of the last six meetings and odds of a repeat as short as 4/7.
With that in mind, here are four players to watch for goals.
Gareth Bale to score anytime @ 15/8
With Cristiano Ronaldo walking wounded and 5/6 to score anytime, Real’s Copa del Rey hero is our top tip to shine at the Bernabeu, having shaken off the big-game bottler tag with that winner against Barcelona.
The Welsh wonder has scored five in Real’s last seven Champions League fixtures, including the opener at home against Borussia Dortmund. Bale also boasts an impressive four goals in Los Merengues’ last three La Liga games and, with CR7 not fully fit, could be on set-piece duty.
The Spaniard is another one who has been weighing in with key goals for Real, having also found the net against Dortmund at home and Isco evidently enjoys playing at the Bernabeu, after scoring in back-to-back home fixtures. With 11 goals to his name so far this season, he looks among the best of the rest to get a goal.
Mario Mandzukic to score anytime @ 15/8
Bayern Munich may have gone off the boil in recent weeks but one man who remains in red hot form is Mario Mandzukic, having netted in three of Die Roten’s last four competition games. Not always a guaranteed starter, he nevertheless carries some pedigree in this competition having scored home and away against Manchester United in the last round.
Arjen Robben to score anytime @ 5/2
The tricky Dutch winger found the net last time out against Manchester United with one of his tricky trademark cut-inside-and-shoot finishes and will be keen to wreak havoc on former club Real Madrid.
Robben also has a track record for spoiling the Los Blancos party, having scored in Bayern’s previous trip to the ground back in the 2012 edition of the competition.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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