Isaac Asante analyses Barcelona’s chances of winning against Bayern tonight.

FC Barcelona will face Bayern Munich tonight at home in the Champions League quarterfinals. Both sides will need to be at their best, as each one will hope to get the advantage for the second leg, in two weeks time.

The victorious team will meet either Chelsea or Liverpool in the semi-finals of the competition, and obviously, this will not be an easy task for either side.

On paper, Barcelona FC can be considered as the favorite to win this first leg, as they possess some of the strongest stars in football such as Argentine playmaker Lionel Messi, French striker Thierry Henry, Cameroon ace Samuel Eto’o, and Euro 2008’s hero Xavi Hernandez.

Surely, It is undeniable that the Catalans have been in superb shape throughout this season – and their outstanding form have not only made successful in their race for the La Liga title, but also have it made them the most dangerous side in the Champions League.

Barcelona’s last opponents in the competition were Lyon from France. Lyon are normally very much respected for their strength in attack, however, against the Spanish giants, they were humiliated as they were destroyed by a flood of goals.

This could therefore be a great warning for the Germans Bayern Munich who lost 5-1 at the weekend…

Barcelona, on the contrary, had a 1-0 win on Saturday even though Messi, Henry and Alves were sidelined due to their contribution in their countries’ World Cup qualifying matches.

It will be Messi’s first quarterfinal game in the UEFA Champions League. The young player missed Barcelona’s quarterfinal game, both in 2006 and in 2008 due to injuries. However, in 2007, he once again failed to get a taste of the Champions League’s quarterfinals as his side was eliminated by Liverpool in the last 16.

Thus, tonight could be a special one for his fans, as he certainly will find a way to mark his first last 8 match in the competition, and pay back for his poor performance in Argentina’s recent 6-1 defeat to Bolivia.

In any case, being considered the favorite can indeed intimidate the opponent; but finally, the most important thing is to satisfy the fans by lifting up to their expectations and this is what we are yet to see…

Written by Isaac Asante

Related posts:

1. Lionel Messi scores twice in Barcelona’s 4-0 win against Bayern Munich in the Champions League Barcelona had a fantastic night yesterday as they crushed Bayern...
2. We evaluate Barcelona’s possibilities of triumphing over Chelsea in the Champions League tonight. Tonight’s Champions League match will feature the giant Catalans Barcelona,...
3. Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev – Champions League Match Tonight Tonight's game at the Camp Nou will witness a quite...
4. AC Milan Congratulate Lionel Messi For Winning Ballon d'Or 2009 The Italian Serie A football club AC Milan have sent...
5. Lionel Messi: Winning the FIFA World Player Of The Year Award Is Very Special The FIFpro World Player of the Year Lionel Messi received...