OVER TO GERMANY----BAYERN MUNICH VS MAN UNITED PREVIEW!

'Holy Week' gets underway with a Champions League semi final quarterfinal against Bayern Munich. Just in case you haven't got the point in the strikethrogh, this game is more or less a semifinal as the winner over the two legs will almost certainly be guaranteed a place in the final (no offence Lyon and Bordeaux).
It's therefore that vital for us. I mean the least gratitude we can show for getting the (on paper) easier side of the draw is coming away with an away win from Munich!---okay that's too arrogant but we are United!

On a more serious note, we need to do ourselves a favour on Tuesday evening. The second leg will be on the back of an energy sapping game against Chelsea at the weekend so we shouldn't leave ourselves with a lot of work to do back at home. That means a win or a score draw should do us well. If it gets to the worst, a narrow defeat accompanied with an away goal is enough for us---anything less I'm afraid is unacceptable! (like that word).

Bayern are not your ordinary European team that you think you'll beat with an eye closed. They are an established power house in European competition--more successful than us in that respect and so have the required pedigree to put their domestic form behind them and beat us quite easily. Ribery and Robben are their 'Wayne Rooney' at the moment so we've got to deal with that. It's actually why I never fancied them as our opponents as both sides' strength lay in wing play. It means our fullbacks will have to keep their wits about them and not venture much forward. Just to drive home the point, play like we did at AC Milan. It therefore means that in a bid to keep our right wing mobile,the manager might draft in Rafeal and thus end the captain Neville's fantastic run in the side.
You can be sure that Park, Fletcher, and Rooney will start so the manager will surely go for the tried, tested and hugely successful 4-5-1 formation. The need for an impact player however could see Valencia benched whilst Nani starts.

Confidence is high in the camp and you get the feeling that a good result could fly us over Chelsea this Saturday. It's imperative for the players that whist we are enjoying a good run of wins, it only takes one defeat to change the shape of the whole season. The payers and manager have been in this situation before and so we really have to take one game at a time and play to win it. The name of the game at this stage of the season is win your next game as a means of winning your next!

Bayern have their strengths in attack but they have gapping holes at the back and so I hope that we exploit that weakness and take a positive result to work with at home next week!

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