Champions League Betting Preview: Bayern Munich v Maccabi Haifa

Champions League / Ben Lyttleton / 24 November 2009 / Leave a Comment

"Neither team will be satisfied with another 1-0. The price in the over 3.5 goals market is [2.8] and a Bayern 3-1 win is [13.5]."

Bayern Munich will be without two key men for Wednesday night's Champions League clash but there opponents are yet to score a goal in Europe this season. Ben Lyttleton selects the best bets.

It may seem like a good time to play Bayern Munich, as they are languishing in eighth place in the Bundesliga, need to win their last two Champions League matches to have a chance of reaching the next round and have injury problems with Franck Ribery, Ivica Olic and Arjen Robben all currently sidelined.

Add to that the fact that their opponents Maccabi Haifa travel to Bavaria on the back of a 4-1 league win that has given them 10 wins out of 10 in the Israeli league, keeping their status as top scorers in the division and nine points clear of Hapoel Tel Aviv at the top of the table.

Yet they too have injury concerns over key midfielders Eyal Golasa, Jhon Culma and Gustavo Boccoli and their Champions League record this season makes grim reading: Haifa and Debrecen are the only teams to have chalked up no points so far but Haifa have not even scored.

Adversity could bring out the best in Bayern. After the weekend's 1-1 draw with leaders Bayer Leverkusen, Philipp Lahm, who had criticized the club's recruitment policy, said: "Confidence has gone, we are making mistakes and have problems in attack."

Chairman Karl-Heinz Rumennigge has said the team is just one big win from turning the corner.

The Israelis have lost their last three European ties 1-0 and if that suggests a sturdiness at the back, the truth is all their opponents needed was a narrow win. Bayern, who have Thomas Muller and Daniel van Buyten back from suspension, need more as this game is not just about matchday five: it's about getting their season back on track, convincing the board that Van Gaal can turn things around and that they are not overly-reliant on Ribery.

Neither team will be satisfied with another 1-0. The price in the over 3.5 goals market is [2.8] and a Bayern 3-1 win is [13.5].

Recommended bets:

Bayern-Haifa Over-3.5 Goals market @ [2.8]
Bayern to beat Haifa 3-1 win @ [13.5]