21st May 2013 | Football
Champions League Final: Winner Tip
This is Bayern's third Champions League final in four years and they are at the peak of their powers now.
As is the case so often, statistics can be spun to make a case for either team in Saturday’s Champions League final.
On the one hand, 4/1 (BetVictor) looks like a huge price for Dortmund to win in 90 minutes considering they are unbeaten in their last six Bundesliga showdowns (W4 D2).
But on the other hand, it’s hard to look past a Bayern team (5/6 Ladbrokes) who are unbeaten in four competitive fixtures between the teams this season. Jupp Heynckes’ boys had the upper hand in the Super Cup and in the DFB-Pokal while both league games were drawn.
So if the head-to-head meetings are inconclusive, I’ll make a verdict based on other criteria. Firstly, Munich won the Bundesliga title by an astonishing 25-point margin from their arch-rivals. A goal difference of +80 is a fitting reflection of the Bavarians’ utter dominance.
Furthermore, we have seen that ruthlessness replicated in the latter stages of the Champions League. I simply can’t bet against a team who beat Juventus 4-0 over two legs and then mighty Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 21:57 21st May, 2013 but subject to change