UEFA cup quarter final first leg: Bayern vs. Getafe

Getafe like the title of giant killers and they are making quite a name for themselves both in their domestic league and in the UEFA cup. This season they have beaten the likes of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Barcelona, and Sevilla in La Liga and have beaten Tottenham Hotspur, Anderlecht and Benfica (twice). Now they go into their toughest match yet. On paper Bayern are the clear favorites, and I doubt very much whether Getafe will have the experience or fresh legs to try and change the fact. If this match had come a couple of months before I might have given Getafe a chance, but as it is with the season almost over, Getafe’s players really need a rest. Unfortunately that is going to be impossible, as after this game they travel to the Nou Camp to take on Barcelona in the league, then the second leg of this match when they receive Bayern at their Coliseum stadium, then after playing Zaragoza they take on Valencia in the final of the King’s cup, and all in sixteen days!

As for Bayern, their main aim this season is to get back in the Champions League competition. This they will do as they are currently leading the Bundesliga and have lost just two games from the twenty six matches played. What’s more, they have only conceded fifteen goals in the league and have a seven point cushion over second placed Hamburg. They lost their last UEFA cup match by two goals to one against Anderlecht, but the first leg ended in a clear five nil win for the Germans and coach Ottmar Hitzfeld wanted to reserve his top players.

In team news, Getafe coach Michael Laudrup won’t be able to call on Lucas Licht as he is suspended, but Pablo Hernandez and David Belenguer should be fit on time, which leaves just the Argentinean defender Cato Diaz as the only injured player in the squad.

Bayern could be without Lukas Podolski after he picked up an ankle injury in their away draw at the weekend against Nuremberg, but Frenchman Willy Sagnol will almost certainly miss the game after suffering from a slipped disk.

Bayern will be clear favorites to win here, but it won’t be a five nil thrashing like the Anderlecht game. Getafe are very well composed at the back and will probably wait to attack on the break. A narrow win then for the home side, with the tie being decided in the second leg.

Prediction: Home win (2-1)