Matthew Tenby previews Sunday’s Champions League Final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich and shares his best bets.
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich
Date: Sunday, August 23, 3pm ET kick-off
Location: Estádio Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon, Portugal
Where to watch: CBS Sports
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich Preview
It’s been an intense couple of weeks for the Champions League. The Round of 16 kicked off just two weeks ago and since then we’ve been treated to ten matches full of excitement, controversy and the usual twist and turns.
Now, just two teams remain. While the Final welcomes two European giants (arguably two of the biggest in the world right now), it is definitely a new-look Final. This is a first ever Champions League Final for French champions PSG and it is just the second time in Champions League history that a German and French club will meet in the Final. The last time this happened was way back in 1976.
Although PSG are Final debutants, they are not to be underestimated. Their attacking threat in Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria is enough to worry any opponent, especially when Di Maria tops this season’s assist board in the Champions League with 6 assists.
The character shown by PSG in the Quarter-finals was admirable, when they came back from one goal down to win in the dying minutes against Atalanta. The French side then built on this turnaround by cruising to a 3-0 victory against RB Leipzig in the Semis.
However, their opponents on Sunday are flying high. Bayern Munich are seeking to join Liverpool on 6 European Cup wins and become the joint-third most successful club in the competition’s history with a win against PSG, and most people are expecting them to do so.
Since the Round of 16, Bayern have scored an unbelievable 18 goals in 4 games. Eight of these goals were scored against one of the favorites in the competition, Barcelona. There seems to be absolutely no stopping Bayern at the moment as they look to add to their Bundesliga and German Cup gold medals in 2020. A treble for Bayern would be incredible and is not too far out of reach.
Looking at the tournament’s team stats, Bayern are on another level. They have won all 10 games played in the competition and have score 42 goals with 99 attempts on target. The second-best goal tally is from their opponents on Sunday, with PSG scoring 25 in the competition. Clinical striker Robert Lewandowski is to thank for a bunch of these goals. He’s scored 15 in the Champions League this season.
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich Picks
Here are my picks for you to consider ahead of the Final on Sunday.
Pick 1: Bayern Munich to win (+107 at DraftKings)
First, I’m going to go with Bayern Munich to win the match (moneyline). Although it’s a Final and both teams will be hyped up for this game, I think Bayern’s latter-stage Champions League experience over the years will give them an edge here. Not only that, but we saw what Bayern Munich did to Barcelona just last week. I wouldn’t say PSG are much better than Barcelona, so why can’t Bayern get another victory here?
Pick 2: Robert Lewandowski to score first (+333 at FOXBet)
Next, I’m going for one FOXBet’s Bet Boosts. They’ve boosted Robert Lewandowski to score first to +333. As I said earlier, he’s leading the goalscoring charts in the competition by a mile and normally steps up on the big occasions. Bayern are expected to score some goals on Sunday and Lewandowski will be expecting to get one himself.
