Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich Prediction: Back Real to win the Second Half

The final spot in the Champions League final will be settled on Wednesday evening (20:00, TNT Sports 1) as we have the second-leg of an enthralling semi-final clash to look forward to.

Our La Liga expert Mark Sochon has drawn the assignment for this one as he brings us his full match preview along with his best Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich predictions right here on Betfred Insights...

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich meet on Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabéu with a place in the 2024 Champions League Final at stake for the winners.

Wembley is waiting and Los Blancos are the favourites to get there, although Bayern showed more than enough in last week’s first leg to suggest there is plenty of life left in this tie.

It finished 2-2 at the Allianz Arena with the 2023/24 Champions League delivering yet another cracking game. Bayern came flying out of the blocks, registering six attempts on goal in the opening 20 minutes. It was Real Madrid who struck first though, with Toni Kroos’ pinpoint pass slicing open the Bayern defence on 24 minutes as Vinícius Júnior raced clear to break the deadlock for his team.

The Bavarians regrouped well and briefly led thanks to goals from Leroy Sané and Harry Kane early in the Second Half. However, any hopes of a lead to take to the Spanish capital were dashed by an 83rd minute penalty from Vinicius which leaves Carlo Ancelotti’s side in a strong position to reach yet another Final.

There was more reason to celebrate at the weekend for Real Madrid as they won La Liga with four games still to play. Ancelotti rang the changes for the visit of lowly Cádiz but a 3-0 victory, coupled with defeat for Barcelona at Girona later in the day, sealed a 36th Spanish league title for a club that will now also firmly have their eyes set on European Cup number 15.

This will be Real Madrid’s 50th fixture in a season that has to date only served up one defeat, excluding Extra Time. That came back in September away to Atlético Madrid in the league and while there have been plenty of close shaves since, particularly in Europe, Los Blancos have continued to dig deep in the knowledge that they can invariably rely on moments of individual quality to get them out of a hole if needed.

Their star players take good form into this game. Jude Bellingham came off the bench to score his 22nd goal of the season in Madrid colours against Cádiz while Vinicius has scored nine and assisted three in his last eight starts for the club in all competitions. Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić continue to produce high quality football despite a combined age of 72 while Rodrygo can so often be relied upon to come up big on nights like this.

It may take something special from Bayern if they’re to raid the Bernabéu and progress to what would be their 12th final in a competition they have won six times, most recently in 2020.

The Bavarians won second legs against Lazio and Arsenal to progress into the Champions League last four, although both of those games were at home. They’ve been considerably less convincing on their travels this season, losing seven away games in all competitions.

That includes five of their last nine away from the Allianz Arena, a concerning run of results, culminating in a 3-1 Bundesliga loss at Stuttgart on Saturday. Thomas Tuchel went slightly stronger than Ancelotti with five players keeping their places from the first leg of this tie, including Harry Kane who scored his 36th Bundesliga goal of the campaign and completed the 90 minutes.

While it has been one of their least convincing domestic campaigns in recent times with the German title heading to Leverkusen, Bayern haven’t done much wrong in Europe, losing just one of their 11 Champions League games so far this term which should give them confidence ahead of their trip to Madrid.

Team News:

Real Madrid are in better shape on the selection front, with long-term absentee David Alaba potentially the only player they’ll be without here, while Aurélien Tchouaméni is expected to be fit after a minor knock.

Thibaut Courtois made his return from an ACL injury at the weekend against Cádiz, although Ancelotti has already confirmed that Andriy Lunin will keep his place in goal for this game. There may be just one change from the first leg for the hosts, with Dani Carvajal expected to replace Lucas Vázquez at right back after serving a suspension last week.

As for Bayern, they have considerably more issues with Sacha Boey, Bouna Sarr and Kingsley Coman all out while there were fresh blows on Saturday with Raphaël Guerreiro and Eric Dier forced off with injuries against Stuttgart.

There’s better news on the defensive front with Dayot Upamecano featuring in that game and the Frenchman may start on Wednesday night in Madrid while fellow centre-back Matthijs de Ligt is also back in training and could play some part.

Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Real Madrid are the 9/10 favourites to win the second leg and progress into the Final without the need for Extra Time or penalties. The Draw is priced at 11/4 while Bayern Munich are also on offer at 11/4.

After the first leg served up four goals, you can get odds of 11/8 for Over 3.5 Goals on Wednesday night with Both Teams to Score priced at 8/15. Both Teams to Score 2 or More Goals is available at 3/1.

A repeat of the 2-2 Draw from last week is available at 11/1 while you can back Real Madrid and Both Teams to Score at 11/5. If you strongly fancy Los Blancos to deliver, Real Madrid -1.00 is also on offer at 11/5 in the Handicap market.

Vinícius Júnior leads the way in the Goalscorer markets. The Brazilian is 4/1 to score first and 13/10 to score anytime while you can back his compatriot Rodrygo to score last at 6/1 and continue his tendency to score important late goals in this competition.

Two of England’s biggest stars should also feature prominently and you can take a punt on Harry Kane to score anytime at 6/4 while Jude Bellingham is also 6/4 to get on the scoresheet.

Bet 1 - Real Madrid Over 1.5 goals & Vinicius Junior 1+ shots on target @ 10/11

Bayern’s defensive issues are a big concern for the visitors and while it didn’t happen as frequently as the Spanish side would have liked, there were several moments in the first leg when Real Madrid managed to exploit those.

With Kroos pulling the strings in midfield, Real Madrid have the tools to take advantage of even a slight moment of uncertainty at the back from Bayern and with Vinicius, Rodrygo and Bellingham all offering a genuine goal threat, there should be goals in this for the home team.

After his first leg brace and strong overall form, Vinicius may be the biggest threat for Los Blancos and I’m using the #PickYourPunt tool to back Real Madrid Over 1.5 goals and Vinícius Júnior 1+ shots on target at 10/11.

Bet 2 - 2nd Half Result - Real Madrid @ 23/20

When it really matters in this competition, you can invariably rely on Real Madrid to deliver and there’ll certainly be no panicking if they fail to take control of this game early on. Memories of their miraculous run to the 2022 Final courtesy of a series of late second leg comebacks at the Bernabéu are still fresh in the mind.

Real Madrid have tended to be a Second Half team this season too with 65% of their league goals coming after the break while 59% of their goals conceded have come in the First Half.

Bayern may need to start strong if they’re to have a genuine shot at winning this tie, but I like the look of Real Madrid in the 2nd Half Result market at 23/20 with the hosts well capable of finding an extra gear after the interval.

You can check out all of the Champions League Betting Tips from the Betfred Insights team on our Champions League hub page...