Only four teams are left standing in the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League edition. They are Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea FC. The two rich and powerful spanish clubs, Real Madrid and defending Champions FC Barcelona, are the bookies' favorites to advance to the Champions League final.
This prospect would set the stage for the most famous Champions League Final the planet could dream for, but first they must overcome the other two semi-finalists Bayern Munich and Chelsea FC who should provide a serious challenge to the spanish giants.
The first leg for Real Madrid will be away in Munich at the hostile ground of the Allianz Arena. The match kicks off at 2:45pm EST and will be aired in the US on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Deportes. Pubs should be busy and many offices will have some employees taking late lunches or simply absent this afternoon.
Team News
For Bayern, Bastian Schweinsteiger is definitely out of this match as is Daniel Van Buyten. Diego Contento is yet to return while Breno is still being hampered by knee problems. Jupp Heynckes otherwise has a full strength squad to choose from. At the moment though, he might prefer substituting his whole attack for a fit Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Schalke has been hit by injuries to goalkeepers Ralf Fahrmann and Lars Unnerstall. Former Bundesliga winner, Timo Hildebrand is currently keeping for them. Sergio Escudero will not play a part in this one due to injury. Jermaine Jones is yet to return from a long term suspension thanks to a moment of madness on his part when he maliciously attempted to hurt Marco Reus of Mönchengladbach earlier in the season.
FC Bayern beat Eintracht Braunschweig 0-3 to start off their German Cup campaign. Most importantly, they kept a clean sheet. Jupp Heynckes was pleased with the performance of the entire team, especially with the defence and Jerome Boateng. Looking back into preseason, when Bayern lost to Barcelona, Heynckes was pleased with the performance of another new arrival Takashi Usami.
Now ahead of this encounter, Klose has become subject to transfer issues. It has been reported that the German forward, who is yet to break "Fat" Ronaldo’s FIFA World Cup goal record, is being eyed by UEFA Champions League titleholders Inter Milan.
Italian media Tuttomercatoweb declared that the Nerazzurri are looking to fill the gap created by the selling of Mario Balotelli to Manchester City. Inter Milan Coach Rafael Benitez reportedly has complaints over Brazilian striker Philippe Coutinho who has been used as a supplementary player in this position.
Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan will face German Side Bayern Munich coached by Loius Van Gaal, once Jose Mourinho`s teacher at Barcelona when the Portuguese took on translation and coaching assistant duties for the Catalan side.
It´s been over 10 years now, and both colleague will face again in the biggest football match of the season at the Bernabeu.
Both teams are fighting for Triple Silverware after winning both their respective leagues and national cups.
Today´s Lineups will be announced probably only at the very last minute before this match kicks off. Neither tacticians will want to give anything away.
The big day has arrived and millions will be tuning into watch the Champions League Final taking place this evening at 20:30 Local Madrid time. The Match will be aired prominently across the UK, US, Canada, Australia as well as all around the the football loving world.
If you are in the United States you will be able to view Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich live on the following channels:
Champions League Final
Bayern Munich vs Inter Milan LIVE
Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Time: Local Time 20:45, 14:45 EST, 19:45 UK time.
If you are in the United States you can watch Inter Milan vs Bayern Munchen Live on:
Fox Sports Network, Fox Sports Espanol, MSG,
If you are in the United Kindgom you can watch Inter vs Bayern Munich Live on:
Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports HD & ITV1 & ITV HD. In Ireland watch it on RTE.
Los Angeles (May 11, 2010) – On Monday, May 17, Fox Soccer Channel launches Champions Week on FSC, presented by Gillette, featuring an expanded line up of programming from the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League season.
Wall-to-wall coverage of top matches, best goals and exclusive news from the world’s most prestigious club soccer competition totals well over 50 hours of programming, and leads into the Saturday, May 22 UEFA Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan on FOX. It marks the first time the title match will air live on U.S. broadcast television in its 55-year history.