Pep aiming for Bayern club record at home
BERLIN: Bayern Munich could make club history on Saturday as a clean sheet against Darmstadt in the Bundesliga would see Pep Guardiola’s side go a record six home games without conceding a goal.
Arsenal were the last club to score against Bayer n at Munich’s Allianz Arena back in November when Olivier Giroud scored the Gunners’ consolation in a 5-1 loss.
Since that Champions League group game, Bayern have won all five of their home games in all competitions without conceding a single goal and hold an eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.
Guardiola’s team are in no mood to give Darmstadt any hope of a first win in Munich in their final match before their Champions League last 16, first-leg clash at Juventus next Tuesday.
BARCELONA EYE COMMANDING LEAD
MADRID: Barcelona can open up a nine-point gap at the top of La Liga ahead of their return to Champions League action against Arsenal next week when they travel to Las Palmas on Saturday.
The European champions extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 31 games with a seventh consecutive La Liga win thanks to a brilliant Lionel Messi double and Luis Suarez’s 40th goal of the season in a 3-1 victory at Sporting Gijon on Wednesday.
CITY TO FIELD WEAKENED TEAM AGAINST CHELSEA
LONDON: Manchester City will field a weakened team for this weekend’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Chelsea but the home club will not follow suit, their respective managers said on Friday.
City are prioritising the Champions League, in which they play Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday, their manager Manuel Pellegrini said.
“We have just 13 players available to play and have to play the Champions League on Wednesday,” Pellegrini said.
“We’ll see the best team we can play on Sunday (at Chelsea).
“I always try to play with a strong team in every competition. They are all important but we must prioritise the Champions League,” he concluded.