Malaga centre-back Martin Demichelis has backed Bayern Munich to overcome Barcelona in their Champions League semi-final.
The first leg of the two sides’ last four clash is Tuesday evening at the Allianz Arena and the Bavarian hosts’ can count on the confidence of their former centre-back.
“The favourite or the best team never wins, but as I've been saying for some time now – not because of my past, but because I've been keeping close tabs on them – Bayern has a fantastic chance of winning this year's Champions League,” Demichelis told Marca this week.
“They have been consistent and solid as a rock coming into the final stretch of the season.
“They have what it takes, both football-wise and physically, to knock out Barcelona. No disrespect to anyone else, but my money's on Bayern.
“Barca has a lot of injuries, although whenever Messi's in the picture, you have to watch out.
“In previous years, Bayern has been a cut below Barcelona and Madrid, but now they are on a par or even one or two rungs above them.”
Attention pre-match has been on whether or not Lionel Messi will be declared fit in time to start.
“I don't know if he'll be fit or not. Leo is the type of guy who always wants to play.
“He had a major impact when he came on against PSG – he roused the rest of the team and unnerved the opposition defence, who hadn't known if he'd be able to play or not.
“He wasn't fully fit, but it was his run that led to Barcelona's goal.”
