International Champions Cup: When Kings of Europe Collide

Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid

Germany meets Spain at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Saturday night, and the passionate US fans are hoping for an entertaining shootout between two of Europe’s oldest rivals.

The International Champions Cup is a chance for us to see some of the continent’s best clubs fine-tuning in preparation for the season to come with one or two new faces on show and, as always, we want to see goals.

Both Real Madrid’s and FC Bayern’s fans expect their teams to rule the roost in their home territories. But while the Bavarians are top dogs again in the Bundesliga, Los Blancos have just ended a season of toil.

Head coach Zinedine Zidane has already been active in the transfer market in an attempt to lift his team back to the top of La Liga, while his opposite number, Niko Kovac, is taking a little more time.

This clash in the USA promises to be a fascinating tussle which neither team will want to lose. There are some bragging rights to win, with both hoping to thrive in the 2020 Champions League next season.

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International Champions Cup

Talking Points

Another slow start for Bayern?

Real Madrid are favourites to win this clash according to the latest odds here at SBOBET and that may be in part a reflection of the transfer activity but also with a nod to Bayern’s recent defeat to Arsenal.

It would be daft in the extreme to suggest that a pre-season ICC defeat could be a sign of things to come, but the Bavarians won’t want another loss straight away. They made an uncharacteristically slow start in their domestic league last season, and it took most of the campaign to repair the damage.

Of course, the Bavarians stormed to another Bundesliga title in May, winning their seventh in succession under the noses of BVB, who led for much of the season.

Kovac will use the pre-season to ensure his squad is ready for an assault on the title again, and he won’t have been too disappointed with what he saw in an opening fixture against Arsenal.

The prolific Robert Lewandowski scored an equaliser after Louis Poznanski scored an own goal, but the Bavarians were denied a share of the spoils when Eddie Nketiah struck very late on to give the Gunners a 2-1 win.

The Bayern boss does not need to panic in the market, with the talent of David Alaba, Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman alongside Lewandowski.

But he is making enquiries, and he may go shopping in the Premier League for Chelsea wonderkid Callum Hudson Odoi at £45m or Manchester City’s Leroy Sane, who is valued by his club at an eye-watering £90m.

Real’s New Galacticos

Los Blancos have spent over a quarter of a billion pounds already to bring in Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, and defenders Ferland Mendy and Eder Militao.

Serbian striker Jovic has joined from Benfica after a successful loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt, where he scored 25 goals. He will surely be happy to renew hostilities against some old Bundesliga foes.

His 60 million euro move on the back of Hazard’s switch from Chelsea can set Los Blancos’ fans pulses racing again.

Luka Jovic will play a big role in the offence of new Galacticos against Bayern Munich in International Champions Cup — Luka Jovic during his unveiling at Bernabeu Stadium

While the International Champions Cup 2019 results won’t dictate the long-term fortunes of the teams here, it is still important. Zinedine Zidane will be particularly keen to restore pride in his club quickly, having overseen a period when they won three Champions League titles in a row.

In the 2018/19 La Liga season, Los Blancos were under the shadow of Barcelona and Lionel Messi once again, and ZZ wants to consign that memory to history.

History

Real Madrid are 33 times La Liga Champions and the Bavarians are 29 times winners of the Bundesliga, including the last seven in a row. So this truly is a clash of European football royalty.

Los Blancos have had the better of Bayern in the meetings since 2004, winning nine of 15 games while the Germans have managed just four victories.

Their last encounter was in the 2018 Champions League quarter-finals, which the Madrid team won 4-3 on aggregate.

Betting Tip

	Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid	Bayern Munich Draw No Bet @ 2.26
	July 21, 08:00 (GMT+8)

The International Champions Cup 2019 betting odds are always going to take into account the stage at which each team sits in its pre-season preparations. And Los Blancos are yet to lose! So at 2.23 to win the Spaniards are marginal favourites over FC Bayern at 3.00 and the draw at 3.35.

But both squads are packed with quality and we can expect to see some of the big names ready to take on the next campaign, so I expect a close fought game. I’m looking for a little value by backing the Germans to have the edge.