Who would have predicted Chelsea vs Bayern would be the Champions League final at the Allianz arena (or Fuball Arena Mnchen as it will be know for the final) in Munich this weekend.
Its certainly not the final that the majority of people would have predicted. And take into consideration the two teams league form and league positions it is even more remarkable. Chelsea finished 6th in the EPL and Bayern were way off the pace finishing behind Borussia Dortmund who truly dominated the Bundesliga this season.
You cannot argue that Chelsea deserve to be there. Winning their group and beating Napoli, Benfica and the mighty Barcelona in the knockout stages shows what an achievement reaching the final is.
Bayern also won their group which on paper looked very difficult. The knockout phase was quite straight forward for them until a tough semi final against Mourinho’s Real Madrid really tested there resolve. 3-3 on aggregate after extra time led to an inevitable German penalty victory.
The Match
We are expecting a decent final on Saturday. Chelsea and Abramovich will want the Champions League more than Liverpool (and England) want a decent left winger! It is the one trophy that has eluded them, and one of the main reasons Roman has spent the money he has. Bayern will also not want to end the season trophy-less.
Both teams have been hit with several suspensions. If you are unsure who is suspended, we’re sure Geoff Shreeves will be on hand to deliver any bad news where necessary. So no Terry, Ivanovic, Ramires and Meireles, this opens the door for several players to get a starting place. Cahill and Luiz are facing late fitness tests and if either fails this could pose a problem for Chelsea and a big opportunity for Bayern. Expect Drogba to start up top with Mata providing the main support.
Bayern also have some key players missing through suspension. Alaba, Badstuber and Gustavo all miss out. Kroos, Ribery, Gomes, Robben, Schweinstiger, Neuer, Boateng all look set to start, and all of which pose a massive threat to a fragile Chelsea back line. Expect Ribery to focus his attention on the left flank, away from the impressive Cole.
Verdict
Certainly a tough call. Both teams need a result to enable them to call this season a success and with both sides losing key players to suspension it certainly will be a close one. Ok, time to get my arse off the fence.
Bayern have a lot of quality in midfield and attack which will give the Chelsea back four a torrid time all night. Chelsea have done superbly to get this far, extra credit must go to Di Matteo for bringing the team together. Will this final just be that one step too far for an under strength Chelsea side? We think so.
Prediction
Chelsea 1 – 3 Bayern Munich
We will be in Munich watching the game with Ford. So follow us on twitter to hear the latest from training and of course the game @averagejoesblog.
It’s big, bad and back. The unmistakable Dodge SRT Viper has been granted a new lease of life.
Following Chryslers bankruptcy in 2009 the Vipers future looked bleak. However, last month’s New York International Auto Show saw the unveiling of the new model after a two year hiatus, with SRT chief Ralph Gilles declaring, “The Viper shows we still have a soul here at Chrysler”.
And no one needs to worry that the last few years of financial uncertainty have neutered the forthcoming car. At first glance its business as usual as the long nose, low slung body, side exhausts and dramatic overhangs all tip their hat to Detroits muscle-car heritage and the previous iterations of the Viper. Nestling under the bonnet will be an updated version of Dodge’s 8.4-litre V10 that sees it producing 640bhp and 600lb ft of torque a record for a naturally aspirated production car. As such, its definitely still the no-holds-barred bundle of excess that we know and love.
However, the new model will also benefit from several other tweaks and improvements that seek to address some of the less attractive realities of previous versions. The rather unforgiving handling of earlier Vipers will be tackled via uprated Bilstein dampers and additional electronic driving aids, whilst the interior will feature luxurious leather, Harmon Kardon audio and a raft of electronic gadgets.
Could this be the first Viper that will be able to function both as an everyday car and a road legal weapon?
Although production is due to begin at the end of 2012 there is no word yet on whether the new Dodge SRT Viper will be available for purchase in Europe. Heres hoping.
We love our bags, but finding a good backpack can be an impossible task. But the new Sandqvist x Denim Demon Backpack may well be the one. A mixture of textures, high quality finish and a slightly squarer shape makes this one our must haves for 2012.
With unwashed denim, canvas and vegetable tanned leather providing the base, the bag features Denim Demons signature pocket and enough space for a 13″ laptop. Not only that but for every backpack sold, the pair will donate 50 Swedish kronor to the Swedish Society for Nature.
Hitting shops now, let us know what you think on twitter @averagejoesblog.
Don’t forget we have been forced to join Google+ by the search engine giant.
The Giro d’Italia is one of the worlds most famous cycling tours, not quite up there with the Tour de France of course, but one person believes it is. And to prove that fact? They have decided to put together a video of the, ahem, best bits from the Giro d’Italia. And when we say best bits, we mean, well just watch it!
We have no idea who the person is, a quick search on their YouTube name shows they don’t exist, which makes us wonder if it may be a certain rider… We will leave it there, but the Giro still has a few days to go, so check it out.
adidas Samba have been around for an age, and still one of the coolest trainers for football, even if not the most technically advanced. Well now us golfers get to put the coolness on our feet, with adidas Samba Golf.
The classic lines and style is still here, you will find a water-resistant synthetic leather and textile upper, the hall mark three stripes and of course the embossed gold Samba. The change will come on the sole, where you will find a new six-spike shape with THINTECH low-profile technology. This apparently gives improved traction and stability and
you will get a choice of four colours, white, black, blue and red.
We of course love the Samba look, but is it a little too casual for the golf course? To be honest we may well get a red or blue pair for the summer! Let us know what you think on twitter @averagejoesblog and check them out in the shops soon.
Don’t forget we have been forced to join Google+ by the search engine giant.
As we know, BMW are currently refreshing their M-Series, and the new BMW M135i is the latest model to get the treatment, of course based on the very popular BMW 1-series.
The M135i, hot hatch gets its meat from a turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six pushing out 316bhp, which strangely is 19bhp less than the limited edition 1-series M Coupe. The six speed manual gearbox controls the power which all goes to the back wheels as standard, though there will be a an option for BMWs four-wheel drive system, xDrive, and an eight-speed automatic as well.
In terms of looks, to be honest, we were a little disappointed. The new M Performance series is very much about understated aggressive styling, but something just seems a little lacking. You will find a rather chunky spoiler, with new air intakes that match in colour to the signature grey wing mirrors. Slightly wider side sills are present, as well as a newly designed rear bumper hosting the twin exhausts and the whole car sits on 18in rims as standard. But for us, there is just no ‘wow’.
The BMW M135i will be available in 3 and 5 door versions and you can expect to pay around 29,995 for the base model when it hits the showrooms this autumn, check out the video and pictures below and let us know what you think.
Don’t forget we have been forced to join Google+ by the search engine giant.
Update:
Due to be launched this week, a few more pictures and details have come out. The bike be based around carbon fiber-reinforced polymer and 26-inch bands, the electric motor will push out a rather impressive 2.3kW. The Audi e-Bike will also have three modes: pedal only (pure), electric motor only (egrip), or pedalling supported by the electric (pedelec).
The e-bike features a touchscreen which will also connect to your smartphone via Wi-Fi,and also comes badged as e-tron.
More pictures below.
This is interesting. After Audi’s recent acquisition of Ducati, this video appears to have been leaked onto the web by none other than world renowned two wheel freestyler, Julien Dupont. It seems someone has given the new Audi E-Bike to Julien to test it’s metal and he cheekily uploaded a short teaser video.
We don’t know if this is ‘leaked’ or planned, but either way it looks pretty impressive. We expect to hear and see more this week. One thing is definitely for sure, we never thought riding an e-bike could look so cool…
Don’t forget we have been forced to join Google+ by the search engine giant.
Regular readers will know we love a bit of mixed martial arts action here at Average Joe’s and that’s why we’re proud to be teaming up with SENI to be offering you the chance to win a whole host of Seni Tickets and MMA related goodies!
SENI is billed as ‘The greatest combat and strength sports show on the planet’ and it will be returning for it’s 12th year at London’s Excel centre on Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd June.
More than 20,000 visitors are expected to touchdown at SENI (which is Japanese for ‘fighting spirit’ in case you were wondering) over the Jubilee weekend to take part in this truly interactive combat and strength event which boasts workshops, demonstrations, tournaments and open mat sessions.
Billed at the event are some of the biggest names in MMA, such as the UK’s very own Michael Bisping and UFC hall-of-famer Royce Gracie as well as a myriad of other royalty from the world of fitness who’ll be interspersed amongst the hundreds of trade stands where you’ll be able to try out the latest, cutting-edge innovations in fitness equipment and apparel, snap up exclusive discounts and special offers and of course blag yourself bags of freebies!
Remember we said something about freebies? Well we’ve got one jam-packed goody bag containing 2 X SENI tickets, dvds, a t-shirt, nutritional supplements and more for one very lucky Average Joe’s Blog reader.
If you’d rather be in with a chance of winning than paying (let’s face it, who wouldn’t?) here’s what you’ve got to do:
Get yourself over to twitter and follow us, @averagejoesblog, next up we want you to answer the following question:
Which Top UK MMA Fighter is due to make an appearance at SENI2012?
A) @GiantHaystacks
B) @bisping (Michael Bisping)
C) @embarrassment (David Haye and Derek Chisora)
And tweet us the answer in the form of: I want to go to @seni2012 with @averagejoesblog and @(???? your answer) – http://bit.ly/J5ptwq #MMA. Or if you want, click the below link which will do all the hard work for you (even with the answer)!
