Charlie Nicholas believes Bayern Munich are a level above Chelsea and has backed the Bundesliga champions to win in convincing fashion at Stamford Bridge.
Bayern sailed through to the Champions League round of 16 after winning all six of their Group B matches and face a Chelsea side who themselves will be buoyed by their recent league victory over Tottenham.
Coincidentally, Bayern announced themselves in Europe this season with a 7-2 thumping of Spurs back in October so the German giants won’t be overly concerned about Chelsea’s London derby performance.
The Blues finished runners-up behind Valencia in Group H to secure their place in the last 16, with three wins and two draws from their six games.
Though Nicholas acknowledges that Bayern have ‘regressed’ in recent years, he has has tipped Hans-Dieter Flick’s men to go back to the Allianz Arena with a 3-1 advantage.
‘Chelsea got a very good result against Tottenham; I did anticipate that if they started Olivier Giroud, they would get something,’ ex-Arsenal star Nicholas told Sky Sports ahead of Tuesday’s first leg.
‘What Frank Lampard is doing, playing the youngsters, is excellent. I see a style, which I don’t with some of the other teams that are rebuilding but they are still unpredictable. There’s a vulnerability to them.
‘Bayern came and battered Tottenham, annihilated them, but they do struggle at the back and they are being questioned with RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund running them close in the Bundesliga.
‘They are not as good as they have been in the past; I think they’ve regressed since Jupp Heynckes. They play narrower with Philippe Coutinho and Serge Gnabry. Gnabry has proven a lot of us wrong, as he was not cutting the mustard at Arsenal, but he has been excellent.
‘But I think they will prevail here; I don’t think Chelsea are at this standard yet.’
Nicholas envisages a far tighter affair between Real Madrid and Manchester City and predicts Pep Guardiola’s side will come away from the Bernabeu with a 2-2 draw.
‘Real Madrid are unpredictable. They blew their position at the top of La Liga with defeat at Levante. But they are the masters of this competition,’ Nicholas added.
‘They knew how to win it even when they were not playing well. They were not favourites then, and they are not favourites now. I do not even think they are favourites in this tie.
‘I see Manchester City scoring here. Aymeric Laporte played another 75 minutes and hopefully he is fit as he will be a positive for them at the back.
‘Where is the big fear factor for City? Sergio Ramos is coming to the end and will be moving on. Eden Hazard is out. I think they’d sell Luka Modric and Gareth Bale if they could.
‘The reputation of the club is the answer but Pep Guardiola has won there in domestic competitions before. City will embrace the Bernabeu.
‘They have not been playing as well as they should but when they go after a game, they are a different class, especially when they get on the ball. Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva will be key.’
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