Roma test for Bayern, City under pressure

Match day 3 of the group phase of the UEFA Champions League is traditionally the time when Europe’s big guns break free of their section rivals. Nevertheless, the picture in groups E to H, all of which are in action on Tuesday evening, suggests they might not have things all their own way this time around.

Group E once again provides the day’s outstanding match, with Rudi Garcia’s Roma hosting Bayern Munich and intent on repeating the performance they produced in holding Manchester City to a 1-1 draw on their previous outing.

 Currently third in the group, City travel to CSKA Moscow for a match behind closed doors, knowing that they can ill afford to let more points slip away.

Among the evening’s other attractions is the meeting between Barcelona and Ajax, an occasion sure to please the purists.

Tuesday’s fixtures

Group E

CSKA Moscow-Manchester City (18.00 CET, behind closed doors)

Roma-Bayern Munich

Group F

APOEL Nicosia-Paris Saint-Germain

Barcelona-Ajax

Group G

Schalke 04-Sporting CP

Chelsea-Maribor

Group H

BATE Borisov-Shakhtar Donetsk

Porto-Athletic Bilbao

Match of the day

Roma-Bayern Munich, StadioOlimpico, Roma

In a taxing group featuring three of Europe’s biggest clubs, the slightest slip-up at home could prove fatal. The Germans lead the section by two points from the Italian outfit, and a win for either here will go a long way to sealing their qualification for the next round. The two sides have met twice before in the competition, in the group phase in 2010/11, each registering a home win. Bayern will go into the game in good heart, having now hit cruise mode in the Bundesliga, where they cemented their lead with a 6-0 romp against Werder Bremen at the weekend. Meanwhile, Roma remain second in Serie A after recovering from their reverse to leaders Juventus a fortnight ago with a comfortable 3-0 defeat of Chievo. I Giallorossi have scored in every one of their last 16 European matches, while the Bavarians have won eight, drawn one and lost one of their last ten away assignments in the Champions League, that solitary defeat coming at Real Madrid in the semi-finals last season. The match will see the return of Bayern’s Moroccan centre-half Mehdi Benatia to the Olimpico, where he was a firm fan favourite last season.

Elsewhere

– Beaten 3-2 at the Parc des Princes on the last match day, Barcelona nevertheless remain undefeated in 14 home games in the Champions League, a run made up of 12 wins and two draws. Barça, who have so far used 20 players in this season’s competition – more than any other club – will also be buoyed by the increasingly effective understanding between Neymar and Lionel Messi, who have been on the same wavelength in recent games.

– Chelsea, who have a record of 24 wins, eight draws and one defeat in 33 Champions’ League group-phase matches at home, have made stuttering starts at Stamford Bridge in the last two years, losing 2-1 on their own patch to Basel in last season’s group opener and drawing 1-1 with Schalke this time around. The blue machine clicked into action last time out, however, earning a 1-0 win at Sporting, and all the indications are that Maribor, who have drawn both their games so far, will have a testing night in London.

– With eight goals to their name already, Porto are the most free-scoring side in this year’s competition. Athletic Bilbao’s visit to the EstadioDragao on Tuesday will be the Portuguese side’s 100th Champions League home game, three fewer than their domestic rivals Benfica. Last in the group and a lowly 16th in La Liga, the Spanish outfit are shadow of the side that excelled last season.

Did you know?

– No side that has won their three opening group matches in the Champions League has ever failed to progress to the next round, a record that Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid – the only teams with perfect records this season – will be looking to maintain. The only team ever to qualify from the group phase after kicking off with three defeats was Newcastle United in 2002/03.

– Roma and Bayern Munich are the only clubs in the history of the Champions League to have lost a final at their home stadium, both of them doing so on penalties. Roma went down to Liverpool at the StadioOlimpico in 1984 and Bayern suffered the same fate against Chelsea at the Allianz Arena in the 2012 showpiece.

On this day

Sixteen years ago to the day, Bayern Munich earned a hard-fought 1-0 over Barcelona at the Olympiastadion thanks to a Stefan Effenberg goal just before half-time. The Barça started XI featured a young midfielder by the name of Xavi, while Miguel Nadal, the uncle of tennis star Rafael Nadal, was on the bench for the Catalan side. Bayern would go on reach the final, where they conceded two stoppage-time goals in a dramatic 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.

The stat

23 – the number of players who have run out for both Ajax and Barcelona during their careers, nine of whom have won the Champions League or its predecessor the European Cup.

Player to watch

Sergio Kun Aguero will head to Moscow in a rich vein of form, having scored six goals in his last six European outings for Manchester City and bagged all four in his side’s 4-1 defeat of Tottenham at the weekend.

What they said

“Even when I have a bad match, he keeps on playing me. He just lets me get on with it and doesn’t get worked up with me. It’s the first time I’ve had that kind of a relationship with a coach,” Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard on his boss Jose Mourinho.

Have your say

Does playing behind closed doors work to the advantage of the away team?

 Source: FIFA

M.D