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Champions League returns. After a winter break lasting 76 days, the strongest and most prestigious club tournament on the planet continues with 16 teams battling for the European champions title in the knockout stages - football fans once again await high-level battles between the most famous clubs of the Old Continent. EuroFootball.com takes a look at the pairs playing on Tuesday.
Munich - AC (Match start - Tuesday at 21:45 Lithuanian time)
Seven-time European champions "Milan" against five-time champions Munich "Bayern". Such a duel between two giants from Italy and Germany will take place in the quarterfinals. In their previous encounters, the Italians performed significantly better, winning four out of six matches and losing only one.
"Milan" also emerged victorious in their last three encounters, which took place in knockout rounds, but this time "Bayern" head coach Felix Magath hopes that the advantage of the "home fortress" will help them - the Munich club, which moved to the new "Allianz" arena in the summer, won all 15 home matches there.
"My team is very eager to play and cannot wait for these matches. We are very optimistic about reaching the quarterfinals. The 'Juventus' club was already impressed by our stadium and the atmosphere in it. I am sure the same will happen with 'Milan'," said the Bayern coach, who defeated the first-place "Juventus" team in the Italian league in October.
However, F. Magath also has concerns - in the Bundesliga match against "Hannover" on Saturday, the main goalkeeper of the team, Oliver Kahn, suffered an injury. According to the coach, the decision of whether the Bayern veteran will take to the field will be made just before the match. If Kahn can't play, his place should be taken by Germany's youth national team goalkeeper Michael Rensing. The Bavarian coach does not have many other problems - he will just have to decide whether to let young Bastian Schweinsteiger onto the field from the start of the match.
Leading in the Bundesliga, "Bayern" this season seems almost unstoppable in their league and is successfully moving towards another championship title, while "Milan" cannot boast of such success. Although Carlo Ancelotti's team is currently sharing second place with city rivals "Inter", three consecutive victories have allowed the Milan club to regain hope of fighting for first place and regain confidence in their abilities.
Before the match, C. Ancelotti showed respect for the opponents, but did not show any fear: " 'Bayern' is one of the favorites to win the tournament, a big club with great traditions. However, we are not inferior to them. I can't wait to see their stadium from the inside, we are ready to be the first team to break that winning streak."
According to the "Milan" coach, the possible absence of O. Kahn should not give them any advantage, as his team also has its own problems - experienced defenders like team captain Paolo Maldini and Cafu will not be able to play due to injuries. This means that Jaap Stam will play on the right side of defense, Kakha Kaladze will move to the middle alongside Alessandro Nesta, and Serginho will probably play on the left side.
Possible starting lineups "Bayern" (4-4-2): Kahn; Sagnol, Lucio, Ismael, Lahm; Salihamidzic, Ballack, Demichelis, Ze Roberto; Makaay, Pizarro. "Milan" (4-3-1-2): Dida; Stam, Nesta, Kaladze, Serginho; Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf; Kaka; Shevchenko, Gilardino.
