LONDON, 2 November 2005 — Bayern Munich and Arsenal can secure places in the second round of the Champions League with wins today.
That’s where the similarities end.
Bayern leads the Bundesliga, while Arsenal languishes in seventh place in the English Premier League, 14 points behind leader Chelsea.
Bayern, like Arsenal, has won its opening three European matches to lead its group. The German team plays at second-place Juventus today.
“We are going for a victory. We want to win the group,” said Bayern coach Felix Magath, whose team beat Juve 2-1 on Oct. 18.
If Bayern beats Juventus and Rapid Vienna gets its first point of the season against FC Brugge, the German team can guarantee itself of the Group A title.
Juve ended a nine-match winning streak with a 3-1 loss to AC Milan on Saturday, but still leads the Serie A by two points.
“With Bayern it will be another tough match,” Juventus coach Fabio Capello said. “Now more than before I am convinced my team is extremely strong.”
Patrick Vieira is doubtful with a groin problem, and with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon still sidelined with a shoulder injury, either Antonio Chimenti or Christian Abbiati will start in goal.
Bayern has problems in attack. Roque Santa Cruz is out for about five months with a knee injury, while Roy Makaay hasn’t scored in 994 minutes after starting the season with six goals in three games. Makaay is still expected to start considering Claudio Pizarro and Paulo Guerrero are even more out of form.
“He’ll have to be able to deal with the pressure. I expect him to show his strength again,” Magath said of Makaay.
Michael Ballack again will be relied upon. He scored the winner against Aue in the German Cup and then notched the winner again on Saturday in a 2-1 win over FC Cologne.
Arsenal is struggling with confidence despite rallying to draw 1-1 with north London rival Tottenham on Saturday.
Visiting Sparta Prague will hope that Arsenal’s self belief continues to founder.
The Czech club, in last place in Group B, has one point from three games and will be lucky to finish third and qualify for the UEFA Cup. Sparta lost it sixth match this season — as many it lost all of last season — 2-1 against Sigma Olomouc on Saturday.
Ajax has four points and a win at Swiss club FC Thun should also help the club advance.
Manchester United needs a win against Lille to boost its morale after losing 4-1 to Middlesbrough in the Premier League. Manager Alex Ferguson will be without Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, all of whom are injured, while Paul Scholes is suspended.
Benfica plays Villarreal in the other Group D match.
FC Barcelona leads Group C with seven points and faces Panathinaikos — the only club to take points off the Spanish champion this Champions League season. The two drew 0-0 on Oct. 18 in Athens.
