Champions League Preview: Sporting Lisbon – Bayern Munich

Sporting take on a Bayern side short of form as the Champions League enters the knock-out stage...

Kick-off: Wednesday, February 25 2009 (20:45 CET) Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon

The Champions League reaches the nitty gritty stage this week with the onset of the first knock-out round. The first leg will see Bayern Munich try to gain an advantage to take back to the Allianz Arena, whereas Sporting Lisbon will want to profit from the home support at the Jose Alvalade.

German Nemesis

When the draw was made for the first knock-out stage of this season’s Champions League, Sporting Lisbon could have been forgiven for breathing a resigned sigh at being paired with reigning German champions and four times winners, Bayern Munich.
The Lions have faced German opponents on 14 occasions in Europe in their history and have yet to win a single match, so the omens are not great for Paulo Bento’s side. To make matters worse Bayern have a more than decent record against Portuguese sides, losing just once in 20 clashes.
Domestically, Sporting haven’t been firing on all cylinders in the league this season thus far, but did enjoy a 3-2 win over Lisbon rivals Benfica at the weekend. The victory took them level on points with their city rivals, bit still four points behind leaders Porto.
The group stage of this season’s Champions League was a case of all or nothing for Paulo Bento’s side. It was always going to be a case of battling for second place after being paired with Barcelona, FC Basel and Shakhtar Donetsk. They lost home and away to Barca with a combined score of 8-3, but won their other four matches to finish with 12 points.
The Portuguese though, will be confident of a good first leg result and will reflect that there has possibly never been a better time to face Bayern.
Will The Real Bayern Please Stand Up?
The pressure is well and truly back on Bayern and trainer Juergen Klinsmann following the start they have made since the winter break ended. The Bavarians made their worst start to a season in over 30 years back in August, but recovered well to go four months unbeaten.
However, three defeats in their first four league games of 2009 has seen the mood sour at the Allianz Arena. A shock 2-1 loss at home to Koeln on Saturday had the critics out in force, but the trainer is outwardly unmoved.
"I am not afraid about my position, I am trying to give my best every day. But I know I will be judged by my results. As coach of Bayern Munich, you have to have the highest goals. Criticism only serves to make me more ambitious. It's in my nature that when things go badly I work harder," Juergen Klinsmann has said.
The group stage of the Champions League saw Bayern with no such worries and they cruised through Group F with four wins and two draws. An impressive 3-2 away win over Lyon in their final game saw them top the group. The fans will want to see a return to their European form this week as they make the trip south to Portugal, rather than the toothless displays they have witnessed of late.

FORM GUIDE

Sporting Lisbon

21/02/09 Sporting 3 Benfica 2 (Portuguese League)
14/02/09 Belenenses 1 Sporting 2 (Portuguese League)
08/02/09 Sporting 2 Braga 3 (Portuguese League)
04/02/09 Sporting 4 Porto 1 (League Cup)
31/01/09 CD Trofense 0 Sporting 0 (Portuguese League)

Bayern Munich

21/02/09 Bayern Munich 1 Koeln 2 (Bundesliga)
14/02/09 Hertha Berlin 2 Bayern Munich 1 (Bundesliga)
08/02/09 Bayern Munich 3 Borussia Dortmund 1 (Bundesliga)
30/01/09 Hamburg 1 Bayern Munich 0 (Bundesliga)
27/01/09 VfB Stuttgart 1 Bayern Munich 5 (DFB Pokal)

TEAM NEWS

Sporting Lisbon

Striker Helder Postiga will miss both legs against Bayern Munich after spraining his left knee in Saturday's victory against Benfica. The 26-year-old international is expected to be out for around three weeks.
If Paulo Bento opts for a two-man attack, then Derlei, who also scored against Benfica at the weekend, should come in to partner Liedson.
Sporting have also confirmed that Rui Patricio, Miguel Veloso and Adrien Silva will be unavailable to face Bayern on Wednesday because of injury.
Probable Starting XI: Tiago - Pedro Silva, Tonel, Anderson Polga, Grimi - Rochemback, Izmaylov, Vukcevic, Joao Moutinho - Liedson, Derlei

Bayern Munich

Luca Toni is expected to return to the starting XI after having to sit out the weekend loss to Koeln with an Achilles injury. Lucio, who was rested on Saturday, is also tipped to return.
Juergen Klinsmann has said there won’t be wholesale changes following the recent poor run of form, but Hamit Altintop could come in for Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Probable Starting XI: Rensing - Oddo, Lucio, Demichelis, Lahm - van Bommel, Ze Roberto, Altintop, Ribery - Klose, Toni

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sporting Lisbon- Liedson

With Bayern’s defence no way near as strong as it was last season, Sporting will be looking to unleash Brazilian Liedson on the German side. He grabbed a brace at the weekend against Benfica, which took his season’s tally to eight. His goal against Barcelona in the group stage made him the club’s all-time leading scorer in Europe so they will hoping to see a few more against Bayern.

Bayern Munich- Franck Ribery

Despite protestations to the contrary from trainer Juergen Klinsmann, Bayern Munich do tend to rely on Franck Ribery. When the Frenchman sparkles, Bayern sparkle. The Bavarians will be looking for their talisman to hit top form on Wednesday and provide the ammunition for Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose to score the potentially vital away goals that could see them into the quarter-finals.

PREDICTION

It all depends which Bayern Munich turn up - the one with the defensive holes and low confidence, or the Franck Ribery inspired, well-oiled machine. The players will want to show a reaction following successive defeats to Hertha Berlin and Koeln.
Sporting look good against the average teams, but struggle against the big boys (see their 5-2 home loss to Barcelona). That said, are Bayern to be considered a ‘big boy’ in their current form? I’ll tip a narrow win for the Germans though.

Sporting Lisbon 1-2 Bayern Munich

Mathew Burt, Goal.com