Bayern wary of sting in Villarreal's tail

FC Bayern München coach Jupp Heynckes feels that Villarreal CF are still to be feared despite having no points after four UEFA Champions League games, with the absence of Bastian Schweinsteiger — and the presence of Arjen Robben — sure to have a bearing on the Group A tie.

Bayern
Coach Jupp Heynckes
After [Saturday's 1-0 home] defeat by Dortmund, we are happy to have this game so soon. We are top of our group and we want to stay there. Our opponents have some injury problems; [Giuseppe] Rossi and Nilmar are still out, but [Borja] Valero, who did not play in the first game against us, is back – and for me he is Villarreal's most important player. I watched him on TV at the weekend [when Villarreal won 1-0 against Real Betis Balompié]. He is a very good player and Villarreal are even stronger with him.

They lost their first group stage game [2-0 at home against Bayern], and that was quite a shock for them; it is never easy to get momentum back after something like that, but Villarreal have proved over the years what a strong team they are and we must not forget that.

We know we did not play well against Dortmund and we have already analysed what we have to change. Of course, we miss Bastian Schweinsteiger; he is one of our most important players, and I see him as being in the same league as Xavi or [Andrés] Iniesta. Robben came back on Saturday against Dortmund after a three-month injury break. He is not the old Robben yet. He needs more time on the field. But he will start again and I expect him to play better.

Weekend result
Saturday: Bayern 0-1 Borussia Dortmund (Götze 65)
Neuer; Rafinha (Petersen 79), Boateng, Badstuber, Lahm; Kroos, Luiz Gustavo; Robben (Alaba 72), T Müller (Olić 72), Ribéry; Gomez

• MarioGötze's strike for Dortmund ended Bayern's run of nine home wins in all competitions and was only the second goal they have conceded at home in the Bundesliga this season.

Team news
Robben played on Saturday for the first time since undergoing groin surgery on 7 October. Schweinsteiger (broken collarbone) is out until mid-December, while Breno, yet to play this term following knee surgery, is back in training.

Villarreal
Coach Juan Carlos Garrido
Our aim is to get three points and maybe still make it into the UEFA Europa League. Unfortunately that is our situation. We wanted to get to the knockout stage, but we have had a lot of injuries and our opponents have been very strong. We will try to make the best of it. Anything can happen in football. Winning is our only chance of sneaking into third place; it's not a very realistic hope, but we have to try.

We have been playing pretty well in recent weeks, so I hope we will play good football again. The team know that a good defence is the key to success. We are confident after three wins in a row in the domestic league. Bayern are probably the strongest team in our group. They won the first game against us, even though we played quite well. We will see what happens this time.

Weekend result
• Saturday: Villarreal 1-0 Real Betis Balompié (Valero 21)
López; Gaspar, Gonzalo, Musacchio, Catalá; Pérez (Marchena 74), Valero (Senna 90), Bruno, De Guzmán (Joselu 84), Oriol; Ruben

• Borja Valero's second goal in his last three Liga appearances gave Villarreal just their fourth victory in 22 games in all competitions going back to 8 May.

Team news
Rossi is unavailable until April after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Gonzalo Rodríguez, Cani, Cristián Zapata and Nilmar are also all out with knee injuries, and are joined on the sidelines by Javier Camuñas (bruised fibula) and Gerard Bordás (left ankle). Ángel López returns having missed Saturday's win with a virus.

Match fact
Bayern have an excellent home record against Spanish opposition, which reads W11 D5 L1. Their solitary defeat was a 3-2 reverse against RC Deportivo La Coruña in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League first group stage in which Roy Makaay – a future Bayern striker – hit a hat-trick.