Home is where the heart is

Boavista FC travel to Bavaria for their Group A UEFA Champions League game against FC Bayern München facing an uphill struggle to reach the competition quarter-finals. German and European champions Bayern are favourites to advance from the section along with Manchester United FC.

Favourites
Bayern are level at the top of the group with the English side on five points. Boavista have four, while FC Nantes Atlantique prop up the section with just one point. But Bayern's favourites' tag is not just due to their joint pole position in the group - the club are unbeaten in 27 games at the Olympiastadion in the competition.

Selection dilemma
Midfield player Owen Hargreaves, who missed last week's game with a stomach infection, returns to the Bayern side. In defence, Robert Kovac has recovered sufficiently from a leg injury to start, while Roque Santa Cruz partners Giovane Elber in attack.

Forced into changes
Boavista coach Jaime Pacheco has been forced to juggle his starting eleven after defender Nuno Frechaut failed to shake off a knee injury. Frechaut joined midfield player Petit (foot) and defenders Luis Pedrosa and Rui Oscar (both leg injuries) on the sidelines. Brazilian defender Paulo Turra is serving a one-match suspension.

Crunch time
Victory for Bayern will go a long way to cementing their place in the competition's knockout stages. "In every group phase there is a crunch match," said Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. "Last year that was the away match at Arsenal [FC]. This time it's Boavista." Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld also stressed the importance of victory over the Portuguese champions, saying: "We can put some distance between ourselves and a direct competitor."

'Scampi and cooking'
Despite Bayern's impressive home form in Europe, their struggling Bundesliga form has seen the champions' state of health picked over with a fine toothcomb. So much so that the players have decided to boycott the media. "When every blow is below the belt, when the talk is all about scampi and cooking recipes, then you get completely sick of it all," Kahn said.

Hoeness criticism
Kahn's scampi reference eluded to Bayern's commercial manager Uli Hoeness's criticism of the players following a loss earlier this month. "The players don't appear to understand that football is a full-time job, seven days a week," said Hoeness. "Half an hour after the match they're playing cards again. They go and eat their free scampi, while I go home with indigestion...and am up all night because I can't sleep."