LAST SEASON’S RUNNERS-UP Bayern Munich host Valencia this evening, a fixture which looks likely to determine the outcome of Group F.
The Bundesliga giants fell agonisingly short at the last hurdle to Chelsea in their own stadium last term but have the chance to atone for their penalty shootout heartbreak against Mauricio Pellegrino’s side.
Bundesliga record signing Javi Martinez produced a fine cameo on debut in a 3-1 win over Mainz on Saturday while fellow recruit Mario Mandzukic continued in the absence of the injured Mario Gomez, slotting in the opener.
Valencia have had to reshuffle their pack following the off-season departure of Barcelona new boy Jordi Alba, but managed to bolster their ranks with the money accrued from the full-back’s departure.
The acquisition of Fernando Gago, Andres Guardado, Joao Pareira, Sergio Canales, Aly Cissokho and Nelson Valdez on loan have gone some way to offset Alba’s departure and Valencia will be looking to go one better after troubling group opponents Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen last season.
The Spanish outfit are strong favourites to finish second, so will be wary of the threat from Lille.
Transition
The Ligue 1 side have gone through a similar transition, losing key playmaker Eden Hazard to Chelsea in the off-season.
The Belgium’s move followed a long line of key departures with Yohann Cabaye, Moussa Sow and Gervinho securing big-money moves abroad.
Lille struggled last season with only one win in six group games and have started their domestic campaign poorly. An inability to juggle European and domestic commitments would appear to lie at the heart of their difficulties and, given they only qualified by knocking out Copenhagen in extra-time of the qualifying round, it is hard to see them getting out of the group here.
Tonight’s opponents BATE Borisov are the least glamorous of the four clubs in Group F. After a lengthy qualifying process just to make it to the group stages for the second consecutive season, BATE have been dealt another tough group of opponents having faced both Barcelona and AC Milan last year.
The Belasrussians were on the receiving end of nine goals over two matches against the Blaugrana last year, though they held AC Milan at home – one of their two points won at this stage last year.
