Bayern steps away from disaster

A defeat to Carlo Ancelotti’s men on Tuesday, probably accompanied by a comfortable home win for Group G rivals Deportivo Coruna over Lens, would leave Bayern in a desperate state. Milan would be top on nine points, followed by Deportivo on six, with Bayern and Lens on one apiece — with half the first phase over. The omens do not look good either, with the German league leaders losing 2-1 to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday despite their opponents being down to 10 men for nearly an hour. “I expect a win from my team,” coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said after a crisis meeting with the players on Sunday. “We have to use that game to show where we stand. We must take three points.”

Deportivo are the only Spanish club not currently top of their group, with holders Real Madrid leading Group C. Real should take three easy points from their trip to AEK Athens, who have two 0-0 draws to their credit so far. It will be a more important night for rivals AS Roma, who get a chance to put their campaign firmly on track by beating Belgian outsiders Genk. After losing to Real and drawing with AEK, Roma could leapfrog into second place with a win — helped by the return of inspirational captain Francesco Totti from a two-match suspension.

Totti’s importance to Roma was underlined on Sunday as he blasted a hat-trick in their 3-2 Serie A victory over Brescia and Fabio Capello will be looking for more of the same. Valencia face Basel, one of the two surprise packages in this season’s competition with Maccabi Haifa. The Swiss side coached by former Tottenham Hotspur manager Christian Gross held Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at Anfield last week to stay second in Group B on four points.

However, they will struggle away to a Spanish side currently playing exquisite football and deservedly top after two wins without conceding a goal. Liverpool will be counting on a Basel defeat and a home victory of their own over a fairly poor Spartak side to join the Swiss double winners on four points. Like Totti, Liverpool’s Michael Owen also scored a hat-trick at the weekend and the England striker’s return to form could not have come at a better time for manager Gerard Houllier.

Spain’s other representative, Barcelona, should beat a Lokomotiv Moscow side who have already lost 2-0 at home to Galatasaray. The Turks should cement their second place in Group H in a home game against Club Bruges. (Reuters)