As far as this week's Champions League fixtures go, the battle between these two famous sides promises to be a real treat. Rudi Garcia's A.S. Roma, fresh off a 3-0 win over Chievo this weekend, look to continue their positive start to Group E when they host the German champions Bayern Munich on Tuesday night. Pep Guardiola's Bavarians will be high on confidence too, however, after their 6-0 drubbing of Werder Bremen on Saturday - and this battle promises to be a high-tempo affair.
"It will be a wonderful match, we always go for victory"
- Mattia Destro
For Roma, their attacking prowess will be instrumental in breaking down the Bundesliga side, and they must take their chances. Striker Mattia Destro realises that his side have their work cut out, but is confident of their credentials and excited to play such a huge game in front of his own fans: "It will be a wonderful match," he told Sky Sport Italia. "We'll be in front of our own fans, so we can't wait. We were convinced from the start of the season. We'll go through our journey and see where we end up. We play every weekend and try to impose our football, always going for victory." The 23-year-old, who scored early on in Roma's comfortable 3-0 win over Chievo this weekend, is rightly positive about his side's chances, and fans of the i Giallorossi will be excited to see what their team can produce.
Despite that, the visit of 2012/13 Champions League winners - and last year's semi-finalists - Bayern Munich, understandably offers cause for concern, and head coach Garcia was quick to praise Guardiola: "Guardiola is one of the best: he made a very tough choice joining a club that had won everything the previous year,” he said at a press conference. "He has shown that Barcelona’s success wasn’t just down to the players, but the coach had his hand in it too.” Despite the heavy offering of respect, like Destro, Garcia remains confident: “We always respect our opponents but we’re not afraid of anyone: we’re hungry and keen to perform well. We have one aim: we want to prove the people wrong who wrote us off straight after the draw.”
For Bayern, on the other hand, an opportunity to prove against top quality opponents why are they one of the best sides in Europe. Their 6-0 thrashing of bottom side Werder Bremen this weekend was described by Manuel Neuer as "the perfect warm-up," for Tuesday's tie. The Bayern goalkeeper has not conceded a goal in 748 minutes of play, but warns that "winning at their place will be tough." Continuing, he said: "We'll need another strong defensive display."
"The outcome will not be clear, it'll be on a knife edge"
- Thomas Muller
Neuer is not the only Bayern player urging caution against the side that sit second in Serie A. Thomas Muller, star of Germany's World Cup, believes that the game is going to be tight affair, and it will not be the case "where the outcome is clear right from the start." Instead, he asserts, "it'll be on a knife edge." The 25-year-old continued: 'We're looking for at least a point" - his words emphasising the positive position that Bayern find themselves in Group E. Guardiola's side sit atop the table after two fixtures, and Philipp Lahm has warned them not to throw away their early initiative: "We're in a superb position, but we certainly don't want to toss it away in Rome," he told the press.
For Bayern, Franck Ribery could be in line for a return to the starting eleven, having played the final half an hour of the 6-0 win over Bremen. Pepe Reina, however, is unlikely to travel with the team as he continues his recovery from a calf injury, and Thiago Alcantara remains sidelined for the foreseeable future after suffering a new ankle ligament tear in training earlier this week.
The Italian side are likely to be without Seydou Keita, who missed Roma's 3-0 win over Chievo after picking up a calf muscle injury while on international duty with Mali. Defender Kostas Manolas is currently serving a suspension for a sending off in Serie A, but the defender is available for this competition if Garcia decides to make changes.