Holders and tournament favourites Bayern Munich can mathematically secure qualification to the last 16 of this season's Champions League, with victory over minnows Viktoria Plzen in Czech Republic on Tuesday.
The Bavarians have won all three of their matches in Group C so far and hammered Plzen 5-0 in the reverse fixture at the Allianz Arena a fortnight ago. Pep Guardiola's side also lead the Bundesliga table, with nine wins from 11 matches and remain unbeaten, after losing the German Super Cup to Borussia Dortmund back in July.
"Every game in the Champions League is dangerous because every opponent you come up against in this competition has experience. Plzen won 6-1 in the league at the weekend and are on good form, but I can see a chance for us to qualify for the knockout stage. We have been at the very top and won everything, but that means we have to work even harder to maintain our position," Guardiola said.
Plzen, on the other hand, are yet to open their account in the Champions League and another defeat to Bayern will confirm their elimination. However, Pavel Vrba's men have found some form in the domestic campaign of late and - as Guardiola mentioned - won 6-1 at the weekend to push themselves up to second in the Czech table.
"We have shown the players the video from our game against Bayern twice. I have seen six or seven Bayern games. They have been playing fantastic football, and they won even when they were behind against strong opponents. They've proved that they belong among the best teams in the world. We would like to change virtually everything about our performance in Munich, but the question is whether or not we have the quality to do it," Vrba stressed.
Team News: Defender David Limbersky remains a doubt for Plzen but otherwise Vrba has a full squad to choose from.
Arjen Robben, Xherdan Shaqiri and Claudio Pizarro have been ruled out for Bayern, while Thiago Alcantara remains sidelined.
Key men: Plzen: Captain Pavel Horvath has a habit of popping up with goals in both open play and setpieces and the Czech could prove a handful for the Bayern defence tonight.
Bayern: It's difficult to single out a player in the Bavarians' star-studded line-up but young David Alaba has hit the headlines quite a few times this season. The Austrian full-back already has two goals and an assist to his name from three matches in the Champions League and is starting to pose a massive threat in Bayern's free-kicks.
Where to Watch
Kick-off is set for 1.15am IST on Wednesday, with Ten HD providing live coverage in India. For the Live Blog, click HERE.
Expected lineups: Plzen: Kozacik; Reznik, Cisovsky, Hubnik, Kovarik; Prochazka, Horvath; Rajtoral, Horava, Petrzela; Kolar
Bayern: Neuer; Lahm, Van Buyten, Dante, Alaba; Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Gotze; Muller, Mandzukic, Ribery
Prediction: 3-0 to Bayern
