Bayern Munich travel to Russia to take on CSKA Moscow in their second Group E fixture at the Arena Khimki on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich will be hoping to register a comprehensive win in this fixture following a narrow 1-0 win over Manchester City in their opening game.
The defending Bundesliga Champions, who last won the competition in 2013, have been basically drawn in the same group as last season, alongside Manchester City and CSKA Moscow.
However, this time the Bavarians will be facing a little more competition in the group stages as last season's Serie A runners up AS Roma have also been drawn in the same pool.
Nevertheless they are expected to cruise against CSKA Moscow, as the Russian side are currently in poor form, suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat in their first Champions League fixture against Roma.
However, Bayern boss Pep Guardialo insists that his side will not be taking CSKA Moscow for granted despite their poor result in the last fixture.
"CSKA have a good coach and have almost the same [group of] players who were with them last season. They need to be respected no matter what, despite their result in Rome. They have experienced players like [Sergei] Ignashevich and [Igor] Akinfeev and some very quick players in attack. They are very difficult opponents and we will respect them fully," Guardiola told UEFA's official website.
"At the moment we are still in the process of recovering our form. In the Champions League you need to remember that the level is very high. We need to make sure that we get out of the group as it is very tough."
Meanwhile, CSKA Moscow will be looking to at least salvage a draw in this game despite Bayern being the heavy favourites.
Their form in the Russian Premier League has been pretty good as they are currently sitting in second position behind Zenit St. Petersburg, with 7 wins and two defeats in their opening nine Premier League fixtures.
However, the Champions League will be much more competitive especially considering the quality of the other three teams – Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Roma - in their group.
Despite admitting that CSKA will have a very difficult time in the Champions League this season, manager Leonid Slutski insists that his side will try their level best to get positive results.
"Of course, our opponents are supremely talented and it is a difficult situation for us. Last year we lost a few games against Bayern and Manchester City, which hit us hard, and unfortunately we have continued our poor run of form away from home," Slutski told UEFA's official website.
"It's not nice to recognise that there are teams who are just far more talented and at a different level. Our task is to ensure that the team plays to its absolute maximum capacity – but will this be enough? We will only know when the game gets under way."
Expected Lineups: Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer; Rafinha, Jérôme Boateng, Dante, David Alaba; Philipp Lahm, Xavi Alonso; Arjen Robben, Thomas Müller, Mario Götze; Robert Lewandowski.
CSKA Moscow: Igor Akinfeev; Mário Fernandes, Vasili Berezutski, Sergei Ignashevich, Georgi Schennikov; Zoran Tošić, Bibras Natcho, Roman Eremenko, Georgi Milanov; Ahmed Musa, Seydou Doumbia.
Where to Watch Live
The game is set for a 5 pm BST (9.30 pm IST) start with live coverage on Ten Action in India. The match can also be watched via live streaming online in India on Ten Sports Live. Catch the action in the UK on Sky Sports 5 and Sky Sports 5 HD and NOW TV, with the option to live stream the match online on Sky Sports Online or Sky Go.
Viewers in the US can watch the Champions League game on ESPN 3, ESPN Deportes and Fox Soccer Plus, with an option to live stream on FoxSoccer2Go and Watch ESPN. Audience in the Middle East and North Africa can catch the action via live streaming on Bein Sports Connect, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can do the same on Supersport online.
