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Forty minutes until kickoff, and line-ups have been announced:
BAYERN
Starters: Neuer, Van Buyten, Boateng, Lahm, Badstuber, Ribéry, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Tymoshchuk, Müller, Gomez
Subs: Butt, Rafinha, Contento, Pranjić, Alaba, Gustavo, Olić
NAPOLI
Starters: De Sanctis, Aronica, Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Maggio, Hamšík, Zúñiga, Gargano, Inler, Cavani, Lavezzi
Subs: Rosati, Fideleff, Dossena, Fernández, Santana, Dzemaili, Mascara
So for Bayern, Rafinha and Gustavo remain on the bench. Interesting … I have to admit I’m confused about Rafinha. Of course we don’t see what goes on at training every day, etc, but I have to admit Jupp Heynckes and I differ wildly in our valuations of him as a player.
Napoli’s line-up is strong up front and in the middle, not world-beaters at the back. I think we might see some goals today.
Viva viva FC Bayern!
Bayern ready to 'set off on a new run'
Munich, Germany – Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was confident after last weekend's unlucky loss to Hannover that Bayern Munich would "set off on a new run," starting earlier this week in the Pokal Cup.
Neuer, Germany's No. 1 goalkeeper, was correct on the first part, although his role was a spectator as Hans-Jorg Butt earned the nod in a 6-0 victory against overmatched second-division side Ingolstadt.
A number of other Bayern Munich starters joined Neuer on the bench and Bastian Schweinsteiger was left off the roster with a cold, as Bayern cruised into the quarterfinals of the German Cup.
It should be easy for Bayern to forget about the loss to Hannover, a 2-1 final that saw the hosts score on a questionable penalty and a wildly deflected shot against the 10-man visitors.
"Overall, it was a very unlucky defeat, but we're very stable, we have a lot of international players in the squad," Neuer said, "and we know what we're capable of.
"We won't drive ourselves mad, we still believe in ourselves."
Neuer had his 771-minute shutout streak ended on the penalty kick, but the FCB man was not worried that his streak ended as the third-longest in Bundesliga history.
"I'd have liked more clean sheets, but it was never our top priority," Neuer said. "I'd rather we'd come away with the three points."
Although Neuer has been relatively untested in matches, facing less than two shots per game, he said, "I get plenty to do in training."
And after the win over Ingolstadt, Bayern proved its depth will be crucial as it pursues the Bundesliga, Pokal Cup and Champions League titles this season - a treble it just missed in 2010 when it only lost the Champions League final.
With a three-point cushion atop the standings, Bayern's margin for error isn't large, but a return to form against three-win Nurnberg will again have all the other German teams chasing the record champions.
Defending champions and second-place Borussia Dortmund take a four-fixture win streak to Stuttgart on Saturday, when third-place Schalke hosts Hoffenheim in search of its fourth win in its last five league games.
Monchengladbach will try to end a three-game slide when Hannover visits, Mainz hosts Werder Bremen with both clubs looking to stop winless skids, and Hertha Berlin visits Wolfsburg in Saturday's other matches.
Cologne will try for its fourth win in its last six when it hosts Augsburg on Sunday, when Hamburg hosts Kaiserslautern with both teams looking to extend a run of matches without a loss to three games.
Last-place Freiburg hosts mid-table Bayer Leverkusen on Friday to kick off the weekend's action.
Arsenal FC's Robin van Persie a £20m target for Bayern Munich - report
Crunch Sports Staff - 29 Oct 2011
Bayern Munich are reportedly preparing to launch a £20million bid for Arsenal captain Robin van Persie.
The Netherlands international has less than two years left on his existing contract and earlier this month revealed he had no plans to discuss a new deal until the end of the season.
However, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on Thursday said the club have started negotiations with Van Persie over a new deal, adding that he was "confident" his skipper would sign a new contract at the Emirates.
But reports on Friday suggested the Dutchman is still likely to keep Arsenal waiting until the end of the season before beginning contract talks.
The likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and Anzhi Makhachkala are all believed to be keen on signing Van Persie next year.
And according to Caughtoffside.com, Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are also keen on the forward.
Although a January move is highly unlikely, it is widely thought that Van Persie will review Arsenal's ambition at the end of the season before making a decision on his future.
And that could mean Arsenal need to at least qualify for next season's Champions League to avoid the possibility of yet another key player leaving the club.
rfari wrote:Arsenal FC's Robin van Persie a £20m target for Bayern Munich - report
Crunch Sports Staff - 29 Oct 2011
Bayern Munich are reportedly preparing to launch a £20million bid for Arsenal captain Robin van Persie.
The Netherlands international has less than two years left on his existing contract and earlier this month revealed he had no plans to discuss a new deal until the end of the season.
However, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on Thursday said the club have started negotiations with Van Persie over a new deal, adding that he was "confident" his skipper would sign a new contract at the Emirates.
But reports on Friday suggested the Dutchman is still likely to keep Arsenal waiting until the end of the season before beginning contract talks.
The likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and Anzhi Makhachkala are all believed to be keen on signing Van Persie next year.
And according to Caughtoffside.com, Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are also keen on the forward.
Although a January move is highly unlikely, it is widely thought that Van Persie will review Arsenal's ambition at the end of the season before making a decision on his future.
And that could mean Arsenal need to at least qualify for next season's Champions League to avoid the possibility of yet another key player leaving the club.
http://www.crunchsports.com/category/So ... 110290091/
Schweini boost for Bayern's Napoli test
31 October 2011, 06:41
Bayern Munich expect to have Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger fit for Wednesday's Champions League clash against Napoli, despite the Germany star suffering a calf knock.
The 27-year-old limped out of Bayern's 4-0 home win over Nuremberg on Saturday in the German league after taking a knock to the muscle.
Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes initially suggested the Germany star would struggle to be fit to face the Italians, but although Schweinsteiger sat out training on Sunday, he is expected to be able to play.
"It's significantly better," Heynckes said when asked about the injury on Sunday while Schweinsteiger was expected to train with the team again on Tuesday.
Heynckes is also waiting on the fitness of Belgium defender Daniel van Buyten who has a bruised left foot from the win over Nuremberg, but is expected to play.
If the centre-back is ruled out, Germany defender Jerome Boateng can step in to replace him, while Toni Kroos can partner Brazil's Luis Gustavo at the back of Bayern's midfield if Schweinsteiger is not fit.
After wins over Manchester City and Villarreal, plus a draw at Napoli, Bayern have a two-point lead at the top of Group A while the Italians are second in the table and both sides are unbeaten in their European campaigns so far.
Bayern are eager to claim their ninth straight home win at Munich's Allianz Arena.
They have turned their state-of-the-art stadium into something of a fortress of late as Borussia Moenchengladbach were the last visiting team to score in Munich when they poached a shock 1-0 win back on August 7.
Since then Bayern have scored 33 goals without reply.
Napoli travel to Munich on the back of a domestic defeat and have captain Paolo Cannavaro suspended.
Lying second in Serie A before kick-off, Walter Mazzarri’s men fell 2-1 away to Catania on Saturday evening and are now five points off leaders Juventus in the Italian league.
Despite the defeat, Mazzarri saw enough positive play from his team to be confident in Munich.
"In the second half, despite being a man down we pinned Catania down in their area for long periods," said Mazzarri.
"Football is like this, sometimes things go well and others they go badly but if we keep playing like this they'll mostly go well."
axe wrote:rfari keep the thread alive, i have no internet these days and net at work 'slow-tending-towards-frustration-ish'
UEFA Champions League 2011, Bayern Munich Vs. Napoli: Bavarians Fight Azzurri For Top Spot
On October 18, Bayern Munich and Napoli faced off in Naples with the top spot in Group A of the UEFA Champions League on the line. With Manchester City sitting behind both teams with unbelievable talent and questionable form, a loss would be crippling to either team. Both teams grabbed a point in a physical 1-1 draw, but that hardly tells the story.
Napoli were not anywhere near their best at home. Bayern Munich, though their play could reasonably be described as dirty on the night, were also the much better footballing side. They kept the ball better and created more chances as Napoli's front three struggled after scoring their opening goal. The goal was an own goal, and Napoli never actually got a shot on target.
At the Allianz Arena, a repeat performance will almost certainly not earn Napoli a point. Bayern Munich has won their last two matches in all competitions by a combined score of 10-0, as they absolutely bulldozed Ingolstadt in the German Cup and Nürnburg - not a bad side by any stretch of the imagination - in the league. Nürnburg played athletic fullback Timothy Chandler as a midfielder in an attempt to slow down Franck Ribery and their strategy was unsuccessful. Ribery scored a goal and was a creative force. Mario Gomez scored twice, taking his goal tally in all competitions over the last year and a third to 65 in 78 matches, 17 of which were substitute appearances.
If Walter Mazzarri sticks with his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation, his front three are going to have to create a high volume of goal-scoring opportunities and his central midfielders, arguably his team's weakest point, will have to have terrific games. There is an inherent disadvantage in playing a back three against one and three striker systems like Bayern's, so the performances of the individual players will have to be spectacular for Napoli to get points in Munich.
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