Uefa
Champion League holder Bayern Munich start the defence of their UEFA Champions
League crown with a home fixture against the Russian giant CSKA Moscow on
Tuesday.
Venue: Allianz Arena
Time: 18:45 GMT
Bayern
made amends for their 2012 final defeat in Europe's premier club competition –
which they lost on penalties to Chelsea – with a 2-1 triumph last season
against fellow Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
The
Bavarian giants have made three of the last four Champions League finals and
under new manager Pep Guardiola will attempt to be the first ever German side
to retain their title.
Guardiola
who won the Champions League twice with Barcelona, in 2009 and 2011, and has brought
in Mario Gotze and Thiago Alcantara to his squad in the close-season from Bayern
munich and Barcelona respectively.
Defender
Jerome Boateng is hopeful Bayern can retain their trophy and create history in
the process, but has urged his team-mates to solely focus on winning their
Group D encounter at Allianz Arena first.
"It's
pivotal for us to make a good start (in the Champions League)," Boateng
told the club's official website.
"We
would of course love to be the first team to achieve it (back-to-back European
titles for a German club).
"However,
we're at the start of the season and can't afford to think that far yet. We
take each game as it comes. At the moment it's important to make a good start
to the group phase."
Milan
were the last team to defend the trophy, in 1989 and 1990, when the tournament
was known as the European Cup.
Bayern
defeated Hannover 2-0 on Saturday to make it four Bundesliga wins from five
matches this season, while they also won the UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea
last month.
Bayern
have several injury problems, with Thiago and Javi Martinez sidelined after
undergoing ankle and groin injuries, while Gotze has not played since injuring
his ankle in that Super Cup triumph.
CSKA
will also enter the match in superb form, having won six of their first eight
matches in the Russian Premier League, and drawing the other two.
Leonid
Slutsky's side won the title last season and have won two Russian Cups in the
last four seasons.
They
reached the last eight of the competition in the 2009-2010 season and also
progressed from the group stages in the 2011-12 campaign.
Ahmed
Musa and Seydou Doumbia have been in good scoring form this season while the
likes of Keisuke Honda, Alan Dzagoev and Zoran Tosic give them plenty of
quality in midfield.
CSKA
defeated Rostov 1-0 on Saturday and will feel quietly confident but Bayern
should have too much quality in front of their home fans.
