FC Bayern may be without Javi Martinez and Franck Ribéry, but on Monday afternoon they departed for their Champions League group match at PSV Eindhoven with great confidence and a desire to win. Despite the absence of two key players, the German record champions can still make great progress towards the last 16 with a win in the Netherlands on matchday 4.
“The situation in the table is clear: we are basically through with a win,” explained chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge ahead of departing for Eindhoven. However, he had a warning about the home side: “It will not be an easy game. Eindhoven mustn’t be underestimated at home.”
FCB are currently three points behind first-placed Atlético Madrid, who host Rostov on Tuesday evening. “We can assume they will pick up another three points in that came, so it’s important that we win tomorrow,” said Rummenigge plainly. Bayern host the Spanish side on the final day of the group stage at the Allianz Arena. “It would be nice to have a sort of final here in Munich. But that’s partly down to us.”
As well as progressing to the knock-out stage, FCB’s aim is also to finish top of Group D. “We have to win there if we want to finish first in the group. To have a theoretical chance, we have to win our away games at PSV and Rostov,” stressed Rummenigge.
Besides the two injured players previously mentioned, coach Carlo Ancelotti has a full squad to pick from for the tie at the sold-out Phillips Stadion. Twenty-one players have travelled to Eindhoven and Ancelotti will want to pick the best possible side from those players to beat the Dutch side, who are yet to win in the Champions League this campaign. After arriving in Eindhoven, the team will head straight to the hotel before holding a training session in the early evening.
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