Bayern's chance to strengthen leadership

Three of the four games in Group F have ended in draws so all four teams will still believe in their qualifying prospects at this stage. As the only side with a victory beside their name, FC Bayern München will be happy with their place at the head of the group which they will be hoping to cement when they take on ACF Fiorentina.

• On Matchday 2, Bayern failed to overcome Olympique Lyonnais as the French champions held them to a 1-1 draw at the Fußball Arena München. Indeed, the Bundesliga titleholders were forced to come from behind as Martín Dimichelis inadvertently flicked Juninho Pernambucano's long-range free-kick into his own net. The hosts responded after the break as Zé Roberto powered in a header to secure a draw and take their points tally to four, Daniel Van Buyten's early header having ensured victory on Matchday 1 away to FC Steaua Bucureşti.

• Their failure to add a second goal to Zé Roberto's effort on 30 September denied the Bavarian giants a second successive victory at the start of the campaign – something they managed in their last three UEFA Champions League bids (2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07) – while they also added a third win in a row in the latter two editions.

• It also meant they have failed to win their last two home games in Europe's premier club competition. When AC Milan celebrated a 2-0 victory at the Fußball Arena München in April 2007, it ended a run of eleven home games in which the Munich club had won eight and drawn three. The previous team to lower Bayern's colours on their own soil also hailed from Italy, Juventus winning 1-0 in the group stage in November 2004.

• This is the fifth time in their last six UEFA Champions League campaigns that Bayern have been paired with Italian opponents in the group stage. Their overall European home record against teams from Serie A is not wholly convincing with three wins, four draws and four defeats and only in the first two of those contests did the away team fail to get on the scoresheet.

• Fiorentina can gain further confidence from the fact that of the six UEFA Champions League contests Bayern have hosted against Italian teams, only one has resulted in a home win – the 2005/06 group meeting with Juventus. They have lost three with two draws.

• Fiorentina began their Group F campaign with a 2-2 away draw at Lyon. Two headed goals by Alberto Gilardino gave the Viola a wonderful start to only their second appearance in the competition in its current guise, but they were unable to protect the lead with Karim Benzema securing a point for the home side four minutes from time.

• Cesare Prandelli's team followed that with a 0-0 draw against Steaua at their Artemio Franchi Stadium in a game that did not feature a great deal of flowing football. Early chances arrived for Adrian Mutu and Gilardino but neither could make them count.

• The Florence club will be looking for their first victory in Germany in a competitive fixture. They drew on their last trip, 1-1 against Werder Bremen in the 1989/90 UEFA Cup semi-finals and a goalless draw in the return leg took them through to the final, where they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Serie A rivals Juventus. The Viola lost 2-1 to FC Schalke 04 in the first round of the same competition in 1977/78 and two years before, in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second round, they went down 1-0 at FSV Zwickau.

• Gilardino was in the Milan side held 2-2 by Bayern in the Italian leg of the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

• Gilardino also appeared as a substitute for Italy against Germany in the 2006 FIFA World Cup semi-final played in Dortmund, replacing Luca Toni, who then played for Fiorentina, but now leads the line at Bayern. Massimo Oddo, signed by the Bundesliga giants this summer, was an unused substitute for the Azzurri. Philipp Lahm, Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski, Tim Borowski and Bastian Schweinsteiger all featured for the host nation.

• Toni scored 47 league goals in 67 games for Fiorentina before joining Bayern in July 2007. He was the leading Serie A scorer in his first season with the Viola in 2005/06 with 31 strikes.

• Toni and Mutu were on opposite sides when Italy faced Romania in Zurich at UEFA EURO 2008™.

• Mutu played 24 minutes as a second-half substitute in Juventus's 2-1 loss at Bayern in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League group stage. He then came on for a further 14 minutes in the return match in Turin when Juve turned the tables to win by the same scoreline.

• Steaua take on Lyon in the section's other game.