Bayern braced for old nemesis

FC Bayern München have their sights set on a first UEFA Champions League semi-final since winning the trophy in 2001 but first they must overcome a formidable obstacle in Manchester United FC.

• No Bayern fan needs reminding of the threat of the English visitors, who famously beat the Bavarian giants 2-1 in the 1999 final in Barcelona.

• Bayern defeated United at this stage in 2001 but that was the last time they advanced from the quarter-finals, a hurdle they have failed to surmount on four subsequent occasions (2001/02, 2004/05, 2006/07, 2008/09).

• United, by contrast, will arrive in Munich aiming to reach the semi-finals for the fourth year running. Winners in 2008 and runners-up last season, they hope to become the first team since Juventus (1996-98) to appear in three successive finals and will not be short on confidence having won every away game in this season's competition.

Previous meetings
• The clubs' most memorable encounter was the 1999 UEFA Champions League final when United famously broke Bayern hearts with added-time goals from substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Bayern had led for 84 minutes following Mario Basler's sixth-minute opener.

• Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville were in the United team in Barcelona that evening while Wes Brown was an unused substitute. It remains the only time United have beaten Bayern in seven competitive meetings.

• The full lineups were:
Man United: Schmeichel, Neville, Johnsen, Stam, Irwin, Giggs, Beckham, Butt, Blomqvist (Sheringham 67), Cole (Solskjær 81), Yorke.
Bayern: Kahn, Linke, Matthäus (Fink 80) , Kuffour, Babbel, Jeremies, Effenberg, Tarnat, Basler (Salihamidžić 90), Jancker, Zickler (Scholl 71).

• The teams had met in the group stage earlier that same season, playing out two draws. They both advanced at the expense of an FC Barcelona side coached by Louis van Gaal, now in charge of Bayern.

• Bayern gained a measure of revenge for their 1999 defeat when they overcame United in the 2000/01 quarter-finals. After a 1-0 win at Old Trafford, the Bavarian club prevailed 2-1 in the return leg where Giggs hit the visitors' consolation goal.

• United midfielder Owen Hargreaves was in the Bayern lineup for the clubs' most recent encounter in Munich, a 1-1 draw in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League second group stage.

Match background
• Second in Group A, Bayern reached the last eight with an away-goals victory against ACF Fiorentina, following up a 2-1 home success with a 3-2 away loss.

• With two wins, a draw and a defeat, Bayern's home form has been mixed in Europe in 2009/10. In the group stage they managed only one goal in three matches in Munich.

• United have scored as many UEFA Champions League goals in Germany this term as Bayern, given their 3-1 success at VfL Wolfsburg in the group stage.

• United, winners of Group B, have an unparalleled 100% record on their travels. They recorded their fourth away victory out of four when beating AC Milan 3-2 in the first leg of their last-16 tie, completing the job with a 4-0 triumph at Old Trafford.

• Bayern's most recent visitors from England were Bolton Wanderers FC who earned a 2-2 draw in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup group stage.

• The only English club to have won at Bayern are Norwich City FC, 2-1 victors at the old Olympiastadion in the UEFA Cup second round in 1993/94.

• In two-legged ties against English sides, Bayern have registered five wins and five defeats.

• The Bundesliga outfit lifted the European Champion Clubs' Cup with a 2-0 final triumph against Leeds United AFC in 1975. They lost 1-0 to Aston Villa FC in the 1982 final prior to that 1999 defeat by Man United.

• In two-legged ties with German teams, United have recorded two wins and three defeats, those losses coming in their last three ties.

Team ties
• Van Gaal has a 100% record in two-legged encounters with English teams. He oversaw a UEFA Cup victory against Newcastle United FC with AZ Alkmaar in 2006/07 and, a decade ago, guided Barcelona past Chelsea FC at this stage of the UEFA Champions League.

• The Dutchman's first taste of European competition as a player brought home and away victories for R. Antwerp FC against Aston Villa in the 1975/76 UEFA Cup.

• Van Gaal's most recent encounter with Premier League opposition was with Alkmaar when they went down 3-2 at home to Everton in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup group stage.

• Sir Alex enjoyed a memorable success with Aberdeen FC against Bayern in the 1982/83 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals, winning 3-2 at Pittodrie after a goalless draw in Germany. His Aberdeen side went on to win the trophy and the following year beat Hamburger SV to claim the UEFA Super Cup.

• Bayern's executive board chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was in the West Germany side that beat a Scotland outfit coached by Sir Alex at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

• Mark van Bommel played with Ji-Sung Park in the PSV Eindhoven team beaten by Milan in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

• Hans-Jörg Butt appeared alongside Dimitar Berbatov in the Bayer 04 Leverkusen side that overcame United in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League semi-final. Butt also played for Leverkusen against United in the first group stage in 2002/03 when Berbatov scored against his future club, although United won both matches.

• Berbatov made 154 Bundesliga appearances for Leverkusen from 2001 to 2006, scoring 69 goals. He struck three times in the league against Bayern, two in a 4-1 win in August 2004 and another a year later, this time in 5-2 home loss.

• Daniel Van Buyten faced United twice during a loan stay at Manchester City FC in 2003/04. The Belgian international was in the City side that lost 4-2 at Old Trafford in an FA Cup tie in February 2004 before a 4-1 home league triumph the following month.

• Hargreaves, who was dropped from United's UEFA Champions League squad in January due to a long-term knee injury, started his professional career with Bayern and was part of their first-team squad from 2001 to 2007, winning the UEFA Champions League in 2001. He made 145 Bundesliga appearances, scoring five goals.

• Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes played in England's 5-1 rout of Germany in Munich in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier in September 2001. Their injured team-mate Michael Owen hit a hat-trick that night.

• Franck Ribéry played alongside Patrice Evra in the France team overwhelmed 4-1 by the Netherlands at UEFA EURO 2008. Arjen Robben scored the third Dutch goal while Edwin van der Sar was in goal for the Netherlands.

• Portugal winger Nani faced Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger in that same tournament – Klose and Schweinsteiger scored in Germany's 3-2 quarter-final win.

• Ivica Olić and Danijel Pranjić have had mixed fortunes against English opposition with their national team Croatia. They suffered 4-1 and 5-1 reverses against England in qualifying for this year's World Cup, with Wayne Rooney scoring in both games. Yet both men also featured when Croatia won 3-2 at Wembley to end England's hopes of UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying, Olić getting the second goal.

• Anatoliy Tymoshchuk played for Ukraine against England's Rooney and Ferdinand in 2010 World Cup qualifying.

• The second leg takes place on 7 April. The victorious team will take on the winner of the quarter-final between Olympique Lyonnais and FC Girondins de Bordeaux in the last four.