Villarreal set out to stem Bayern tide

Juan Carlos Garrido said his Villarreal CF side were determined to make life difficult for FC Bayern München in their UEFA Champions League Group A opener, though the prospect of playing the final in their own home stadium may prove an extra incentive for Jupp Heynckes' side.

Villarreal
Coach Juan Carlos Garrido
In a game like this you need a balance between defence and attack. A lot of people see us as an attacking team in the way we play with the ball, but I try to instil that balance in my players. I want my team to start winning by being strong in defence. We will work hard at Bayern; we are not going to make it easy for them.

Villarreal are nobody's favourites to win, but the three points would shake up the group and give us a lot of encouragement. Playing in the Champions League has a huge impact for the city; it's the largest competition in the world, and the region and club are proud to see Villarreal playing against top-level European teams. Now what we need to do is work and fight to get as far as possible.

Weekend result
Saturday: Villarreal 2-2 Sevilla FC
(Rossi 35pen, Ruben 72; Negredo 24, Alexis 86)
López; Oriol, Gonzalo (Ruben 66), Musacchio, Gaspar; Camuñas (De Guzman 57), Bruno, Marcheno, Valero, Cani (Sánchez 23); Rossi

• Diego López was dismissed on 22 minutes – only the second red card of his career. César Sánchez replaced him in goal, his club debut marking his 400th Liga appearance eight days after turning 40.

Team news
Ángel López remains sidelined by the cruciate ligament injury he sustained in January, but coach Garrido said Jonathan De Guzman is available, also maintaining that the absence of the suspended Borja Valero was no disaster. "I wish he could play, but we have a quality squad which gives us plenty of options," he said.

Bayern
Coach Jupp Heynckes
We are getting back to our best and we are in good form, but in the Champions League anything is possible, but like a lot of Germans, we also see ourselves as being in with a chance of making it to the final in Munich. My players will not look down their noses at Villarreal.

Spanish football is very competitive and Villarreal are a great team. Personally, my return to the Champions League does not make me nervous. I am calm. I see it with a cool head. I don't feel different, but the emotions come on the matchday, and not the day before.

Weekend result
Saturday: Bayern 7-0 SC Freiburg (Gomez 8 52 55 71pen; Ribéry 26 41, Petersen 90)
Neuer; Rafinha, Boateng, Badstuber, Lahm (Contento 63); Gustavo, Schweinsteiger, Müller, Kroos, Ribéry (Alaba 73); Gomez (Petersen 73)

• Mario Gomez, who struck a hat-trick in the 3-0 win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern 3-0 on 27 August, has scored seven goals in his last two games for Bayern and nine in his last four appearances.

Team news
Philipp Lahm was replaced against Freiburg as a precaution having picked up a knee injury. Ivica Olić has not played since injuring his hip scoring in a 5-0 win against Hamburger SV on 20 August; Arjen Robben (pelvic problem) has been out since the same game.Breno has not featured since undergoing knee surgery on 11 May.

Match fact
It is ten years since Bayern last won away to Spanish opposition – 1-0 at Real Madrid CF in the 2000/01 semi-finals. The Bavarian side subsequently beat Valencia CF in the Milan final but have since suffered one draw and five losses in Spain, where their overall record reads: W4 D4 L9.