Guardiola faces old foe in CSKA

FC Bayern München embark on their bid to become the first club since AC Milan in 1990 to successfully defend the European Cup with an opening Group A encounter against PFC CSKA Moskva.

• It is the first time the clubs have met but CSKA have some history with Bayern's new coach Josep Guardiola, who was part of the FC Barcelona team that surrendered their grip on the European crown when losing at home to the Russian club in November 1992.

• Guardiola, who replaced Juup Heynckes as Bayern coach in June, tasted victory in his first European fixture in charge of the Bavarian club as Chelsea FC were defeated on penalties in the UEFA Super Cup in August.

Match background
• Bayern have won 12 of their last 14 UEFA Champions League fixtures in Munich, most recently a 4-0 success against Barcelona in last season's semi-finals.

• The hosts are in the group stage for the sixth season running. Only once – in 2002/03 – have they failed to progress from this phase of the competition.

• Franck Ribéry scored when Bayern last faced Russian opposition, FC Zenit in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup semi-finals. Ribéry's 18th-minute first-leg effort was cancelled out by a Lúcio own goal, however, and Bayern lost the second game 4-0.

• Schweinsteiger scored in Bayern's last home victory against a Russian side, a 4-0 defeat of FC Spartak Moskva in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Bayern's home record against Russian visitors is W3 D3 L1. That solitary defeat came against FC Lokomotiv Moskva in the first round of the 1995/96 UEFA Cup, and they made amends with a 5-0 second-leg win in Russia en route to winning the trophy.

• CSKA's two previous visits to Germany came in the UEFA Champions League group stage and each time they lost – 3-2 at Hamburger SV in 2006/07 and 3-1 at VfL Wolfsburg in 2009/10, when Alan Dzagoev scored their goal – although they did win both Moscow meetings.

• CSKA qualified from the group stage on their two most recent appearances, in 2009/10 and 2011/12. Last season they lost to AIK in the UEFA Europa League play-offs.

Team ties
• Guardiola was in the Barcelona team who, as holders, were eliminated from the 1992/93 UEFA Champions League in the second round after a 3-2 home defeat by CSKA – a result that confirmed a 4-3 aggregate defeat and denied them a place in the group stage. The next season he featured in a 5-1 group stage victory against FC Spartak Moskva.

• As Barcelona coach Guardiola suffered one of his two UEFA Champions League home defeats against Russian opposition – a 2-1 reverse against FC Rubin Kazan in the 2009/10 group stage. Barcelona faced Rubin four times over that season and the next, winning the other home fixture and drawing twice in Russia.

• As coach of FC Moskva, Leonid Slutski was on the losing side to Hertha BSC Berlin in the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup, his team falling 2-0 at home after a 0-0 first-leg draw in Germany.

• Arjen Robben scored the winning goal in Chelsea FC's 1-0 victory at CSKA in the 2004/05 group stage.

• Franck Ribéry helped Olympique de Marseille win 2-1 at CSKA in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup group stage.

• During a loan spell with 1. FC Köln, Zoran Tošić appeared as a last-minute substitute in a 1-1 home Bundesliga draw with Bayern in March 2010.

• Jérôme Boateng made his international debut against a Russia side including Igor Akinfeev, Sergei Ignashevich and Vasili Berezutski in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Moscow in October 2009. He was sent off for a second bookable offence after 69 minutes but Germany – also featuring Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger – still won 1-0. The latter pair had earlier played in Germany's 2-1 home victory over Russia in October 2008, lining up against Akinfeev, Ignashevich, Berezutski and Alan Dzagoev.

• Xherdan Shaqiri and Steven Zuber have been team-mates at Under-19, U21 and full senior level for Switzerland. In his FC Basel 1893 days, meanwhile, Shaqiri played against Seydou Doumbia, then at BSC Young Boys.

• Doumbia scored for Ivory Coast in a 2-2 friendly draw in November 2009 with a Germany side including Boateng, Lahm, Schweinsteiger and Manuel Neuer.

• Rasmus Elm scored Sweden's added-time equaliser in Berlin when they fought back from 4-0 down to draw with Germany in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier last October. Pontus Wernbloom also featured for Sweden with Neuer, Lahm, Boateng, Schweinsteiger, Holger Badstuber, Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller and Mario Götze all playing for Germany.

• Elm also featured in Sweden's 2-1 World Cup qualifying loss to Austria in June, when David Alaba scored the opening goal.

• Daniel Van Buyten was in the Belgium team that eliminated Russia from the 2002 World Cup with a 3-2 win in their last group game.