Bayern Munich coach Jurgen Klinsmann believes his team can shake off their poor domestic form and maintain their unbeaten start to the Champions League when they entertain Fiorentina.
“We’ve played very well in the last two matches and we’ve got four points,” said Klinsmann. “We want to make that seven against Fiorentina. It would be a big step towards the next round. We have a lot of respect for Fiorentina. They are quick and their midfield is very compact, and with just one or two touches they can take the side forward. They’re in the Champions League which means they’re a good team.”
Klinsmann’s major concern is the fitness of Luca Toni, who was forced off in the weekend win over Karlsrusher after bruising ribs.
“If Luca can play, he will play,” said his coach, who call up Lukas Podolski to partner Miroslav Klose if the Italian is unavailable to face his former club. “We’re going to treat Fiorentina with respect, but we are going to impose ourselves on the game and not wait for Fiorentina to attack,” added Klinsmann. “There’ll be 70,000 people in the stadium cheering for us and we want to take advantage of that.”
Fiorentina have drawn their two Group F fixtures to date, but following some impressive domestic form – with three wins in as many Serie A matches – they arrive in Bavaria in confident mood.
“We’re up against a team with many great players, but we’re going to try and impose our own personality on the game,” said Cesare Prandelli.
The coach is without flu victim Martin Jorgensen, but is hopeful his decision to rest Adrian Mutu for Saturday’s 3-0 defeat of Reggina will pay dividends.
Should the Romanian fail to recover from a knee injury Montenegrin Stevan Jovetić will start on the right side of a three-man attack alongside Mario Alberto Santana and Alberto Gilardino.
“When you play against a big club like Bayern, you know anything can happen at any time,” warned Prandelli “Our task is to remain 100 per cent focused throughout the 90 minutes, and when we get an opportunity we have to exploit it fully.”
