'Even more power and energy' - FC Bayern with fans' backing against Benfica

The Champions League finally returns to the Allianz Arena! After back-to-back away outings in Europe, FC Bayern host Benfica on Wednesday evening (live text and free Web Radio from 9pm CET on fcbayern.com and the FC Bayern app) on Matchday 4 of the league phase. The Munich men are under a bit of pressure and are determined to get the three points. Get all the info on the match in the preview. 

Final training, press conference & more - catch up on Bayern's day before the match against Benfica:

The state of play for Bayern

Bayern suffered two defeats on the road in Europe recently, losing 1-0 at Aston Villa and 4-1 at Barcelona. The German record champions find themselves in 23rd place after three matchdays in the league phase with three points, but it's still all to play for in the new format. "It's not decided after the third matchday but after the eighth matchday," said board member for sport Max Eberl. A win against Benfica is now a must in order to stay in the mix for the top eight positions, which means direct qualification for the round of 16. "We've had two tricky away games, which we've both lost, so there is pressure against Benfica. On the other hand, we have our crowd behind us at the Allianz Arena, and we've already shown there that we can generate even more power and energy."

Recent outings on the domestic front give Bayern momentum for the meeting with Benfica. The Munich men are coming off three consecutive wins to nil at Bochum (5-0), at Mainz (4-0) and on Saturday against Union Berlin (3-0). "We're in a good moment, which we want to keep going and continue against Benfica," commented João Palhinha at Tuesday's press conference. "We have to focus on our best performance," described head coach Vincent Kompany. "What we've done so far has resulted in us scoring 50 goals and winning a lot of games. We have a lot of confidence in our play. The most important thing is the mindset we're communicating to the players, that we treat every match like a final, that we want to win every match."

The facts on the meeting with Benfica:

The opponents: Benfica 

After an unssatisfactory start to the season in the domestic league, Bruno Lage took over as coach from Roger Schmidt at Benfica. The Portuguese record champions have got back on track lately, winning nine of their 10 games in all competitions so far in Lage's second spell. In the Champions League, the Eagles claimed wins at Red Star Belgrade (2-1) and against Atlético Madrid (4-0) before losing 3-1 at home to Feyenoord last time out. "They can be very dangerous," warned Kompany. "They've got top quality in the box, they always find a path to goal. They have a good mix." Palhinha, who spent nine years with Benfica's city rivals Sporting CP, also spoke about the team from his home country: "They have a lot of individual quality. They've got even better with the change of coach, but we're focused on what we can achieve."

We spoke with ex-FCB goalkeeper Hans Jörg Butt about Benfica:

Team news

Bayern are without long-term absentees Hiroki Ito, who's had further surgery on his metatarsal, Josip Stanisic, Sacha Boey (both knee) and Aleksandar Pavlović (collarbone).

Benfica are missing ex-Mainz man Leandro Barreiro (hamstring), Gianluca Prestianni (ankle) and Tiago Guveia (shoulder).

Aleksandar Pavlović is back in individual training:

What the coaches say