Source: Telegraph
Bayern Munich v Manchester United: Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand fly to Germany
Rooney and Ferdinand both missed Manchester United's 4-0 win over Bolton at the weekend because of respective groin and foot injuries.[LNB]Top goalscorer Rooney, however, is likely to line up as a lone striker at the Allianz Arena, while Ferdinand will join Nemanja Vidic in the heart of the defence.[LNB]As they look to reach their third European final in as many years, United veteran Ryan Giggs said the clash with Bayern has triggered memories of one the club's most astonishing wins. [LNB]Although the 1999 Champions League was not won in Munich, the German city's famous Bayern were the victims of one of the most memorable finals in history. [LNB]"I can't believe it's 11 years ago," said Giggs. "It was one of the greatest nights of my life and for many fans too, this will bring back a lot of happy memories. [LNB]"We will settle for the same score as in 1999 too, but hopefully not leaving it as late as we did then." [LNB]Giggs has warned his team-mates that they cannot afford to underestimate their German opponents as United's track record proves results against Bayern are always close. [LNB]"I am a little bit surprised about our overall record but it has always been tight," he continued. "It is usually difficult against German sides, and against the top ones even more so. [LNB]"We have won the European Cup three times. They have won it on four occasions so you are talking about two clubs with massive history; full of experience and full of great players so hopefully it's going to be a great spectacle. [LNB]"The team we played against in 1999 was really powerful. It had strength all the way through. Now Bayern have a lot of trickery with Ribery and Robben, and some other individual match winners. [LNB]"But our European record in recent times has been good and if we play to the best of our ability we really fancy ourselves." [LNB]Giggs' sentiments have been echoed by United captain Gary Neville who has called the club's next nine days "season defining". [LNB]Ferguson's side face Chelsea at Old Trafford in between the two legs against Bayern, and Neville is hoping the club's run of form at home continues into next week. [LNB]"We have Bayern, Chelsea and Bayern again in a week, so these are season-defining moments, but we are going into this period with confidence," he said. "We are happy to have the second leg at Old Trafford — our form at home has been very good this season and we are always confident there. [LNB]'But the key tie is always the away leg and we have to go there first and get a good result because the home leg can sometimes be a disaster if you don't get a good result away. [LNB]'I have never played a game against Bayern that was not extremely difficult and a test of endurance for both teams.' [LNB]
