Uefa Champions League quarter-finals/Chelsea v Bayern Munich: Felix Magath stopped short of offering Jose Mourinho a mobile phone with which to contact Chelsea's players this evening, but the Bayern Munich coach emphasised he would have no problem with the opposition manager getting messages to his team.

Mourinho is banned by Uefa from talking to his players or backroom staff immediately before or during both legs of the quarter-final, as part of a touchline suspension, but Magath would much prefer if his opposite number could operate as normal.

"I don't mind Jose Mourinho having contact with his players," he said. "It wasn't my decision how things turned out. I would really prefer that he was there as manager and would have been allowed to do his job properly.

"But I don't think it will have an impact on the game. He has been with the team for nearly a whole season and Chelsea players know the demands of Jose Mourinho and will have already taken that into the way they play."

Magath can hardly have expected Mourinho to stay away from Stamford Bridge. Did he understand why the 42-year-old was doing that? "As my behaviour is always exemplary I never have to worry about such things," he replied.

The German's retort seemed less a jibe than an attempt to move the discussion on. More than a third of the questions he was asked related to Mourinho.

Magath was careful not to follow Ottmar Hitzfeld, his predecessor at Bayern, in describing Mourinho as arrogant. "If I don't know the person I can't make judgments," he said, "but I am clearly aware of Jose Mourinho's great achievements."

For all his diplomacy Magath, whose team beat Arsenal in the last round, did seem confident. His Champions League campaign was ended by Chelsea last season when he was in charge of Stuttgart, a 1-0 defeat in Germany being followed by a 0-0 draw, and he is pleased to play at Stamford Bridge first this time.

"The advantage of having the return leg at home is that Chelsea must do something tomorrow," he said. "They can't just rely on counter-attacks but they will have to bring the game to us and that could help us. I believe that tomorrow we will not lose and that we can score one or two goals.

"Germany have the winter break so our players now are fresh and in top condition," he said, "whereas England . . . has played non-stop until today, and I think there were signs of that when we played Arsenal."

Bayern are without suspended midfielder Martin Demichelis, with Torsten Frings tipped to deputise. Roy Makaay has recovered from a hamstring problem. The striker, who is "confident" of eliminating Chelsea, is likely to be partnered by Jose Guerrero in the absence of Claudio Pizarro.

PROBABLE TEAMS

CHELSEA: Cech; Johnson, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; Tiago, Makelele, Lampard; Duff, Cole, Gudjohnsen.

BAYERN MUNICH: Kahn; Sagnol, Lucio, Kovac, Lizarazu; Deisler, Frings, Ballack, Schweinsteiger; Makaay, Guerrero.

Referee: R Temmink (Netherlands).