Uefa Group Cup stage: Bayern Munich v Bolton Wanderers, Allianz Arena, 6.0When Gary Megson was serving as an unpaid coach at Stoke City this summer he can hardly have imagined November would see him leading Bolton Wanderers out at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena.
Last night he was trying to fathom how to contain Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni, Bayern's formidable strike partnership, and subdue midfielder Franck Ribery.
With a crowd of close to 70,000 expected and Ottmar Hitzfeld choreographing the Bundesliga leaders from the home dugout, this is the sort of glamour tie Bolton craved as they strove to qualify for Europe last season. But with his team mired in the relegation zone, Megson could probably do without this tie. Indeed he has stressed that Sunday's home league date with Middlesbrough is the priority.
Even so, Bolton's manager - an unused substitute in 1993 when Norwich City beat Bayern 2-1 at their old Olympic Stadium - might have been tempted to field a strong side here had his squad not been so badly afflicted by a spate of injuries which saw, among others, Nicolas Anelka, El-Hadji Diouf, Abdoulaye Meite and Nicky Hunt left at home.
Many believe Hitzfeld has assembled the club's best squad since they won the Champions League in 2001. As Toni put it: "We are clear favourites for the Uefa Cup and are going to do everything in our power to win it."
