Champions League Preview: FC Bayern Munich Vs ACF Fiorentina

The draw results of the knockout stages of the Champions League pitted Bayern against Fiorentina in what might prove to be a "delicious" clash.

Bayern and Fiorentina know each other by now. They played in the last edition of the Champions League. Bayern outplayed their opponents at the Allianz Arena in 2008. They beat them 3-0 with goals from Miro Klose, Bastian Schweini and Ze Roberto. The second match was a more evenly matched affair. The game in Italy finished 1-1 with goals from Adrian Mutu and Tim Borowski.

Fiorentina have a talented side- there is no doubt about that. The big question is whether they will show up. Fiorentina played extremely well in the group stages. They won five of their six games, with their sole loss coming to Lyon at the Stade de Gerland. That group also had Liverpool in the mix- we all know the story of Liverpool's Champions League campaign by now.

Bayern and Fiorentina are at opposite ends of the form tables of their respective leagues. Bayern won their eighth consecutive Bundesliga match by beating Wolfsburg 3-1. They are on track of breaking Monchengladbach's record of 10 consecutive wins. Fiorentina last won a Serie A game on the tenth of January.

Fiorentina's last five results

Fiorentina 0-1 Roma

Cagliari 2-2 Fiorentina

Palermo 3-0 Fiorentina

Fiorentina 1-2 Bologna

Fiorentina 2-1 Bari

Bayern's last five results

Wolfsburg 1-3 Bayern

Bayern 3-0 Mainz

Werder 2-3 Bayern

Bayern 2-0 Hoffenheim

Bayern 5-2 Hertha

Fiorentina currently lie eleventh on the Serie A table whereas Bayern lie second in the Bundesliga table. Bayern's group stage campaign in the Champions League was nothing short of dreadful. They started well with a 3-0 win over Maccabi Haifa. However, they then drew 0-0 with Juve at the Allianz Arena in a match where they were utterly dominant. They lost to Bordeaux 2-1 and 0-2. Bordeaux ironically bailed Bayern out.

On Matchday Five, Juve needed a point to qualify. They lost to Bordeaux, who had already qualified, 2-0. Bayern beat Maccabi Haifa 1-0. In the decider on Matchday Six, Bayern beat Juve 4-1 in Italy to progress by the skin of their teeth.

Fiorentina's squad is made up of interesting players. A few of them stick out for me including Stevan Jovetic, Alberto Gilardino, Adem Ljiacic, captain Riccardo Montolivo and keeper Sebastian Frey. Fiorentina can play attacking football as well as counter attacking football. Against Liverpool, they played the latter. Adrian Mutu had been temporarily banned for doping.

The ban could be for three months if he is lucky or between one to four years if he is unlucky.

Bayern's squad is made up of seasoned players such as Bastian Schweini, Philipp Lahm, Mark van Bommel etc alongside up and coming youngsters such as Holger Badstuber and Thomas Muller.

The game will be taking place at the Allianz Arena and thus, is almost a must-win clash for Bayern.The environment in Italy is rather hostile and the Fiorentina crowd might prove to be hostile to the Germans. What Bayern need to do in my opinion is allow Van Bommel to distribute but not let him come forward.

The central defenders should stay behind as much as possible and only join in for dead ball situations.

Current coach Cesare Prandelli is the Viola's longest serving coach while Louis Van Gaal is currently enjoying life as Bayern's head coach. It is hard to predict a scoreline for this match. I will go with a narrow win for Bayern.

Final Score: Bayern 2-1 Fiorentina.