This is a good time of year to be in the capital of Bavaria, with the beer festival in full swing and the balm of autumn yet to give way to winter's chill. Munich may not be Heidelberg but Manchester United will not find a more fitting moment to remember their days as student princes.
Not that they have to think back far. In terms of Champions' League experience the learning process is ongoing. Only a fortnight ago Alex Ferguson's team felt they had earned their masters degree by establishing an early 2-0 lead against Barcelona at Old Trafford, only to be held 3-3 with the Spanish champions looking the more likely winners.
United will be keen to redress the balance by beating Bayern Munich in the Olympic Stadium tonight. Easier said than done, however, for Bayern have won their opening six league matches and are in even more urgent need of Champions' League points after losing 2-1 to Brondby in Copenhagen. United, moreover, are without the injured Ryan Giggs.
Ottmar Hitzfeld, the new Bayern coach, was in charge of Borussia Dortmund two seasons ago when they defeated United 10 home and away in the semifinals. He can now call upon the combined experience of the 37-year-old Lothar Matthaus, playing sweeper, and Stefan Effenberg, still an imposing presence in midfield. Thomas Helmer, however, has only an even chance of being fit.
"They are a big team," Ferguson noted yesterday, "and taller than us, which could be a problem at set plays. In open play, however, I think we have the ability to impose ourselves on parts of the game."
Size is not everything in football but, remembering how Tony Adams recently got above Jaap Stam at a free-kick to head Arsenal in front, much may depend on whether Hitzfeld opts for big Carsten Jancker as an attacking partner for the Brazilian Giovane Elber. Bixente Lizarazu, the French left-wing-back, will also be a threat.
Group D is looking the tightest of the six and Ferguson believes nine points may be enough to win it. But their chances of taking on Bayern in a battle of attacking wits have been hit by Giggs's foot injury.
Giggs's speed is an essential element of United's counter-attacking style and although Jesper Blomqvist has comparable pace he will need to improve on his performance at Arsenal if, as expected, he plays on the left.
This enforced change apart, Ferguson will almost certainly keep faith with the side who performed impressively in beating Liverpool 2-0 last Thursday. Gary Neville is set to continue alongside Jaap Stam in the middle of the defence, with his brother Phil at right-back and Denis Irwin on the left.
With Nicky Butt suspended, having been sent off against Barcelona for a deliberate handball, Ferguson's midfield options were always going to be limited, but the superb match Paul Scholes had against Liverpool would have made it hard to leave him out. And although Andy Cole is still very much in Ferguson's thoughts he will probably start on the bench, allowing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to continue his promising partnership up front with Dwight Yorke.
The word Munich is seared deep into United's soul but the present players, though never forgetting the significance, must find it hard to relate to a 40-year-old tragedy. "We don't discuss those emotions," Ferguson replied when a German journalist asked him how he had felt as the plane landed.
Bayern Munich (probable): Kahn; Matthaus; Babbel, Helmer (or Linke); Strunz, Basler (or Tarnat), Jeremies, Effenberg, Lizarazu; Elber, Jancker.
Manchester United (probable): Schmeichel; P Neville, Stam, G Neville, Irwin; Beckham, Keane, Scholes, Blomqvist; Yorke, Solskjaer.
Referee: M Batta (France).
