UEFA Cup - Behind enemy lines

Eurosport - Mon, 18 Feb 12:03:00 2008

A look at how the sides set to face British clubs in the UEFA Cup are faring in their domestic leagues, with Bayern Munich ace Luca Toni giving Aberdeen plenty to think about.

FOOTBALL 2007-2008 Bundesliga Hannover-Bayern Luca Toni - 0

Matches to be played on Thursday February 21st.

Atletico Madrid (home to Bolton)

Atletico Madrid 1-2 Athletic Bilbao

Atleti appeared to be suffering from a UEFA Cup hangover induced by last week's 1-0 defeat at the Reebok when they fell to a 2-1 loss at home to Athletic on Sunday. Antonio Lopez gave the hosts the lead at the Vicente Calderon, only for goals from Markel Susaeta and Fernando Llorente to turn the game on its head. To make matters worse, Raul Garcia was sent off for two bookable offences as Atleti missed the opportunity to move into third place in La Liga.

Bayern Munich (home to Aberdeen)

Hannover 0-3 Bayern Munich

Striker Luca Toni hit a hat-trick as Bayern restored their three-point advantage at the top of the Bundesliga with a comfortable away win on Sunday. Come Thursday, Aberdeen will have to be wary of the Italy international, who has now netted 13 goals in 18 league appearances since his summer move from Fiorentina.

SK Brann (away at Everton)

Did not play

With the Norwegian season over, Brann enjoyed another weekend off. Their only competitive game since their final UEFA Cup group stage fixture against Basel in early December was last week's 2-0 first leg reverse against Everton. While the reigning Tippeligaen champions are well rested, their lack of match practice will make it difficult to overturn that deficit at Goodison Park.

Panathinaikos (home to Rangers)

Did not play

Another team not to play at the weekend were Panathinaikos, whose Greek Super Liga clash with Atromitos in Athens was postponed after Greece was hit by heavy snowfall. Pana's lack of activity allowed Olympiacos to take top spot and heading into Thursday's game, they trail their rivals in second place by a point.

Slavia Prague (away at Tottenham)

Slavia Prague 1-0 SK Ceske Budejovice

Slavia geared up for their trip to White Hart Lane with a narrow victory over Ceske Budejovice, thanks to a late strike from Jaroslav Cerny. The win maintained Slavia's five point advantage over city rivals Sparta at the top of the Czech Gambrinus Liga.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport