Favourites Bayern relishing English challenge

Instead, the only concern at the Bundesliga leaders and tournament favourites is the future of Hitzfeld, who has been linked with the Switzerland job when his current Bayern contract runs out at the end of the season.

 "Naturally I'm tending towards continuing rather than calling it a day," said Hitzfeld, although he did add that "so far no decision has been made."

   Willy Sagnol's return to team training Tuesday after six months out following a knee operation means Hitzfeld now has a full squad to choose from for the match against Bolton, although the Frenchman needs to regain match fitness before making a competitive return.

 "Willy is not ready to play yet," said Hitzfeld. "I can't simply throw him in at the deep end. He needs match practice and has to find his rhythm again."

   Struggling Bolton, who currently lie second from bottom of the Premier League, travel to the Allianz Arena in Munich with new boss Gary Megson looking to build on the weekend draw against West Ham.

 In the other group match, Red Star Belgrade will hope to bounce back from the opening loss to Bayern by securing all three points against Greek side Ari.

 Bayer Leverkusen travel to Spartak Moscow level with their opponents at the top of Group E and in relaxed mood thanks to the opening win against Toulouse and a 4-0 hammering of Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga.

 "We aren't under that much pressure thanks to victory against Toulouse," said coach Michael Skibbe. "But on the other hand the players know that if we earn points here then we are well on the way towards qualifying for the knockout phase."

   Skibbe will be without Bernd Schneider and team captain Carsten Ramelow who won't be risking his comeback from three meniscus operations on the artificial turf in Moscow.

 Juande Ramos may have won the previous two editions of the UEFA Cup with club Sevilla but the Spaniard will need to see significant improvement at his new club Tottenham Hotspur if he is to make it a hat-trick of European silverware.

 Spurs opened their Group G campaign with a surprise defeat at home to Getafe and need to get a result away to Hapoel Tel Aviv. Aalborg face Anderlecht in the other group game.

 In Group A, Nuremberg entertain Everton looking to kickstart a miserable season that sees the German Cup holders languishing in the Bundesliga relegation zone.

 "The lads should use this chance to liberate themselves in a situation where there isn't as much pressure," said coach Hans Meyer.

 Although this is Nuremberg's first appearance in the second round of the UEFA Cup in 45 years, captain Tomas Galasek said the club's priority remains the Bundesliga and Sunday's basement duel against Bielefeld.

 "The UEFA Cup is a nice present that we earned thanks to our (German) Cup win," he said.

 Everton will be without injured striker Andrew Johnson and defender Leighton Baines for the tie in Nuremberg.

 In Group B, Panathinaikos can take a giant step towards the knockout phase with a win against Copenhagen while in Group D Basle can do likewise with victory against Dinamo Zagreb and Bordeaux at Austria Vienna in Group H.

DPA