Inter Milan and Bayern Munich will meet in a rematch of last year's Champions League final on Wednesday in the first leg of the round of 16.
Defending champion Inter, however, will be without Diego Milito, who scored two goals in the final but has a hamstring strain, while Bayern will have Franck Ribery, who missed the 2010 final through suspension but is now available.
"Both teams have changed a bit and will be missing important players," Inter midfielder Dejan Stankovic said. "We heard from (Munich coach Louis) Van Gaal yesterday how important the return of (Arjen) Robben and Ribery has been and how much strength they add.
"We are more or less the same apart from Diego. It will be a tough match, well balanced and the tactics each side choses will be important, but we are confident."
One thing that hasn't changed though is Van Gaal's opinion of Inter's style of play. Much of the buildup to the 2010 final at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium was dominated by the Dutch coach's criticism of Inter's conservative style under Jose Mourinho.
Since then, Rafa Benitez came and went as Mourinho's successor and he in turn was replaced by Leonardo. But Van Gaal, who won the trophy with Ajax in 1995, says the coaching changes have altered little.
"If you watch Inter every Sunday, you can see that Inter is a defensive team," Van Gaal said. "Against Cagliari last Saturday it was Cagliari that had all the possession and was the more attacking team.
"Last year Inter won everything playing this way and good luck to them. It is the coach who decides the style of play, but I am different. I want a team to play attacking football.
"You can't compare last year's final with tomorrow's game. Players have come, players have gone and players are playing different roles to the final. But we are Bayern Munich and we will try to win and we want to win."
Lucio and Wesley Sneijder - another two mainstays of the team that won the Champions League - should be back after sitting out the 1-0 win over Cagliari as part of their recuperation.
Argentine center back Walter Samuel's absence with a knee injury has been noticeable and Andrea Ranocchia has yet to convince as his replacement since he joined from Genoa in the transfer window.
"We have to play well to give ourselves the advantage ahead of the away leg," Inter defender Ivan Cordoba said. "We can't expect Bayern to give us much room on Wednesday, so we will have to work hard to create space and match its players from the kick off."
Despite the injuries, Inter is in strong form and has moved up to third place in Serie A, five points behind leader AC Milan, after nine wins in 11 games since the start of 2011.
"We are tired out from all these matches, but going back into the Champions League is something different," Stankovic said. "I'd be happy with a 1-0 win."
Munich is worried about the fitness of top scorer Mario Gomez after the striker injured his ankle in Bayern's 3-1 win at Mainz on Saturday.
However, the striker was quick to play down concerns that he would miss the match at the San Siro.
"The pain's completely gone away," Gomez said. "It was a bit swollen after the match, but it's OK again now. I don't think it will be a problem for Wednesday."
If Gomez is unable to play, he is likely to be replaced by Germany striker Miroslav Klose, who has been left on the bench since Gomez hit form.
"We have to wait to see if he can play," Van Gaal said. "Miro has been in very good shape."
Klose also scored Germany's goal in a 1-1 draw with Italy on Feb. 9.
At the other end of the field, Van Gaal has concerns over his first-choice goalkeeper. Thomas Kraft was hit in the head in the Mainz match and came off at halftime. However, Van Gaal expects him to be fit for the game.
"He doesn't have a headache anymore but still has some pain in his neck," Van Gaal said. "If Joerg Butt has to play that's not a problem for us."
