Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Champions League last-16 tie between Bayern Munich and Besiktas at the Allianz Arena. The hosts, who finished second to Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage, are aiming to make it through to the quarter-finals for a seventh year in a row and are strong favourites to do so ahead of this first leg.

The visitors have made it through to the knockout rounds of this competition for the first time in their history, meanwhile, becoming the first Turkish club to top their group in the process. This may not be the highest profile of the eight games taking place at this stage of world football's best club competition, but it is the only one that pits together two reigning domestic champions.

BAYERN MUNICH TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Ulreich; Hummels, Javi Martinez, Boateng, Alaba; James, Vidal, Kimmich; Muller, Lewandowski, Coman

SUBS: Starke, Wagner, Sule, Ribery, Robben, Rafinha, Tolisso

Starting with a look at the home side, boss Jupp Heynckes has given Kingsley Coman the nod over Franck Ribery on the left side of Bayern's front three, while Thomas Muller takes over from Arjen Robben on the other flank. Plenty of options for the experienced boss to call upon, and he has opted to leave two of the competition's finest-ever performers among the subs for this crucial first-leg tie.

James Rodriguez, looking far more comfortable now at the Allianz Arena compared to his final month at Real Madrid, is also included for the home side, being used just in front of defensive-midfield duo Arturo Vidal and Javi Martinez. In many ways this is very much the Bundesliga pacesetters' strongest available XI, with little doubt over who was going to lead the line this evening. Robert Lewandowski has 27 goals in all competitions this term, three of which have come on the continent.

An all-star cast of attacking talent, and Bayern are not all that bad at the back, either! The versatile David Alaba slots in at left-back and Joshua Kimmich will be used on the right. Thiago Alcantara had been pushing for a starting spot tonight, having made his return from a three-month layoff at the weekend, but he is not included in the squad. January recruit Sandro Wagner is among the back-ups, though, and has scored two in his last three outings.

BESIKTAS TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Fabri; Adriano, Pepe, Vida, Erkin; Quaresma, Medel; Hutchinson, Talisca, Babel; Love

SUBS: Tolga, Tosic, Gokhan, Lens, Tolgay, Oguzhan, Negredo

In terms of the visitors, Senol Gunes has recalled Ricardo Quaresma and Domagoj Vida after being named among the subs in the draw at Konyaspor a few days ago. Besiktas are far from full strength for one of their biggest ever European nights, however, with defenders Dusko Tosic and Atinc Nukan both nursing injuries, as are midfielders Veli Kavlak and Gokhan Tore.

Gokhan Gonul has been overlooked for selection this evening, meanwhile, and Gunes appears to have placed Adriano at right-back in direct competition with Alaba and Coman. Quaresma is not known for his tracking back as such, so it could be a busy 90 minutes for Adriano. The knockout-round debutants do have the talented Talisca in their ranks, though - a player boasting seven goals in his last seven matches.

Interestingly, Besiktas have never lost a game in which Talisca has netted - a run spanning 25 matches. The Brazilian attacker is one of three visiting players one booking away from incurring a one-match ban, along with Tolgay Arslan and Coner Erkin. There is a new face of sorts up top for the Black Eagles tonight, as Vagner Love was brought in during the January transfer window to take over from Cenk Tosun, and recently scored two in the 5-0 win over Karabukspor.

Bayern Munich remain without the man many believe is the best goalkeeper in world football, with Manuel Neuer now into the fifth month of his prolonged layoff with a fresh metatarsal injury. The Germany international will be back well before the World Cup, so this could be Sven Ulreich's final chance to impress in a big fixture. The back-up stopper has been impressive while standing in, even being touted as Bayern's Player of the Year.

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Another huge night of Champions League action at the Allianz Arena, then, where Bayern are aiming to remain on course for a sixth success in this competition. The most recent of their Champions League trophy wins came in 2013 when famously beating domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund in London, and supporters will no doubt feel that the five-year gap without winning is a long enough wait for such a big club.

Bayern are among a small number of clubs judged season-by-season on how they perform on the continent; winning the Bundesliga is simply not enough, in much the same way as winning the La Liga crown will often be seen as the minimum target for Barcelona, and likewise with Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. This is therefore a competition that often takes priority for the Bavarian giants, which has proved to be the case once again this time around.

After making a fairly shaky start to the season, costing respected boss Carlo Ancelotti his job, it has been left to Heynckes to steady the ship and lead Bayern back towards glory. Heynckes, a treble winner in his final season at the helm before being replaced by Pep Guardiola, has worked wonders at the Allianz Arena and you would not bet against him repeating that treble success in 2017-18.

There have been calls from above for Heynckes to remain in charge for at least another year, but the ageing manager has made clear that this is just a temporary job and he will continue his retirement from the summer. It is not difficult to see exactly why supporters are so desperate for Heynckes to stay on, having stormed well clear at the top of the Bundesliga standings, made it through to the last 16 of the Champions League and into the semi-finals of the German Cup.

Bayern have won 10 games in a row in the German top flight and 15 of their last 16, most recently battling to a 2-1 victory at Wolfsburg. A 90th-minute penalty from Lewandowski was required in that one, with Robben earlier missing from the spot in a match that the visitors trailed the majority of. They are now 19 points clear of Dortmund in second; BVB temporarily climbing into the runners-up spot in what is a tight battle among the also-rans.

The Bavarian giants are on course for a sixth German title in a row and 28th overall, while victory over Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal before Christmas, followed up with a 6-0 win against Paderborn, has set up a semi-final date with Bayer Leverkusen in April. The Champions League remains the one they want, though, and their group-stage campaign was not quite perfect under a mixture of Ancelotti and Heynckes.

A heavy loss away to PSG essentially cost Ancelotti his job - the only dropped points of Bayern's otherwise perfect group-stage campaign. Under the watch of Heynckes, though, the Bavarians did redeem themselves somewhat by winning 3-1 in the reverse fixture on the final matchday, but that result was not quite enough to see them finish at the top of the standings. In many ways, that proved to be a real blessing in disguise.

Why was it a blessing? Well, group winners PSG were drawn against Real Madrid, who finished runners-up to Tottenham Hotspur in their group, while Bayern just about avoided Barcelona to instead be awarded a double-header against Besiktas. While it is important not to play down the quality of today's opponents, this is still the best Bayern could have hoped for when the draw was made in December.

This is Bayern's 14th last-16 tie, progressing in each of the last six - usually after coming face-to-face with Arsenal, as was the case last year when storming through 10-2 winners on aggregate. The German outfit have won each of their last six matches at this stage of the competition, meanwhile, and 10 of their last 16 overall, last losing to Inter Milan - on away goals at that - in the 2010-11 season.

DID YOU KNOW? Bayern Munich won all three of their group-stage fixtures, seeing off Celtic, Anderlecht and Paris Saint-Germain, and between September 2014 and February 2017 they won 16 in a row here in European competition. That is a record that came to an end at the hands of Real Madrid a year ago, which in many ways would prove to be the beginning of the end for Carlo Ancelotti.

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Bayern and Besiktas have faced off on just one previous occasion - more on that a little later - and the Germans do not exactly have a rich history of facing Turkish opposition. The 1972-73 season marked the only other time Bayern have taken on a Super Lig side, overcoming Galatasaray 7-1 on aggregate - including a 6-0 win on home soil - in the first round of the European Champions Club Cup.

Heynckes's men have won all seven of their games in 2018, and that stretches to 13 games going back into last year. Bayern have won 14 of their 15 matches on home soil this term, meanwhile, only seeing that record dented by Wolfsburg in September. A tough task in store for Besiktas tonight whatever way you look at it, then, though they themselves will head to the Allianz Arena with a spring in their step.

The Black Eagles became the first side to finish top of their Champions League group en route to reaching the knockout stages for the first time in their history. Besiktas's best European Cup campaign, as it was known then, came in 1986-87 when reaching the quarter-finals before going down 7-0 to Dynamo Kiev. Gunes's men also finished top of the Super Lig table last term to win the title for a second year in succession.

They are currently fourth in the Turkish top flight, though, three points behind Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, while leaders Istanbul Basaksehir are a further two points better off after 22 matches. With a huge clash against Fener to come in five days time, Gunes is trying his best to balance two competitions at this pivotal stage in the campaign. Resting star names for this game, though, was never going to be an option.

Besiktas dropped points at Kanyaspor at the weekend and were also held 2-2 by Bursaspor in their previous away outing. It is seven games unbeaten in all competitions, however, having also made it into the last four of the Turkish cup. In the Champions League, the Black Eagles beat Porto, RB Leipzig and Monaco in a storming start to their group-stage campaign, before stuttering slightly with home draws in the return fixtures against Monaco and Porto on home soil.

An impressive win at Leipzig ensures that they finished top of the Group G standings, although their reward for edging out Porto was this tricky double-header against one of the competition's most-successful sides. Besiktas were one of just a handful of sides to come through the group phase with an unbeaten record, and they also boasted a perfect three wins from three in front of their home fans.

The 2-1 win against Leipzig on the final matchday was actually their first triumph on German soil at the fifth attempt, having scored on two of their previous four visits and conceded six - three of those ending in defeat. Overall the Black Eagles have now won six of their last 12 away matches in European competition, though it is worth mentioning that, factoring in all competitions this term, they have kept just three clean sheets in 18 away matches.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS! These two sides have crossed paths on just one previous occasion, with both games in the 1997-98 group stage finishing 2-0 in Bayern Munich's favour. Thomas Helmer and Mario Basler were on target in the first of those matches, played in Munich, helping the Bavarians to finish top and two points better off than their eliminated opponents.

With kickoff now just a couple of minutes away at the Allianz Arena, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.

Jupp Heynckes: "They won all three of their away matches in the group stage. They won't hide, they like to play attacking football - if you let them. Besiktas are packed with international experience. They're well organised defensively and know how to counter well, they will look for their chances. I have no A or B team. We only have one Bayern team. Every player knows their position and understands each other, so I don't think we have too many problems with rotation."

Senol Gunes: "Yes we are the winners from the group but we will play with an important and powerful team. The football to be played tomorrow is real. We will reflect this fact on the field. Bayern's staff can make a few changes, a team that will be successful in this game. We are a team with an understanding of offence but we will also hold the defence against Bayern and we will also try to score goals."

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KICKOFF! We are up and running in Bavaria, where there is a superb atmosphere inside the ground. Remember, this is the only one of the eight last-16 ties to pit together two reigning domestic champions - the kings of Germany and Turkey.

A tight opening to the match which will suit the visitors perfectly. The message from Gunes will no doubt be to keep things this way for as long as possible, though an away goal could well prove crucial come the end of the second leg.

A cross deep into the Bayern box was nodded to safety by a player in red. A very deep line from the hosts when defending that set piece, and it is they who are having to do more of the defending over the last two minutes or so.

CLOSE! First half-chance for Bayern, with Muller getting his head to Alaba's left-sided cross. Under a bit of pressure, the Bayern attacker could only send the ball curling wide of Fabricio's post. Warning sign for the visitors.

Talisca, very much the danger man in this Besiktas side, wants a free kick but the referee adjudged that he ran into his opponent rather than being upended. Not a great deal between the two teams in the opening nine minutes or so of this contest.

SAVE! Visiting keeper Fabricio with his first save of the evening, doing well to get down to his left to push aside Coman's curler. The Bundesliga champions are starting to turn the screw a little now and have free kick in a good position.

The free kick was put into a good zone, where Vidal was waiting to steer the ball wide of the target with his head. Muller looked to be better positioned behind him, though it is unclear whether the Chilean got any sort of shout to leave it.

Besiktas's turn to win a free kick in a dangerous position, which this time provided more of a shooting angle for Talisca. Take the shot on the Brazilian attacker did, but it was rather scuffed into the wall and then cleared away.

RED CARD! Coman is looking lively down the left, sending in a cross for Muller to once again get on the end of. Again, though, the contact is not great and it ended wide of Fabricio's goal. Big moment from the next attack - Lewandowski charged through, Domagoj Vida took him out as the last man and the red card is out!

Well that has changed the complexion of things massively. Besiktas were not exactly sitting back in the opening 16 minutes or so of the match, looking to attack through Talisca, but those tactics will surely not have to change due to the red card.

Rodriguez sends a free kick up and over the wall, but it dips just wide of the opposition target. The red card showed to Domagoj Vida did look the correct call, incidentally; he was the last man and Lewandowski likely would have converted - he usually does.

Besiktas have done well since being reduced to 10 men. The bad news for Gunes and his players, though, is that we have played just a quarter of this first leg - Bayern will surely step things up and find some sustained pressure.

Huge block from Medel in front of goal to deny Muller, who is popping up in advanced positions. Bayern seeing plenty of the ball now, as expected, but they have not been able to find a route through to Fabricio since Coman's shot 11 minutes in.

Medel has slotted in alongside Pepe at the back and Talisca has seemingly taken over in defensive midfield. Muller hammers the ball right into the face of teammate James Rodriguez, who was not best pleased to say the least.

Adriano does well to deal with a teasing cross that made its way through the box. That Besiktas backline working overtime at the moment, with another big block - this time from Pepe - helping Alaba's shot over the crossbar.

SAVE! Great save from Fabricio, who reacted well to keep out Lewandowski's header from point-blank range. The Polish striker knows that he should have planted that either side of the keeper, but credit to the Spaniard for being ready to throw out a hand.

Bayern starting to make their dominance count, then, as they turn possession into attempts on target. That breakthrough goal seems inevitable - the question is whether they can get it before the half-time interval, which is fast approaching.

A sliding challenge is deemed to be just outside the box, and from the free kick Rodriguez is unable to pick out any of his teammates. Not since December 13 have Bayern failed to score a first-half goal here, going on to beat FC Koln 1-0 that day.

Bayern completely dominating this game over the last 10 minutes; Besiktas unable to get the ball out of their own final third. The home side currently doing everything but putting the ball in the back of the opposition net.

YELLOW CARD! Robert Lewandowski is cautioned for his high boot when attempting to score. Frustration for Bayern, as their opponents use the stoppage in play in an attempt to halt this momentum the hosts have been building.

SAVE! From pretty much nowhere Besiktas get bodies forward and come close to opening the scoring. Quaresma decided against teeing up any of his teammates and instead attempted to catch out Ulreich at his front post - good, strong save.

Unbelievable skill from Vagner Love to keep the visitors' attacking move alive; the ball eventually falling to Pepe to smash the ball over the crossbar from 40 yards out. Besiktas, down to 10 men, are ending this first half on a real high.

Thomas Muller, sporting the captain's armband this evening, undoes Besiktas right at the end of the first half. Coman created it, getting the better of Adriano and helping the ball into the centre for Muller to scramble over the line from close range following a touch from Alaba.

Bayern lead at the midway point through the scrambled Muller finish deep into the first half. The hosts were forced into a change a few moments ago, with James Rodriguez - who took a shot clean in the face a little earlier - being replaced by Arjen Robben.

Knockout-stage debutants Besiktas, boasting an unbeaten record from their six group matches, made a bright start to the match and looked particularly dangerous when key man Talisca got on the ball. Any hope the visitors had of snatching a goal on the counter-attack faded as early as 16 minutes in, though, as Domagoj Vida was shown a straight red for bringing down last man Robert Lewandowski.

Up until that point the closest Bayern came to a breakthrough was via Kingsley Coman's curler, which was heading for the bottom corner if not for Fabricio's intervention, while Thomas Muller also sent a couple of headers wide. Momentum was very much with the Bundesliga pacesetters from the moment Besiktas went down to 10 men, however, and Fabricio would be required again soon after to somehow keep out Lewandowski's header from point-blank range.

Besiktas did have their moments, coming close to taking a shock lead when Ricardo Quaresma got an angled shot on target for Sven Ulreich to push over the bar, but Bayern were ahead with a couple of minutes of the first half left to play. Coman got the better of Adriano down the visitors' right and sent in a cross that deflected off the shin of David Alaba, before Muller turned it home from a few yards out.

Arturo Vidal also had an attempt from the edge of the box easily dealt with from pretty much the final act of the first half. Bayern a goal and a man better off at the break, then, but this one is still not over just yet. Here is a reminder of both sides' benches...

BAYERN MUNICH SUBS: Starke, Wagner, Sule, Ribery, Rafinha, Tolisso

BESIKTAS SUBS: Tolga, Tosic, Gokhan, Lens, Tolgay, Oguzhan, Negredo

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RESTART! Bayern Munich, still with a full complement of players on the field, get the second half under way. Heynckes will no doubt want his side's one-goal lead to at least be doubled ahead of the trip to Turkey next month.

A reminder that Robben was brought on for Rodriguez at the end of the first half, and the Dutch winger spent much of half time out on the field going through an intense warm-up to try and get up to speed with the game.

Big, big call from the referee after Lewandowski went to ground under contact from Adriano. Besiktas are furious that the official blew his whistle, and they have a point, though having done so it looks as though it was just inside the box.

OFF THE POST! Lewandowski takes on the free kick that Besiktas claim should never have been awarded, and the Polish striker sends it curling against the upright. Brilliant attempt and so close to a potentially killer second goal.

Besiktas, who have badly struggled since the resumption of play, now have it all to do after conceding a second goal. Lewandowski is slotted through and pulls it back for Coman to sweep past Fabricio from 12 yards out - great team goal.

BESIKTAS SUB! A first change of the evening made by Gunes, who brings on fit-again Dusko Tosic for Vagner Love with a little over half an hour of the first leg to play. Bayern with two goals but they will go all out in search of a third.

Gunes making the change there that he perhaps should have made at the break. That second goal has taken it out of his players and now they are desperately clinging on - taking a two-goal deficit back to Turkey is not the worst result.

The Black Eagles know that conceding a third goal in the remaining half an hour will surely kill off the tie before it reached the midway point. All one-way traffic at the moment, though, and a third Bayern goal does look inevitable.

Besiktas enjoy a minute or so of sustained pressure, which comes to an end with a shocking pass from Adriano that is gobbled up by Ulreich. One save in the first half aside, the stand-in stopper has had so very little to do.

YELLOW CARD! Pepe is cautioned after taking out Lewandowski on the halfway line to prevent a counter attack. Prior to that, the Black Eagles enjoyed another little spell in possession to provide some hope of snatching a goal.

Muller is the king of popping up unmarked in the box, doing so once again here to surely kill off this tie. Kimmich sent the ball into the box from the right, and Muller was there to flick out a leg and help it home from close range.

BESIKTAS SUB! Damage limitation kicked in for Besiktas a long time ago, but it has not really worked as Bayern have added a couple of goals since the restart. On comes Gonul for Erkin, with just 20 minutes now left to play here.

SAVE! Thomas Muller, on a hat-trick, sends his latest shot narrowly over the crossbar. Kingsley Coman the next to try his luck, sending a shot down the middle for Fabricio to get behind and collect. A fourth in Bayern's sights.

Now into the final 16 minutes of the contest at the Allianz Arena and Bayern not quite as desperate for a goal as they were prior to that third. The task now is to avoid conceding a needless away goal that really would change the complexion of things.

Bayern just going through the motions at the moment, knowing that they are as good as in the hat for a last-eight spot for the seventh season in a row. They came unstuck against Real Madrid last term but will hope to go at least one better this time around.

Well if the tie was not already over then it certainly is now. Lewandowski joins the party, as he so often does on home soil, by converting from the rebound after Mats Hummels's shot was brilliantly saved down low by Fabricio.

BAYERN MUNICH SUB! Kingsley Coman, who has been brilliant once again this evening, leaves the field to a standing ovation. Experienced campaigner Franck Ribery is not a bad option to bring on when four goals up late on in a game.

BAYERN MUNICH SUB! Third and final change of the evening; Tolisso coming on for Vidal. Been a horror night for Besiktas, although it should be remembered that they started off so brightly up until that red card 16 minutes in.

BESIKTAS SUB! The final 10 minutes of the match being eaten up by repeated stoppages in play, this time for Arslan to take over from makeshift centre-back Gary Medel - the sixth and final substitution of this one-sided affair.

Bayern at their ruthless best at the moment, looking for a fifth goal of the first leg. Heynckes has the luxury of being able to rotate his squad for the second leg, with an eye already on the quarter-finals in a little over a month's time.

Javi Martinez with a well-hit shot that needed to be turned aside by Fabricio. Besiktas's suffering looked to be over at that point; not so, as Muller unselfishly picked out Lewandowski to tap it over the line near the back post. Ruthless!

The referee puts Besiktas out of their misery on a night when Bayern Munich ran riot. Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski netted a couple of goals apiece, joined on the scoresheet by Kingsley Coman, as the hosts moved a giant step closer to a seventh successive appearance in the quarter-final stage of the competition.

That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at the Allianz Arena. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while a look back at Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the other tie this evening can be viewed here. Thanks for joining!