Champions League Group A Preview

Manchester City face the daunting task of taking on Bayern Munich in their Champions League Group A fixture at Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

The Bundesliga powerhouse have not conceded a goal in their past 838 minutes on the pitch across league and European matches, meaning Roberto Mancini's star-studded side will need something special to penetrate the Bayern defence.

But City are certainly capable of producing sublime football to beat Josef Heynckes's men, with quality such as David Silva, Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri in midfield, with in-form stars Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko firing on all cylinders up front.

City showed their human side in their 1-1 draw with Napoli, as nerves got the better of the Mancurians in their European opener.

But Silva paid credit to their Italian opponents, and promised his side would attack at Bayern, to hunt for their first win in the Champions League.

"I think we can attack them like we do at home," Silva said.

"We can stick to our footballing principles. We don't have to change our style against other teams home or away. We believe in what we are doing and have confidence in each other so we will keep doing the same things."

"The truth is Napoli played very well against us. They are a strong team. But against Bayern we will try the same things - to keep the ball, play with the same style and get a positive result."

One of Silva's direct opponents will be Bayern playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger, and the German said his side is expecting a tougher challenge than in their 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend.

"Of course we know that on Tuesday we will face a team that is better quality (than Bayer Leverkusen) and also a team with plenty of individual talent," he told Ligatotal.

"We had this game under (control) completely but on Tuesday comes a real challenge for us. We must show that we can play in the Champions League against top teams like them (Manchester City)."

Napoli need to arrest a small form slump when they host La Liga outfit Villarreal at the Stadio San Paolo in the other Group A affair.

The Italian club led in Manchester before settling for a draw.

They beat title challengers AC Milan in the league earlier this month, but have since failed to score in their past two against Chievo and Fiorentina.

Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri defended his recent team selection, stating that their presence in Europe was always going to affect their league form.

"Fiorentina have excellent players, they're a good team and on top of that they're not involved in the Champions League, unlike us, and so they were fresher than us," he said.

"Being in the Champions League can cost you 10 points in the league and I knew that."

"And then you can't forget that we've got Villarreal and then Inter (Milan) coming up. I'm sticking to my path, I had to make changes in Verona against Chievo to protect my players."

From the Spanish camp, striker Giuseppe Rossi is in doubt to play, despite being set to travel to Italy.

Rossi injured his left knee in Villarreal's 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao, and potential replacement Marco Ruben is out for three weeks with a foot complaint.

Champions League Group B Preview

Turkish side Trabzonspor can consolidate top spot in Champions League Group B when they host Lille in Trabzon on Tuesday.

Senol Gunes' men rode their luck in their European opener, beating Inter Milan 1-0 away from home, with their goal coming from their only shot on target.

Striker Burak Yilmaz will continue to serve his three-game ban, while attacker Adrian Mierzejewski can return from suspension for the clash at Huseyin Avni Aker Stadyumu.

Defender Arkadiusz Glowacki is likely to miss with a groin niggle, while Gustavo Colman is out due to a hamstring injury attained on Friday.

Lille will be buoyed by English midfielder Joe Cole's first goal in France at the weekend, in their 1-1 Ligue 1 draw with Lorient.

Rudi Garcia's men have not lost in their past seven, but have failed to keep a clean sheet in their past 12 official matches (pre-season friendlies excluded).

Defender Aurelien Chedjou has missed the past fortnight with a thigh complaint.

Lille sit third in the table level on one point with CSKA Moscow, after the Russian outfit fought back to earn a 2-2 draw on Gameday One.

Moscow will host Inter Milan in the group's other clash, at the Olimpiyskiy stadion Luzhniki.

Inter will be without midfielder Wesley Sneijder, full-back Maicon and midfielder Dejan Stankovic due to injury.

It will be Claudio Ranieri's first game in charge in European competition, after his side gave him a winning start to his reign at the club with a 3-1 away victory over Bologna in Serie A on Saturday.

CSKA have won just one of their past five, with their 3-1 win over Volga in the Russian Premier League on the weekend their only victory since August 20.

Champions League Group C Preview

Manchester United can bounce back from dropping their first league points when they host FC Basel in Champions League Group C on Tuesday.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men were held to a 1-1 draw at Stoke in the English Premier League on Saturday, leaving them level on points with bitter rivals Manchester City on top of the table.

But United will look to recover their winning ways when they welcome the Swiss outfit to Old Trafford, and will look to impose their class on the Super League champions.

They will have to do so without star striker Wayne Rooney, who has picked up a hamstring injury, but Ferguson's riches in the scoring department mean he will choose two of Javier Hernandez, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen or Danny Welbeck to start up front.

The Scot has indicated he will blood a weakened squad for Basel's visit, as he looks to preserve their freshness early in the campaign.

"If you get to 10 points, you know you're into the next stage but we'd like to win the group anyway. If we win our next three games, we can utilize the squad," he said.

"It would definitely help and we've done that over the years. It's sometimes backfired - I played a fresh team over in Fenerbahce and they beat us 3-0 (in 2004)."

"Although I want to make changes, I don't want an embarrassment, so changes have got to be made with a mind of still winning the game."

In the group's other clash, Romanian side Otelul Galati will host Benfica in Bucharest.

Galati are not expected to progress beyond the group stages, but they very nearly earned a point at Basel in their opening clash, save for a late Alexander Frei penalty.

Dorinel Munteanu's side will have a tougher task containing their Liga Sagres opponents on Tuesday, too, with the latter impressing against the might of Manchester in their first group game.

The former Romanian international of 134 caps has plenty of experience on the European stage, helping beat Portuguese side Sporting CP in his first UEFA Cup match in the 1991-92 campaign.

While his side is rank underdogs to take three points, Munteanu will be hoping for more success against opposition from Portugal, but should Benfica play anywhere near what they did against United, it will be hard for the Romanian side to snare a point.

Champions League Group D Preview

La Liga giants Real Madrid found their scoring touch at the weekend, ahead of their Champions League Group D clash with Ajax on Tuesday.

Jose Mourinho has been under pressure recently, after Madrid failed to score in consecutive league matches, but a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick at the Bernabeu on Saturday helped ease the pressure on the master tactician.

However, the Spanish powerhouse also shipped two goals, and had midfielder Angel di Maria sent off - two aspects that would no doubt upset the Portuguese mentor.

Mourinho will return to the sideline for the first time in four UEFA matches after serving a suspension, but Marcelo will be absent for the clash after seeing red in Real's 1-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb to open the group stages.

Ajax should be boosted by the weekend return of Miralem Sulejmani and Vurnon Anita from injury, after Sulejmani picked up a hamstring injury in their 0-0 draw with Lyon in the opening match.

Lyon welcome Zagreb in the other group encounter at Stade de Gerland, hoping to emulate their league form which sees them top of the Ligue 1 table.

Similarly, though, their Croatian opponents top their league table in the Prva HNL, meaning neither side has an excuse for a poor performance on Tuesday.

Dinamo are competing in their first CL campaign in 12 years, and will need to kickstart their run with at least a point if they hope to progress past the group stages.

Arsenal Ready To Renew Interest In Marseille's £10m Midfielder

Marseille midfielder Stephane Mbia has once again declared his interest in playing in the Premier League, news that will certainly have alerted Arsenal who have tracked the player for some time.

The Cameroon international has consistently been linked with a move to England in the last two seasons and last summer was strongly linked with a £15million move to Arsenal.

However, the deal never emerged and now the midfielder is keen to push through a transfer after returning to full fitness.

"I want to play at the very top," Mbia told skysports.com. "Going to England has always been in my mind and I would love to play there one day.

"I was close to moving once and hopefully I will come back, play well and an English team will come back in for me. But at the moment I want to heal fully and play well for Marseille."

Mbia has not managed to play this season due to injury but is hoping that he will be back in time to take on Arsenal in the Champions League on October 19.

"I am feeling much better. The injury is healing like I want it to and I would like to be back on the field as soon as possible. The club needs me but my team-mates are doing their best to get the season back on track."

Mbia has the ability to play as a defensive midfielder, a position where Arsenal are short of options after the departure of Denilson, while he can also fill in at centre back.

PSG Turn Attention To Real Madrid Star Kaka

Paris Saint-Germain is poised to make a move for Real Madrid midfielder Kaka and hope to beat Arsenal in the race to sign the Brazilian superstar.

Kaka was strongly linked with a loan switch to Arsenal during the summer, but the move never materialized.

Arsene Wenger is set to renew his interest in January, but he will have to act fast as reports in France suggest that PSG are now making moves to sign the experienced midfielder.

Kaka has struggled to find his best form under Jose Mourinho at the Bernabeu and could be allowed to leave the Spanish giants in the new year.

PSG are not afraid to splash the cash and Arsenal face a strong battle to sign Kaka in January.

West Brom Eyeing Shock Swoop For Fiorentina Youngster

West Brom are monitoring Fiorentina youngster Boadu Maxwell Acosty.

Roy Hodgson, according to reports in Italy, has sent scouts to watch the 20-year-old winger who has been impressing in the Serie A side's reserves.

The Ghanaian winger was watched on Saturday by a West Brom representative and is believed to have impressed enough to add to his growing reputation.

Fiorentina take on Genoa on Wednesday and West Brom are planning to have a set of eyes in the crowd in case Acosty makes an appearance.

Newcastle To Battle Arsenal & Man United For French International

Sochaux midfielder Marvin Martin is one of the most in-demand midfielders in European football with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and now Newcastle all chasing the player’s signature.

The France international has become an established member of the Sochaux first team since coming through the clubs youth ranks and has become an integral part of the national team under Laurent Blanc.

The creative midfielder has made more than 100 league appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit despite being just 23-years-old and is being linked with a move next summer.

Martin only signed a new deal with the French side at the start of the season, but it is widely reported that he has an agreement with the club that he can leave next summer if a foreign club makes a significant offer.

Both Manchester United and Arsenal have been strongly linked with the playmaker who has even earned the nickname 'Little Xavi' from his teammates at Sochaux.

Now, the Sunday Sun is reporting that Newcastle manager Alan Pardew wants the French midfielder at the club and even sent chief scout Graham Carr to watch the player in action.

Pardew wants Martin to join his French revolution at Newcastle who already has Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye, Mehdi Abeid, Sylvain Marveaux and Gabriel Obertan at the club.

Juventus Enter The Race For Man City Target

Manchester City target Alessio Cerci is now being tracked by Juventus, according to reports in Italy.

City boss Roberto Mancini was reportedly keen to bring the Italian winger to England during the summer but cooled his interest following the signing of Samir Nasri.

But it has been suggested Mancini is still keeping tabs on the Fiorentina midfielder and could be tempted to go back for him in January.

But now sources in Italy have revealed that Juventus boss Antonio Conte has identified Cerci as a January target as he attempts to steer his side, who are currently top of Serie A, to their first title for eight years.

The 24-year-old impressed last season, in his first campaign at Fiorentina after arriving from Roma in 2010, and is valued at around £7m.