Champions League Group E Preview

Valencia host Chelsea in a Champions League Group E blockbuster on Wednesday, while Leverkusen will look to find form against Genk.

Chelsea's visit to the Mestalla will be notable for the return of midfielder Juan Mata to Valencia, the club which he left a month ago after a reported 30-million-euro switch to the London giants.

Mata has sparkled in the short time at Stamford Bridge, adding new energy to a Chelsea midfield that has at times been criticized for looking too stagnant.

He has scored twice for his new club, including a late strike in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Leverkusen in their Champions League opener a fortnight ago.

Chelsea face a Valencia side who have not lost at home this season in all competitions.

The Spaniards have conceded just six goals in their five La Liga matches and began the group stage with a scoreless draw against Genk.

They will look to build on that against Andre Villas-Boas' side and will hope the free-scoring Roberto Soldado, who has struck five times in La Liga this season, can breach Chelsea's defence.

A 1-0 defeat at Sevilla on Sunday will give Valencia the motivation to respond, while Chelsea will hope to continue on from their 4-1 win over Premier League newcomers Swansea City on Saturday.

Fernando Torres, who scored the opener but was then sent off for a straight red card in that match, is eligible to play and has impressed in recent weeks.

Brazilian midfielder Ramires, who netted a brace against Swansea, is also in form and seems to be thriving under Chelsea's new Portuguese manager.

Leverkusen need to bounce back from a poor run of form as they entertain Belgian champions Genk, with last season's Bundesliga runners-up having dropped three games in a row.

A 4-1 defeat to local rivals Cologne in their last home fixture started the rot, while Bayern Munich showed the gulf in class when they cruised to a 3-0 victory at the Allianz Arena against Robin Dutt's side on Sunday.

Genk will fancy their chances at the BayArena, with the Belgian First Division outfit on an unbeaten run of seven matches in all competitions.

Mario Been's side highlighted they have the defensive capabilities to compete in Europe during their clash with Valencia, while 12 goals in their last three domestic outings indicate that the Belgians are also potent up front.

Champions League Group F Preview

Arsenal host Olympiakos in Champions League Group F action on Wednesday, while Borussia Dortmund is on the road at Olympique Marseille.

Arsene Wenger will be hopeful that his side can produce another victory at the Emirates, with 3-1 and 3-0 home wins over Shrewsbury Town and Bolton in the last week giving Arsenal fans renewed hope.

Club captain Robin van Persie bagged a brace in Saturday's win over the Wanderers, with the double marking his 100th goal for the club.

The Dutchman also scored his side's goal in their 1-1 Champions League draw with Borussia Dortmund a fortnight ago and shapes as the key man in this encounter.

Olympiakos also head into the game in good form, with two consecutive Greek Super League wins to their name.

But the Piraeus-based club did lose 1-0 at home to Marseille in their first Group F encounter.

Ernesto Valverde's men will be desperate to pick up at least a point in north London, and will no doubt look to expose the defensive woes that have plagued Arsenal in the early stages of the season.

Dortmund enter their match at Stade Velodrome on the back of their first win in five matches, although Juergen Klopp's side left it late on Saturday in their 2-1 Bundesliga triumph at Mainz.

Ivan Perisic and Lukasz Piszczek scored in the last 30 minutes to win the game for last season's German champions, with the latter's goal coming in second-half stoppage time.

Marseille have domestic concerns of their own and currently sit in 13th position on the Ligue 1 table with just one win from eight fixtures.

They have played their part in four draws and the slow start has heaped pressure on manager Didier Deschamps.

But a home win against the Germans could help build much-needed momentum for Deschamps' side.

Champions League Group G Preview

Portuguese champions Porto face a tough road trip to Russia on Wednesday to take on Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League.

Porto began their 2011/12 European campaign with a 2-1 win at home against Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk, but will face a much tougher task when they travel from one side of the continent to the other to face Luciano Spalletti's Zenit.

The Russians were shock 2-1 losers against Cypriot's APOEL in their Group G opener on September 13, and need to make the most of their home fixtures if they are to qualify for the knockout stages.

Although the two sides have never met, Porto have never lost on Russian soil and won two matches there on their march to last season's Europa League title, scoring six goals in the process.

Despite losing star striker Radamel Falcao during the offseason, Porto have had no trouble finding the back of the net this term, with 14 goals in six matches in the Liga Sagres.

Brazilian international Hulk has scored three of those and also hit a stunning free kick against Shakhtar, and will be Porto's danger man.

The Russians will likely be relying on top scorers Alexander Kerzhakov and Danko Lazovic up front, but will have plenty of inside information into Porto's tactics with Bruno Alves in their camp.

The Portuguese defender spent 10 years at the Estadio do Dragao before moving to Russia in 2010, although the Zenit captain - along with Porto midfielder Fredy Guarin - will miss Wednesday's clash through suspension.

In the other Group G match on Wednesday, Shakhtar Donetsk will be hoping to open their account when they host APOEL.

The Ukrainian side has an imposing record at the Donbass Arena, having lost there just once in 16 European fixtures.

They won all four home matches in last season's competition before their streak was broken by Barcelona in the quarter-finals.

APOEL will not fear the trip east, with the Cypriot club performing admirably away from home in their last Champions League campaign in 2009/10.

Then, they earned draws at Atletico Madrid and Chelsea while losing 2-1 at Porto, and have already won twice away from home during qualifying this season.

Both sides have a strong South American influence, with Argentine Esteban Solari and Brazilians Ailton Almeida and Gustavo Manduca leading the line for APOEL.

Shakhtar boss Mircea Lucescu will be relying on Brazilians Luiz Adriano and Jadson and Brazilian-born Croatian Eduardo da Silva to get the job done, as his side aim to repeat their quarter-final heroics of last season.

Champions League Group H Preview

Both Barcelona and AC Milan will go in search of their first wins in Group H of the Champions League on Wednesday.

The two giants, who have won 11 European titles between them, drew 2-2 in their group opener at the Camp Nou on September 14.

Pep Guardiola's Barcelona hit the road on matchday two, travelling to Belarus to face BATE Borisov, who also drew their opening match of the campaign against Viktoria Plzen.

After a stuttering start to the season, Barca have scored 15 goals in their last three games - including six to Lionel Messi - and Wednesday's match in Minsk threatens to be a one-sided affair if the BATE defence is not switched on.

Messi scored a hat-trick in Barca's 8-0 win over Osasuna in La Liga, and backed that up with another treble against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

But BATE cannot afford to focus solely on the Argentine maestro, with David Villa, Xavi Hernandez and Pedro Rodriguez all providing potent attacking options.

Viktor Goncharenko's side is currently top of the Belarusian Premier League, but a match against Barcelona will undoubtedly require a step up in class.

BATE have relied heavily on Brazilian midfielder Renan and striker Artem Kontsevoy for goals this season, while former PSV, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain Mateja Kezman provides another familiar face.

Massimiliano Allegri's Milan host Czech outfit Plzen at the San Siro as they look to build some momentum.

Milan have struggled domestically this season, sitting 11th in the Serie A after four matches, but secured their first win of the campaign against Cesena on Saturday.

Plzen won three successive away fixtures on their way into the group stage, but will face a different prospect against a side the calibre of Milan.

Although Pato, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gennaro Gattuso, Massimo Ambrosini, Philippe Mexes and Robinho were all missing from Milan's win over Cesena, striker Antonio Cassano has been in good form and veteran midfielder Clarence Seedorf turned back the clock, scoring the winning goal.

Liverpool Linked With German Wonderkid

Sven Goran Eriksson is ready to offer teenage wonderkid Jeffrey Schlupp a new deal in a bid to scare off Liverpool and Stoke.

Leicester boss Eriksson wants his board to open talks with the 18-year-old over a bumper pay-rise and ensure the striker, who only signed a contract last April, stays at the King Power Stadium.

Schlupp, a Germany Under-19 international, has impressed this season, scoring four goals already, and Premier League scouts have been regularly watching him.

“There is no doubt that Jeffrey has a great future ahead of him," said Eriksson. "He is a fantastic talent and he is just getting better and better.

“This season he is even stronger, more confident.

"He has a little bit of everything. He is strong, has good technique, a good left foot and is not afraid to fight in the air for the ball.”

Schlupp will be in the squad for Wednesday night’s trip to Middlesbrough.

Juventus Plan January Raid For Arsenal Attacker

Italian side Juventus are preparing to raid the Premiership for a trio of top class players after the latest comments coming from coach Antonio Conte.

The Juventus coach has set his sights on Manchester United’s Nani, Arsenal’s Theo Walcott and Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez.

Speaking to press after Juve’s draw with Catania over the weekend, Conte said: “If you think that Juve, after being in seventh place, can just come back to fight for the title … I repeat: we have a long way to go to get back to being competitive.

“We could not get Walcott, Nani or Tevez because of the finances involved. Clubs in Italy cannot afford such prices, so we focused on young players.

“But if we can work something out with our budget, then maybe there is a possibility.”

Inter Milan Plan January Move For Liverpool Star

Inter Milan are lining up a January bid for unsettled Liverpool star Dirk Kuyt as San Siro boss Claudio Ranieri looks to add more strength in depth to the Serie A side’s attack.

The 31 year old Dutchman has been a hugely important player at Anfield during his five years on Merseyside and finished last term as top scorer but thus far this season has found himself in and out of the starting eleven due to the arrival of a number of midfield options brought in by Kenny Dalglish over the summer.

Kuyt has become well known for his knack of scoring crucial goals and his tireless running have made the former Feyenoord man a cult hero at the club but at his age the Dutch international will not want to be left on the bench and may well be tempted by a new challenge in Serie A.

Ranieri has taken the reins as Nerazzurri boss following the sacking of Gian Piero Gasperini after barely a month in charge and the former Chelsea and Roma boss is said to be keen to bring in Kuyt after seeing Inter Milan struggle to find a cutting edge up front.

Some Italian sources state that Inter Milan would be willing to pay up to €15m (£13m) for the Liverpool man and it may be an offer Kenny Dalglish considers accepting given that he has the likes of Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Steven Gerrard who could play out on the right side of midfield and with Craig Bellamy coming in the need for further striking options is lessened somewhat.

Kuyt has amassed 67 goals from 247 appearances for Liverpool since Rafa Benitez signed the forward in the summer of 2006.

Reds Linked To Damiao

Liverpool has reportedly joined the race for Internacional striker Leandro Damiao after having him watched by club representatives.

The 22-year-old is causing a stir in his homeland with his displays after scoring 39 goals in the current Brazilian season and he was watched by Reds assistant boss Steve Clarke when Brazil beat Ghana at Craven Cottage.

Liverpool would not have it all their own way if they were to make a move for the striker as Spurs are also very strongly linked.

And the Londoners had a £16.5million offer turned down for the player at the end of the summer transfer window, with Internacional thought to want in the region of £20m for the player.

Having already bought Louis Suarez, Andy Carroll and Craig Bellamy to Anfield it remains to be seen if Kenny Dalglish is still keen to spend a lot of money on a new striker in January, despite the link.

Damiao, who is currently sidelined for six weeks with a hamstring injury, has a contract which runs for a further five years but he has already indicated he may like to make the move to Europe.

"If there is an opportunity to play in Europe, of course I would like it," Damiao said recently.

Roma Target Loan Move For Tottenham Striker

Roma are hoping to make a move for Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Pavlyuchenko, 29, has struggled to secure a regular first-team place at White Hart Lane and is having to contend with playing in the Europa League this season.

The Russian striker was recently linked with a move to Lokomotiv Moscow but reports in Spain today suggest that Roma are leading the chase to sign him.

Roma coach Luis Enrique is believed to want Pavlyuchenko on loan until the end of the season with a view to making the move a permanent one during the summer.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp will be reluctant to let the Russian forward leave White Hart Lane until he has signed a replacement after allowing Peter Crouch to join Stoke last month.