Champions League Group E Preview

Chelsea will be desperate to shrug off a poor couple of weeks when they head to Belgium to face Genk in Champions League Group E action on Tuesday.

Andre Villas-Boas' side looked to be in cruise control after big wins over Swansea, Bolton and Everton in the English Premier League, but in their past two matches they have been beaten 1-0 by Queens Park Rangers before losing 5-3 at home to Arsenal on Saturday.

The QPR result was overshadowed by a race row involving skipper John Terry and Rangers' Anton Ferdinand, brother of Manchester United and England star Rio Ferdinand.

Villas-Boas will be hoping to put all that behind him when he does battle with Genk, who Chelsea slaughtered 5-0 at Stamford Bridge, inspired by a brace from Fernando Torres, in their most recent Champions League outing.

Chelsea are sitting on top of Group E on seven points, one clear of German side Bayer Leverkusen, with Spaniards Valencia on two points and Genk bottom with just one point.

Chelsea can make sure of their place in the knock-out stages by beating Genk if Valencia cannot claim full points against Leverkusen in Spain in the group's other match, and the Portuguese coach will be imploring his men to go for the jugular.

"The Champions League is a different scenario to the Premiership and this is a good opportunity for us," Villas-Boas said.

"We will put ourselves in a very good position to qualify if we win this."

Valencia therefore need to beat Leverkusen at the Estadio Mestalla to keep their hopes of progression alive, and their cause was boosted by news influential Leverkusen midfielder Michael Ballack broke his nose in Bundesliga action on Friday.

Ballack scored in the second minute in Leverkusen's 1-0 away win over Freiburg – his first Bundesliga goal since 2006 – but was forced off the field after the hour mark after a clash with Jan Rosenthal.

Valencia will head into the match in good form, winning their past two La Liga games to sit in fourth place in the Spanish league, four points behind leaders Real Madrid.

Champions League Group F Preview

Arsenal will hope to turn their resurgence in domestic fortunes into some strong Champions League form when they host Marseille on Tuesday.

Despite their indifferent English Premier League form over the first two months of the season, Arsenal sit on top of Group F in the Champions League with two wins and a draw, one point clear of Marseille.

Since their 2-1 loss to Spurs on October 2, Arsene Wenger's side have won three league games in succession, culminating in their stunning performance in eclipsing Chelsea 5-3 on Saturday.

The last time they met, a last-gasp winner from Aaron Ramsey lifted Arsenal to a 1-0 triumph over Marseille at the Stade Velodrome, but Marseille – ninth in Ligue 1 – head to London in confident mood after defeating Dijon 3-2 on Saturday.

Wenger will be hoping for more good form from Dutch master Robin van Persie, who has already found the back of the net 10 times this season.

"Robin's form is fantastic," Arsenal winger Theo Walcott said. "It makes our job much easier when he plays like that."

"We're enjoying our football, our run is great now and we're just going to keep on continuing that. Everyone is buzzing at the moment."

Group F's other match sees German champions Borussia Dortmund welcome Greek outfit Olympiakos to the Signal Iduna Park in dire need of a win.

After drawing with Arsenal in their opening match, Dortmund suffered crushing away defeats to Marseille (3-0) and Olympiakos (3-1) to leave them bottom of the group on one point, two behind Olympiakos.

Dortmund is third in the Bundesliga and played out a 1-1 draw with Stuttgart on Saturday, but manager Jurgen Klopp knows his side needs three points.

"We need to play at least as well as we did against Stuttgart," Klopp said.

"Our chances of qualifying are over if we lose."

"We have learned our lessons from the first three games and we know what we have to do to make this group more interesting."

Champions League Group G Preview

Porto will look for a big improvement when they tackle Group G's surprise leaders APOEL Nicosia in Tuesday's Champions League match in Cyprus.

Porto, two-time European champions, may make wholesale changes to their team as they seek to avoid being stunned again by the Cypriots, who they drew 1-1 with at home in their last Champions League match.

APOEL played out a goalless home draw in their domestic league with Anorthosis on Friday.

But APOEL's Serbian coach Ivan Jovanovic said he could understand why the team played so poorly with the Porto match and the possibility of a place in the last 16 looming.

APOEL lead the tightly-bunched Group G quartet with five points, one clear of Zenit St Petersburg and Porto and three ahead of Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Portuguese champions were booed by their fans after they drew with APOEL earlier this month.

Coach Vitor Pereira said his team had no choice but to go for the three points in Nicosia.

"The APOEL match is fundamental to us. We know that to go over there and win will require a Porto side at its very best level," Pereira said.

"I am sure that in the APOEL match, with a good performance and a good win, the fans will applaud, because they love the club and they love football."

Pereira has not been afraid to make significant changes, having dropped regulars Kleber and Nicolas Otamendi for striker Walter and centre back Eliaquim Mangala.

Mangala, also captain of France's under-21 team, will probably feature against APOEL but Walter cannot be picked because he was not registered to play in the Champions League, a decision that Pereira has publicly regretted.

APOEL are without injured goalkeeper Dionisios Chiotis and Brazilian defender William Boaventura while midfielder Marchinho is not 100 percent fit after a lengthy injury absence and is unlikely to feature.

In the group's other match, Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg will seek their 11th successive European home win against Ukraine giants Shakhtar Donetsk.

Goals from midfielder Viktor Faizulin, forward Alexander Bukharov and Serbian winger Danko Lazovic gave Zenit a 3-0 win over Russian league minnows Volga Nizhny in their last match and Zenit sit on top of the table, two points ahead of CSKA Moscow.

Russia striker Alexander Kerzhakov may miss with an ankle injury while attacking midfielder Vladimir Bystrov is an unlikely starter.

Shakhtar, who have a 5-5 win-loss record in their last 10 European away matches, will also be without several first-choice players.

Fullback Dmitry Chygrynskiy has a serious hip injury suffered in the Ukraine Cup match with Dynamo Kiev, while Brazilian midfielders Fernandinho and Jadson are injured.

Champions League Group H Preview

AC Milan and Barcelona can wrap up qualification for the Champions League knockout stages should both sides win on Tuesday.

Italian champions Milan visit Belarusian side BATE Borisov, while Barca are in Prague to meet Czech outfit Viktoria Plzen.

Milan and Barca are top of the Group G standings with seven points each, while BATE and Plzen have just one point apiece meaning in all likelihood they will be fighting among themselves for third place in the group and the resulting Europa League place.

Massimiliano Allegri's men made an indifferent start to their league campaign, but four wins in succession in Serie A have seen them climb to fourth in the league, just two points behind leaders Juventus.

In their most recent match, a brace from Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic lifted them to a 3-2 win over Roma, while Kevin-Prince Boateng is another in sensational form after a hat-trick in 14 minutes helped inspire Milan to come from 3-0 down to defeat Lecce 4-3 on October 23.

Allegri will be sweating on the midfielder's fitness, however, after he picked up a knee knock in the Roma clash, while striker Antonio Cassano has been kept in hospital with a mystery illness.

Milan cruised to a 2-0 win over BATE on October 19 in their last Champions League match, with the goals coming from Ibrahimovic and Boateng.

Barcelona will be confident of victory from their trip to Prague, after strolling to a 5-0 thumping of Real Mallorca in La Liga on Saturday.

Argentine maestro Lionel Messi cracked a hat-trick in half-an-hour against Mallorca, and in their last meeting with Plzen goals from Andres Iniesta and David Villa earned them a 2-0 triumph at the Nou Camp.

Arsenal, Chelsea & Liverpool Alerted As Hazard Confirms Leaving Lille

Lille midfielder Eden Hazard has alerted a host of Premier League clubs after declaring that he is ready to leave the French champions at the end of the season.

The 20-year-old is on the radar of Real Madrid and big spending French outfit Paris Saint-Germain, while the trio of Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea has all shown an interest in the attacking midfielder.

Arsenal attempted to sign the Belgium international over the summer, but Lille decided to turn down the offer and it is now expected that the Gunners will once again come in with an offer.

Hazard is one of the hottest properties in Europe and having gained some experience in the Champions League with Lille is now ready to move away from the Stade Lille-Metropole.

"I am ready to go to the next level at a big club," Hazard told French newspaper L'Equipe. "I won't leave in January. It would be silly to do so. But it's my last season at Lille.

"I stayed with Lille this year because I still had things to work on and prove. But now I'm ready. I feel able to play in another country."

Both PSG and Real Madrid have been linked with Hazard and are reportedly ready to bid in the region of £35million, however, the midfielder has declared that Paris is not an option.

"Paris is not for now," he added. "Paris is magical, as they say. Of course it attracts me. But for now, no, I will not go there. I do not want to go to a rival of Lille's in France. It would be inconsistent. The fans would not understand."

Manchester United Scout Newcastle Midfielder

Manchester United are reportedly keeping tabs on Newcastle's playmaker midfielder Yohan Cabaye and will consider making a move at the end of the season.

Cabaye, who was signed by the Magpies in the summer for £4.5m, is proving to be one of the players of the season and has been instrumental in Newcastle's bright start to the league.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is reportedly desperate to improve his midfield options and according to The People, has set his sights on Cabaye.

It is thought Ferguson will have the 25-year-old scouted and will continue to keep tabs on him. If he continues to impress, the United boss will reportedly make an official offer at the end of the season.

Despite proving to be an essential part of their team, Newcastle will surely have to reluctantly accept a big offer for Cabaye were one to arrive.

It is thought a bid of around £17m would tempt the St James' Park club into allowing United to hold talks with the talismanic midfielder.

Liverpool Face Competition In Race To Sign Croatian International

Premier League clubs have been in touch about the availability of Liverpool target Dejan Lovren, according to his agent.

The 22-year-old defender has become one of the most highly rated centre-backs in Ligue 1 since joining Lyon in January 2010.

And his performances have alerted Italian duo AC Milan and Juventus but reports in France have also linked Liverpool with a move for the Croatia international.

And his agent Nikky Vuksan has now revealed that clubs from England have made contact about a possible January move for his client.

Vuksan said: "Many top clubs in England have spoken to us in recent weeks and also [clubs] in Italy.

"Lyon know that and I think the leaders should think about it if they finally receive a good offer."

Tottenham Keen On Signing Celtic Winger

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp is monitoring the progress of Celtic winger James Forrest but insists he is a long way off making any move for the star.

Spurs chief scout Ian Broomfield watched the 20-year-old as Celtic was held to a 0-0 draw by Hibernian on Saturday.

Forrest, who netted two impressive goals against Hibs in the Scottish Communities League Cup three days earlier, hit the bar from long range and was exempted from criticism of his team by Celtic manager Neil Lennon.

Redknapp confirmed his interest but played down reports he was poised to launch a January offer for the Scotland international, who has scored 10 goals in 44 first-team appearances.

“We have had good reports of what is obviously a good player,” Redknapp told BBC Scotland. ”But he belongs to Celtic and that’s as far as it’s gone.

“It is just about having reports on people, you put them on the file and you keep looking.

“We haven’t gone any further. If we were to go any further, I would phone Neil and have a chat with him about the boy.

“It was just that Ian decided to have a look at him, but it was the first report on him really.

“Ian says he’s a talent. I haven’t seen the boy play.

“I have seen him on TV and bits and pieces, but I would want to see him in a couple of games if I was ever going to do anything.”

Bolton Line Up January Double Swoop For Liverpool Starlets

Bolton Wanderers are hoping to take Liverpool duo Raheem Sterling and Jon Flanagan on-loan in the January transfer window.

Manager Owen Coyle is desperate for new recruits to salvage his team’s season after two wins all season has left his side second bottom.

Winger Sterling, 16, is one of the most highly-rated teenagers in England and Coyle insists he can help the teenager’s development in the same way he has done for Jack Wilshere and Daniel Sturridge.

The England U17 international is yet to make his first-team debut and following the Reds summer recruitment drive is unlikely to feature this season.

Defender Flanagan, 18, has made nine appearances for the Reds so far but as Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly are now fit his chances of any action is greatly reduced.

Coyle is in need of a right-back with major doubts arising over Paul Robinson and the injury to Tyrone Mears.

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is willing to let the youngsters go on-loan to give them first-team experience but this may change by the new year depending on injury and form of his current regulars.

Chelsea Eye £25m Spurs Striker Target

Chelsea are chasing £25 million rated striker Fernando Llorente, according to ClubCall, with Tottenham also interested in bringing the star to White Hart Lane next January.

Llorente has starred for Athletic Bilbao since the 26-year-old signed to the club in 2005. After scoring 69 goals in 213 appearances for the Spanish side, he is now reportedly considering a move abroad.

Chelsea and Tottenham are both said to be showing interest. While Chelsea are hoping to bring in a replacement for Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, who are both considering exits from the club, Tottenham want to bolster their forward line even further after the successful signing of Emmanuel Adebayor.

Llorente’s current form is making Chelsea even more desperate to sign the Spain international, scoring seven times in La LIga so far this season and keeping a consistently physical presence on the pitch.

The Blues will no doubt be hoping that their ability to offer higher wages than Tottenham, as well as Champions League football, will sway Llorente towards Stamford Bridge.

Fenerbahce Ponder Move For Bayer Leverkusen's Stefan Kiessling

Turkish champions Fenerbahce are considering making a move for Bayer Leverkusen forward Stefan Kiessling, according to Milliyet.

With Henri Bienvenu and Semih Senturk both misfiring, Fenerbahce coach Aykut Kocaman is looking to boost his attacking options and may turn to Kiessling in January.

It is believed that a €9 million offer would be enough to persuade Bayer Leverkusen to part with the 27-year-old, who is under contract at the Bundesliga club until 2015.

Despite their problems in the final third, Fenerbahce sit on top of the Super Lig, one point clear of local rivals Galatasaray.