Champions League Group A Preview

Rampant Manchester City will head to El Madrigal to face a depleted Villarreal in Champions League Group A action on Wednesday.

La Liga side Villarreal have been struggling domestically with their second win of the campaign over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday lifting them out of the relegation zone, though the win came at a cost.

Already savaged with injuries with star striker Giuseppe Rossi ruled out for six months with a knee injury sustained against Real Madrid last week, Villarreal suffered further setbacks against Rayo.

Christian Zapata (knee) and Javier Camunas (leg) are two casualties to come out of the win while Nilmar (knee), Cani (knee), Marco Ruben (adductor) and midfielder Marcos Senna (hamstring) form part of an increasingly threadbare squad.

To add to their woes, Villarreal sit at the foot of the table in Group A, having lost all three of their opening fixtures to Bayern Munich, City and Napoli.

Meanwhile, City boss Roberto Mancini boasts a fully fit squad brimming with confidence after wins over bitter rivals Manchester United and back-to-back wins over Wolverhampton in the Carling Cup and English Premier League.

The Etihad Stadium outfit won the corresponding fixture with Villarreal 2-1 thanks to Sergio Aguero's late winner and will be expected to pick up the three points.

Bayern Munich vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger looks set to feature in the side's reverse fixture with Napoli after making a quick recovery from a hamstring injury sustained in a 4-0 win over Nuremberg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Bayern are looking for their ninth straight win at the Allianz Arena while Napoli, who suffered a 2-1 defeat at Catania in the Serie A on Saturday, are without captain Paolo Cannavaro who is suspended for the trip north.

Bayern top the group, while a win for Napoli would see them leapfrog the Bundesliga leaders into first and could potentially put more pressure on third-placed City.

Champions League Group B Preview

Inter Milan will be looking to build on their good form in the Champions League when they host Lille on Wednesday.

The Serie A giants have had a tumultuous league campaign, struggling in 17th place with just two wins from their opening nine outings.

But their form in Europe has been solid, sitting top of Group B after consecutive wins, including a 1-0 victory at Lille on October 18.

Inter held out after Giampaolo Pazzini gave them a 21st-minute lead, and they will close in on progress to the round of 16 with a win at the San Siro.

Claudio Ranieri will be without defender Maicon, who picked up a thigh injury in their 2-1 loss to Juventus on Saturday.

The Brazilian has been one of the better performers this campaign, but Ranieri will be confident of overcoming Lille despite his absence, particularly at home.

In contrast to Inter, Lille has enjoyed a fine start to Ligue 1, but have struggled in the Champions League.

They are winless and bottom of the group, while they sit third in the league - behind Paris-Saint Germain and Montpellier.

Goals have been hard to come by for Rudi Garcia's men, with Senegalese striker Moussa Sow their best with just three goals in his last nine outings.

Lille desperately need maximum points if they are to keep their hopes of advancing to the round of 16 alive.

In the other game, CSKA Moscow travel to Turkey to take on Trabzonspor.

The Russian outfit has been in excellent form recently, unbeaten in their last five outings, with three of those victories.

They have scored at will since the comfortable 3-0 win over Trabzonspor on October 18, netting nine goals in two matches.

Seydou Doumbia and Vagner Love have been vital in that run, although the latter was sent off in the 4-0 league win over Spartak Nalchik on Friday.

In his last three matches, Doumbia has struck a remarkable eight goals.

Meanwhile, Trabzonspor have gone three matches unbeaten since losing to CSKA and will be hoping they can capitalise on their home advantage this time around.

Champions League Group C Preview

Manchester United will go into their meeting with Otelul Galati in the Champions League on Wednesday as hot favourites.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men drew their opening two matches in Group C, but a win over the Romanians on October 18 helped them into second, behind Benfica.

It took a brace of Wayne Rooney penalties to record that 2-0 win, while captain Nemanja Vidic will miss the return meeting after being sent off.

After that win, United were embarrassed at Old Trafford, slumping to a 6-1 loss to fierce rivals Manchester City in the English Premier League.

But they have bounced back, thanks to a win in the Carling Cup and a 1-0 victory over Everton in the league on Saturday.

Ferguson could afford to leave Portuguese star Nani on the bench until the final half-hour at Goodison Park, while goalscorer Javier Hernandez came off towards the end of the contest.

Ferguson's team is two points behind Benfica in the group, and the Scot said he expected the November 22 meeting between the sides at Old Trafford to decide who finished top.

"I expect Benfica to beat Basel as they're in a bit of disarray with (manager) Thorsten Fink going to Hamburg," Ferguson told United's official website.

"We'll hopefully win our game and, when we play Benfica at home, it'll be the decider in our section."

The Romanian outfit are eighth in the league and have won three consecutive games since the loss to United, but manager Dorinel Munteanu will need a bit of luck if his team are to take anything out of the game at Old Trafford.

In the other game, Benfica will be out to extend their unbeaten run in Group B to four matches when they host Swiss outfit Basel.

The Portuguese side is also unbeaten in Liga Sagres and will be keen to record a win over Basel to maintain their advantage over United.

Champions League Group D Preview

Real Madrid can seal their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League with a win over Lyon on Wednesday.

The in-form La Liga giants have been irresistible of late, leading Barcelona in the league thanks to their recent run, as well as topping Group D.

Jose Mourinho's men have won eight games in a row in all competitions, impressive in both attack and defence.

In the run, they have netted 29 goals and conceded just three.

It includes a 4-0 thrashing of Lyon on October 18, a clash the Ligue 1 outfit struggled in and were always likely to lose.

Mourinho has his array of talent combining well, with the midfield - led by Spaniard Xabi Alonso - pulling the strings for a star-studded attack.

Cristiano Ronaldo has continued to score, while strikers Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain have battled for a spot up front.

Both Benzema and Higuain are scoring when called upon, and Mourinho is happy to have two in-form strikers at his disposal.

A win for Real at Stade de Gerland would see them wrap up a top-two spot, while Lyon would remain in the hunt even if they are beaten.

Remi Garde's team, who sit fourth in Ligue 1, will finish with fixtures against Ajax and struggling Dinamo Zagreb.

Striker Bafetimbi Gomis (seven goals in 12 appearances) will again hold the key for Lyon, but he has failed to net in his last three matches.

In the other Group D game, Ajax will be keen to make it two wins from as many matches against Dinamo Zagreb.

The Eredivisie champions sit second but a win, along with a Lyon loss, would move them three points clear of the French outfit.

Miralem Sulejmani (six goals) and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (five) had done most of the damage up front for Frank de Boer's team.

Dinamo Zagreb is still searching for their first point, but it will be a tough task at the Amsterdam Arena.

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.

Champions League Group E Preview

Chelsea can improve their already dominant position in Champions League Group E when they host lowly Genk in London on Wednesday.

The Blues have not lost a European group stage clash at Stamford Bridge in eight years, and the Belgian First Division champions would need a miracle to take all three points in their first fixture against English opposition in the tournament.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has a positive recent history with Genk, having led former team Porto to a 7-2 aggregate defeat of the Belgian outfit in the Europa League playoff round last season.

The Londoners are also fresh off a drought-breaking 3-1 win in the Premier League over Everton - a side they had not conquered since the FA Cup final in 2009.

Genk, meanwhile, have lost their past three in all competitions, including a 2-0 defeat by Bayer Leverkusen in the group.

They managed to hold Valencia to a scoreless draw at home on matchday one, and manager Mario Been will be hoping for more of the same defensive stubbornness out of his XI.

In the other game in Group E, Leverkusen will aim to add to their defeat of Genk with another three points when they host Valencia at Bay Arena.

Robin Dutt's men are second in the group, one point above their La Liga opponents.

The Bundesliga side are unbeaten in three matches in all competitions, including a defiant 2-2 draw with 10 men away to Borussia Monchengladbach in the league at their last start.

Brazilian midfielder Renato Augusto - who played the full 90 minutes in the win over Genk - will miss after having knee surgery earlier this month.

Third-choice keeper Bernd Leno will get another chance on the European stage for Leverkusen, with injury still ruling out first-choice stopper Rene Adler and number two Fabian Giefer.

Turkish midfielder Mehmet Topal could make a return to the starting line-up for Valencia, after spending several weeks out with a shoulder injury.

Valencia will be hoping summer signing Sergio Canales or goal machine Roberto Soldado can score their first open-play goal in their European campaign, after they were lucky to scrape a 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea.

Soldado converted a fortunate spot-kick for an alleged foul on Salomon Kalou for handball, but replays suggested the Ivorian did not contact the ball at all as it came in from a corner.

Valencia, though, will take the point, but manager Unai Emery would be all too aware of the need to start scoring to set alight their fight for a top-two spot and a ticket to the knockout stages.

Champions League Group F Preview

Arsenal will be unfazed by a trip to Marseille for their Champions League Group F clash, having never lost away to a French club.

Didier Deschamps' Marseille sit top of the group with six points from two matches and are yet to concede a goal in the competition.

But they will be wary of an Arsenal team who reached the last 16 of the Champions League last season before falling to eventual winners Barcelona.

However, the Gunners' recent form is nothing to write home about, struggling in a 2-1 win over Sunderland in the Premier League at the weekend.

With Thomas Vermaelen out injured and Bacary Sagna's broken leg keeping him out until next year, manager Arsene Wenger then had to replace Kieran Gibbs with Andre Santos five minutes into the second half with stomach muscle inflammation.

Robin Van Persie's brace against Sunderland may have pulled Arsenal up to 10th in the league but it is their backline that may prove to be their undoing as they come up against the firepower of Ghanaian Andre Ayew and France international Loic Remy.

In the other Group F clash, Olympiakos and Borussia Dortmund meet for the first time in a competitive fixture.

The Greek champions are still without a point in last place, having lost narrowly to Arsenal on matchday two.

Coach Ernesto Valverde will be looking for a better performance on home soil but he will have to do it without talismanic Spanish midfielder David Fuster.

Borussia Dortmund snatched a 1-1 draw with the Gunners in their first match before crashing back to earth with a 3-0 loss to Marseille.

But Jurgen Klopp's team will fancy their chances against Olympiakos in what is shaping as an even match.

Champions League Group G Preview

Porto will enter their Champions League Group G clash with APOEL FC as warm favourites but will not be taking the surprise leaders lightly.

The two-time European champions meet the Cypriot team away as they look to bounce back from their defeat to Zenit St Petersburg.

Porto have not suffered back-to-back losses in Europe for three years.

After losing to 3-1 to Zenit following Jorge Fucil's sending off, Vitor Pereira's team will be looking for nothing less than a win against APOEL.

Brazilian striker Kleber who scored in Porto's 2-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk, has recovered from his shoulder injury and will expected to lead the line alongside fellow Brazilian strike partner Hulk.

Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk are also aiming to get their campaign back on track when they meet Zenit St Petersburg.

Quarter-finalists in the Champions League last season, Shakhtar Donetsk sit bottom of the group with just one point after a home draw with APOEL.

Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu will be desperate to jump-start their campaign with a home win at Donbass Arena, with the likes of former Corinthians midfielder Willian and former Arsenal frontman Eduardo looking to put their stamp on the occasion.

The two clubs were rivals in the old Soviet league but have not met since 1989.

The Russian side, led by former Roma coach Luciano Spalletti, will be counting on Portuguese striker Danny and Aleksandr Kerzhakov to spearhead Zenit's qualification challenge.

With his brace in their 3-1 over Porto lifting Zenit level on three points with the two-time Champions League winners, Roman Shirokov will be key to their hopes for qualification to the knockout stage.

Champions League Group H Preview

Barcelona and AC Milan can move six points clear in the top two spots in Champions League Group H with victories on Wednesday.

The La Liga champions host Czech side Viktoria Plzen, while the Serie A outfit welcome BATE Borisov, the Belarusian champions.

The Catalans have had their fair share of injury worries early in the season and hampering them further will be the loss of centre-back Gerard Pique for two weeks to a hamstring injury.

Pique was substituted just nine minutes into their league clash with Racing Santander on Sunday, forcing Eric Abidal to play out the majority of the contest despite being under a fitness cloud himself.

It has been a while since Czech opposition have visited the Camp Nou - so much so, that current manager Pep Guardiola was on the scoresheet for Barcelona in a 5-0 victory over Sparta Prague in the 1999-2000 group stages.

Despite the result being a decade ago, Guardiola will be hoping for a similar scoreline as Barca look to go six points clear of the bottom two and move a step closer to the knockout stages.

Milan will have similar hopes as they prepare to welcome Borisov to the San Siro.

Borisov's domestic form has been steady as they have not lost in seven games, but the gulf in class between their home league and the Champions League was evidenced by Barcelona's 5-0 thrashing of them at their last start.

The Belarusians have experienced the pressure of playing Milan previously, going down 6-0 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup first round in 2001-02.

Featuring on the pitch that day were current coach Vikto Goncharenko and assistants Aleksandr Fedorovich and Aleksei Baga.

The only current-day player in the side that day was attacker Artem Kontsevoy.

Milan, however, will not be worried about history as they look to continue their form which has seen them win three of their past four.

Their home form in Champions League past seasons has been woeful, winning just one of eight in their two most recent campaigns before a 2-0 win over Plzen steadied the ship.

Brazilian striker Robinho returned to the Milan line-up in their 3-0 win over Palermo, adding a new dimension to their attack, and the former Santos and Manchester City star will be in contention to keep his spot under Massimiliano Allegri.

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.

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.