13.09. (Tue) 20:45 Barcelona - Milan

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Barcelona (4-1-2-3):
Valdes; Alves, Puyol, Abidal, Adriano; Busquets; Xavi, Iniesta; Pedro, Messi, Villa

Despite Javier Mascherano being available for selection, Eric Abidal should come into the fold, replacing Fontas at the heart of the defence. However, the biggest news for Barcelona will be the return of captain-fantastic Carles Puyol, who is ready to take his rightful spot alongside the Frenchman, after successfully returning from knee surgery.
Thiago Alcantara and Seydou Keita are set to be dropped in midfield in favour of Sergio Busquets, who started in defence at the weekend, and Andres Iniesta. In addition, Alexis Sanchez's torn hamstring means David Villa should slot back in on the left and Lionel Messi will replace Cesc Fabregas as the Blaugrana's 'false No. 9' in attack.
Unfortunately for the Champions League holders, there is still no sign of Gerard Pique, who continues to heal from a calf tear he sustained during pre-season.

AC Milan (4-3-1-2):
Abbiati; Abate, Nesta, Silva, Antonini; Nocerino, van Bommel, Aquilani; Boateng; Cassano, Ibrahimovic

Massimiliano Allegri is set to make a a couple of changes in personnel following the draw against Lazio last Friday, although Taye Taiwo and Mathieu Flamini remain on the sidelines.
The aforementioned alterations are in midfield, as Mark van Bommel, who is set to start against his former employers, should be instructed to perform in the absence of Gennaro Gattuso, who continues to see out a further four-match suspension.
In addition, Antonio Nocerino is likely to get the nod ahead of Massimo Ambrosini, who put in an industrial debut shift against Lazio off the substitute's bench. There were whispers that the ex-Palermo man would be cup-tied, but his new club have since confirmed that this isn't the case.

DID YOU KNOW?

Goalkeeper Victor Valdes is now Barcelona's record appearance holder, after surpassing Andoni Zubizarreta's tally of 410 on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola is the most successful coach in Barca history with 12 titles to his name, since beating Johan Cruyff's haul of 11. Also, Xavi is the club's most successful player, winning 18 trophies.
Barcelona remain unbeaten at Camp Nou in Europe since a 2-1 defeat to Rubin Kazan in 2009-10 - a run of 10 games.
Pep Guardiola's side have qualified for the group stage of the Champions League 16 times, losing an opening match just once - a 3-2 reverse agaisnt Newcastle United during 1997-98.
AC Milan stretched their unbeaten run to nine games in Serie A at the weekend, which dates all the way back to March, when they lost 1-0 to Palermo.
Their 2-2 draw with Lazio also means that the Rossoneri have now kicked off their past three Scudetto defences with a 2-2 draw; Lecce in 1999 and Livorno in 2004.
Although the Milanese outfit have won the opening fixture in their last 10 Champions League group stage campaigns, they have won just one of their past four European matches, scoring none in the past three.
The two clubs have met 11 times in Europe, with four wins each and three draws, as Barcelona's record at home to Milan reads two victories, two ties and one loss.
The most memorable meeting between Barca and Milan remains the 1994 Champions League final in Athens, which the Italians won 4-0, and it continues to be the most prolific final victory of the Champions League era.

Prediction

Overall, the Camp Nou outfit look likely to nick the victory, but not without making hard work of it. Despite the Italians' impressive armoury in attack, the return of Carles Puyol is sure to provide the rock-steady presence at the back that they may have missed during recent times, and there is sure to be some Messi magic on a few occasions, which may exploit the agility of an ageing Alessandro Nesta. The midfield battle that is set to ensue will also inspire, as Allegri prepares to match Barca's ruthless pursuit of possession by naming runners of his own in the middle of the park, albeit with less technical qualities. However, both sides will strive to make a point after their respective draws, meaning one thing is certain - it will be a hugely fascinating encounter, which will be won by either a scrappy set-piece, or a moment of brilliance.

Editor's Prediction

Barcelona 2-1 AC Milan

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13.09. (Tue) 20:45 Borussia D. - Arsenal

PROBABLE LINEUPS

Dortmund (4-2-3-1):
Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer; Gundogan, Bender;
Gotze, Kagawa, Grosskreutz; Lewandowski

Mario Gotze will return to the starting XI following his suspension for Saturday’s league defeat to Hertha Berlin, and the 19-year-old will be keen to impress having been linked with a move to the Premier League throughout the transfer window.
Jurgen Klopp is likely to select an otherwise unchanged line-up, having named the same back four in his sides last three outings.

Arsenal (4-3-3):
Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Ramsey, Song, Arteta; Gervinho, Van Persie, Arshavin

Arsene Wenger will once again find himself in the stands, this time firmly as an observer, following the extension of his touchline ban for communicating to the bench during his side’s first leg clash with Udinese.
Expect Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker to be handed their Champions League debuts for the club, whilst Gervinho and Alex Song will return to contention following their Premier League suspensions.

DID YOU KNOW?

The last time these two sides met was in the group stages of the 2002-2003 Champions League. Arsenal emerged victorious at Highbury thanks to goals from Freddie Ljungberg and Dennis Bergkamp .
Tomas Rosicky was on target in the reverse fixture, grabbing the winner from the penalty spot for Borussia Dortmund against his future club, who still progressed to the second round of the competition despite the 2-1 defeat in Germany.
As in 2002, Dortmund line up against Tuesday’s opponents as current Bundesliga champions, having won last season’s league with 75 points, seven ahead of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
As with Wenger’s side, the Germans have made an uninspiring start to the new campaign, with a 2-1 home defeat to Hertha Berlin on Saturday leaving Klopp’s men lying in 11th place after five games.
Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park is the biggest capacity stadium in Germany and can hold a maximum of 80,552 fans, averaging just under an 80,000 attendance last season.

Prediction

Two out of form teams meet at the Westfalenstadion, and the hosts' inexperience in Champions League games make the game even more difficult to call. When on form, BVB would be favourites, but given that Arsenal managed to keep a clean sheet on the weekend and that they recently qualified ahead of Udinese despite playing poorly, a draw appears more likely.

Editor's Prediction

Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Arsenal

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13.09. (Tue) 20:45 Chelsea - Bayer Leverkusen

PROBABLE LINEUPS

Chelsea (4-3-3):
Cech; Bosingwa, Terry, Ivanovic, Cole; McEachran, Lampard, Meireles; Mata, Anelka, Sturridge

Andre Villas-Boas made the controversial decision to drop Fernando Torres for Chelsea’s victory over Sunderland, with Daniel Sturridge and Nicolas Anelka stepping into the side, with the Englishman impressing.
The Portuguese boss could field the same side that won 2-1 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

Leverkusen (4-2-3-1):
Leno; Castro, Reinartz, Toprak, Kadlec; Bender, Rolfes; Sam, Renato Augusto, Schurrle; Kiessling

Predicting the Bayer Leverkusen lineup may be somewhat more difficult given that manager Robin Dutt’s reign at the club is still in its infancy but much of his back four and midfield have been ever presents this campaign.
The coach has yet to declare whether he will use Michael Ballack in his starting line-up, but after being rested on the week-end, Andre Schurrle is expected to return to the first team.

DID YOU KNOW?

This will be the first time the two sides have met in a competitive fixture.
Chelsea manager Villas-Boas is looking to emulate his compatriot Jose Mourinho by following a Europa League win at Porto with victory in the Champions League the following year.
Both sides have never lifted the Champions League, with both enjoying the dubious honour of once being beaten finalists.
The two teams also finished runners-up in their respective leagues last season.
The game marks the Champions League managerial debuts of Villas-Boas and opposite number Dutt.
Bayer Leverkusen’s European exploits ended last year after being knocked out of the Europa League at the round of 16 stage.
Chelsea exited the Champions League last season at the quarter-final stage, where they were beaten by eventual runners-up Manchester United.
If picked, the game will mark the first time Michael Ballack faces former side Chelsea after leaving London in 2010.

Prediction

Leverkusen have impressed in their last two matches, but Chelsea have won three straight and their experience and depth will be huge advantages heading into the match: the hosts have more than enough firepower and should take three points.

Editor's Prediction

Chelsea 3-1 Leverkusen

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13.09. (Tue) 20:45 Racing Genk - Valencia

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Genk (4-3-3):
Kotales; Ngcongca, Joneleit, Hubert, Nadson; Buffel, Tozser, Pudil; Barda, Vossen and Nwanganga

Jelle Vossen, who opened the scoring in the club's last Champions League game, will be called upon to provide his scoring touch against the Spanish outfit.

Valencia (4-2-3-1)
Guaita; Costa, Rami, Alba, Bruno; Banega, Topal; Piatti, Pablo Hernandez, Costa; Soldado

Unai Emery will again look to play the lone striker with Roberto Soldado carrying the goalscoring burden. Pablo Piatti will make his Champions League debut behind the striker, looking to play quality balls forward.

DID YOU KNOW?

Genk find themselves in the group stage after defeating Maccabi Haifa on penalties in the play-off round.
The Belgians currently sit in first place in their domestic league.
Genk last made the group stage of the Champions League in 2002-03, finishing with four draws and two losses and failing to advance.
The club was founded in 1988 as Waterschei Thor merged with KFC Winterslag and has been playing in the top flight since the 1996-97 season.
Valencia have six points from two games in La Liga, most recentley defeating Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Saturday.
The Spanish club advanced to the final of the Champions League in 2000 and 2001.
Last season, Valencia were ousted in the round of 16 of the competition by Schalke, who ended up advancing to the semi-finals before losing to Manchester United.
Soldado has four goals in two league games so far this season.

Prediction

The class and experience of the Spaniards should shine through, and Roberto Soldado will get plenty of looks on goal to earn his team three points.

Editor's Prediction

KRC Genk 0-3 Valencia

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13.09. (Tue) 20:45 Olympiakos - Olympique Marseille

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Olympiacos (4-2-3-1): 
Costanzo; Modesto, Papadopoulos, Mellberg, Marcano; Feisa, Makoun; Fuster, Yeste, Fetfatzidis; Mirallas

Olympiacos coach Ernesto Valverde has a fully fit squad to choose from after the club's delay in commencing their league campaign. A lack of competitive action may count against the Greeks, but so too may the departure of Albert Riera to Galatasaray amongst others.

Olympique de Marseille (4-3-3):
Mandanda; Morel, Diawara, Fanni, Azpilicueta; Lucho Gonzalez, Diarra, Cheyrou; Amalfitano, Gignac, Remy

Marseille boss Didier Deschamps is likely to be without the services of Mathieu Valbuena for the trip to Athens on Tuesday. The dimunitive winger looked to have pulled a hamstring almost half an hour in to the 1-0 defeat against Rennes on Saturday.
Also sidelined is Andre Ayew, who picked up a groin injury whilst away on international duty with Ghana. Initially out for 10 days, the midfielder could well still make the bench. Stephane Mbia continues his rehabilitation from a broken foot.
Jeremy Morel and Morgan Amalfitano, both summer signings from Lorient, are in line to make their Champions League, and, indeed, European debuts for Marseille.

DID YOU KNOW?

Olympiacos qualified for the group stages of the Uuefa Champions League by winning the Greek Superliga in 2010-11.
The Kikkoni are yet to play a competitive game this season due to the ongoing match scandal in Greece.
The Greeks have lost their last three home games against French opponents.
Olympiacos were last in the group stages in 2009-10. That season, they won all their home games and reached the last 16 before being eliminated by Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.
Marseille qualified for the group stages for the Champions League by finishing second in Ligue 1. This is their fifth straight participation - a club record.
L'OM were, and still are, the first and only side from France to lift the Uefa Champions League after winning the inaugural edition in 1993.
Didier Deschamps' men have recorded the competition's biggest win in each of the last two seasons. In 2009-10 they thrashed Zurich 6-1, whilst setting a new record by dismantling Zilina 7-0 in Slovakia last year.
Marseille exited last year's competition at the hands of runners-up Manchester United. A 0-0 draw at the Stade Velodrome was followed by a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.
The two sides last met in the 1994-95 Uefa Cup first round, OM running out 5-1 aggregate winners against Olympiakos.

Prediction

After OM's disappointing start to the season, it will be difficult to see them put in a convincing performance. One plus for the French side will be the lack of competitive action enjoyed by the Greeks. A narrow win for Marseille looks likely, but so too does the possibility of a draw. Close game in prospect.

Editor's Prediction

Olympiakos Piraeus 0-1 Marseille

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13.09. (Tue) 20:45 Viktoria Plzen - BATE

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Viktoria Plzen (4-5-1):
Cech; Rajtoral, Cisovsky, Bystron, Limbersky; Jiracek, Horvath; Petrzela, Kolar, Pilar; Bakos

Coach Pavel Vrba has a full squad to choose from for his side's maiden game in the Champions League against BATE. Despite playing at home Plzen are the underdogs for Tuesday night and as such they are expected to line-up defensively opposed to the 4-4-2 formation adopted in home qualifying matches.

BATE Borisov (3-5-2):
Gutor; Filipenko, Yurevich, Simic; Nekhajchik, Baga, Renan, Volodko, Rudik; Kontsevoy; Kezman

Mateja Kezman is expected to make his re-appearance in the Champions League after a spell in the wilderness. The former PSV striker is likely to deputise for Vitaliy Rodionov, who suffered a serious knee injury in BATE’s 2-2 draw against Minsk and will be out for six months.

DID YOU KNOW?

Viktoria Plzen are yet to keep a clean sheet in five home fixtures in UEFA competition.
The Czech outfit have won every game in their qualifying campaign to reach the group stages of the Champions League.
The sides are meeting for the first time on Tuesday; in matches between the two nations, Czech sides have won five matches to three wins for Belarusian clubs.
This is the first time that Plzen have reached the Champions League proper.
BATE are making their second appearance in the Champions League group stages; they made their debut in 2008/09 season but failed to win a game.
The Belarusian side are unbeaten in eight European matches, the last team to beat BATE were AZ in the group stages of the Europa League last year.
BATE have conceded just one goal in their last four European away matches.
Mateja Kezman was unattached for three months before BATE opted to sign the former Chelsea man who is looking to rebuild his career with the Belarusian Champions.

Prediction

The home side will be set up defensively and in their maiden Champions League campaign a point will feel like making the knock-out stages.

Editor's Prediction

FC Viktoria Plzeň 0-0 BATE

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13.09. (Tue) 20:45 APOEL - Zenit

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

APOEL (4-4-2):
Chiotis; Jorge, Kaka, Boaventura, Morais; Poursaitidis, Marcinho, Trickovski, Manduca; Pinto, Ailton

APOEL look set to stick with the team that beat Wisla Krakow so impressively in the play-off round, with Ailton retaining his place up front after his two-goal match-winning performance for the Cypriot side.

Zenit St Petersburg (4-2-3-1):
Malafeev; Anyukov, Bruno Alves, Lomberts, Criscito; Shirokov, Denisov; Rosina, Fayzulin, Lazovic; Kerzhakov

Despite making big errors in the 4-2 loss at the weekend, Vyacheslav Malafeev is set to keep his place in Zenit's starting line-up. Meanwhile Bruno Alves will start after missing out on his move to Juventus, while Aleksandr Kerzhakov is a certainty to start after his impressive season.

DID YOU KNOW?

APOEL last qualified for the Champions League two years ago, getting knocked out in the group stage without a win.
Despite their poor performance, the Cypriot minnows recorded unlikely away draws at Chelsea and Atletico Madrid.
APOEL have made a steady start to their defence of the Cypriot league, taking four points from their opening two games.
Zenit finished the group stage of last season's Europa League with a 100 per cent record.
Aleksandr Kerzhakov has scored 13 goals in 17 league games this season for the Russian side.
Zenit won the 2008 Uefa Cup and went on to beat Manchester United in the Super Cup.

Prediction

Zenit should certainly get a convincing victory over their far-inferior opponents, especially given the form Zenit have showed in their defence of their league title in Russia.

Editor's Prediction

APOEL Nicosia 0-2 Zenit

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