My Naija News - Recovery Path for Arsenal, Bayern in Champions League

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Recovery Path for Arsenal, Bayern in Champions League

Written by Adeleke Afolayan

Tuesday, 30 September 2008

Day Two of the UEFA Champions League kicks off tonight across Europe with matches in Groups E to H including Olympique Lyon's visit of Bayern Munich in Group F and Arsenal hosting FC Porto in Group G.

Bayern Munich have hit a rough patch in the Bundesliga, losing scandalously at home to Werder Bremen before falling to Hannover over the weekend, making tonight's encounter a must win for coach Jurgen Klinsmann else the pressure of losing his job will set in.

The Bavarians however will be happy to see French talisman Franck Ribery back after playing 45 minutes in the loss to Hannover. Lyon meanwhile will be without Juninho Pernambucano while prolific striker Karim Benzema is a doubt.

On Day One, Lyon came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at home to Fiorentina while Bayern managed a 1-0 win from Romania against Steaua Bucharest; Steaua visit Fiorentina in the other group encounter.

In Group E, champions Manchester United will be without captain Gary Neville and midfielder Owen Hargreaves for the trip to face Aalborg in Denmark though Cristiano Ronaldo is set for his first match in Europe; having scored in each of his return matches to the League Cup and Premier League.

Fellow Britons Celtic however face a more difficult trip to Spain to play 2006 semi-finalist Villarreal with the Scots having a terrible away record in European football.

Group G will see Arsenal try to maintain it's unbeaten home record in Europe when Portuguese champions FC Porto visit the Emirates; venue of the shock 2-1 defeat to Hull City.

Manager Arsene Wenger has promised there will be changes to the side, including the return of Samir Nasri from injury, while FC Porto will be out to avoid a fifth defeat on English soil.

Finally in Group H, Real Madrid embark on a tricky trip to face UEFA Cup and European Super Cup holders Zenit St. Petersburg while Juventus travel to Champions League debutantes BATE Borisov of Belarus.

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