Big names back in action

The UEFA Champions League group stage kicks off this week, with the 16 sides in action on Wednesday night experiencing contrasting fortunes ahead of their first games in Europe's premier club competition. Several have worries surrounding key players, while a number of other teams will prepare for their midweek matches in buoyant mood. uefa.com rounds up the results and team news.

Liverpool FC v AS Monaco FC
Liverpool goalscorers Steven Gerrard and Luis García were substituted early in Saturday's comfortable 3-0 home victory against West Bromwich Albion FC to ensure they are both fully rested for the visit of last season's losing finalists. The French side will be without loan signing Javier Saviola, who will serve a one-match ban as a result of a red card picked up while playing for FC Barcelona in the UEFA Cup last season. With Ernesto Chevanton and Shabani Nonda injured, Emmanuel Adebayor and Mohamed Kallon, both of whom were on target in Saturday's 3-1 win against RC Strasbourg, are set to start in attack.

RC Deportivo La Coruña v Olympiacos CFP
Full-strength Deportivo continued their shaky start to the Primera División season with a 3-1 reverse at home against ten-man CA Osasuna on Sunday - even though Walter Pandiani had given them the lead. With the Greek season yet to get under way, Olympiacos are lacking competitive match experience and will be without the injured trio of Predrag Djordjevic, Christos Patsatzoglou and Milos Maric.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen v Real Madrid CF
Jens Nowotny's troublesome knee cartilage problem will prevent him competing as the 2002 finalists meet again. Clemens Fritz, who has a broken leg, was the only other Leverkusen player to miss Saturday's 2-0 defeat against newly-promoted FSV Mainz 05. New signings Jonathan Woodgate (thigh) and Walter Samuel (knee sprain) are Madrid coach José Antonio Camacho's injured players ahead of the club's Group B opener. David Beckham's free-kick against CD Numancia gave them a second 1-0 win of the Spanish season on Saturday.

AS Roma v FC Dinamo Kyiv
In addition to the injured Cristian Chivu, Damiano Tommasi and Ahmed Hossam 'Mido', Roma could be without Greek international defender Traianos Dellas on Wednesday after he limped out of Sunday's 1-0 win against ACF Fiorentina with a slight muscle worry. Vincenzo Montella scored the only goal of the game after Antonio Cassano had been shown a red card for violent conduct. Dynamo strolled into the last eight of the domestic cup at the weekend by defeating second division FC Karpaty Lviv but playmaker Valentin Belkevich and Rodolfo will miss the trip to Rome due to injury and suspension respectively.

AFC Ajax v Juventus FC
Zlatan Ibrahimovic warmed up for his return to the Amsterdam ArenA by scoring on his Juve debut in the Turin club's 3-0 away win against Brescia Calcio. Pavel Nedved and David Trezeguet were also on target for the Bianconeri, although Emerson received a heavy knock to his knee which may rule him out of the Group C opener. Tomás Galásek and John O'Brien are still injured for the Dutch side but Tom Soetaers and Nicolas Mitea returned to action as Ajax threw away a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with ADO Den Haag on Sunday.

Maccabi Tel-Aviv v FC Bayern München
Ghanaian striker Ishmael Addo insisted he will be fit to face the 2001 winners despite the ankle injury which forced him to limp out of Saturday's 1-0 victory against UEFA Cup hopefuls Bnei Sakhnin. Addo scored Maccabi's winning goal before bruising his ankle. Claudio Pizarro is in line to return for Bayern after recovering from a fractured skull but the German side, who defeated DSC Arminia Bielefeld 1-0 on Saturday thanks to a Roy Makaay strike, will be without Roque Santa Cruz, Alexander Zickler. Jens Jeremies and Piotr Trochowski may not be risked after returning from injuries.

Fenerbahçe SK v AC Sparta Praha
Servet Çetin, who has been sidelined with torn cruciate ligaments, was not risked as three goals in the last ten minutes helped Fenerbahçe defeat Sebatspor 4-1 on Saturday. Sparta captain Karel Poborský also sat out his side's domestic game, a 2-0 win against SK Dynamo Ceské Budejovice, but is expected to return on Wednesday. However, Sparta defender Jirí Koubský (knee) and striker Jan Rezek (ankle) will both miss the trip to Istanbul.

Olympique Lyonnais v Manchester United FC
Lyon could hand new signing Nilmar his first start in their Group D opener after the Brazilian striker came off the bench to score both goals in Saturday's 2-1 win against Stade Rennais FC. Sylvain Wiltord is also in contention, while Juninho Pernambucano will return to the midfield after being rested at the weekend. United came from behind against Bolton Wanderers FC on Saturday to rescue a 2-2 draw, with debutant Gabriel Heinze on the scoresheet. Ruud van Nistelrooij made his first start of the season but the 1999 winners will be without fellow strikers Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjær.