Mixed fortunes for Europe's finest

Eight sides return to UEFA Champions League action on Tuesday evening but only one of them, Juventus FC, can boast an unbeaten record in their domestic fixtures during the break between Matchdays Eight and Nine.

Juventus unbeaten
Following their 3-1 Group D defeat at the hands of Arsenal FC on 4 December, Juventus have won eight and drawn three of their eleven Serie A fixtures and have also booked their place in the final of the Coppa Italia. They now sit at the summit of the league table, a point clear of title rivals Internazionale FC and AS Roma, and in strikers Alessandro del Piero and David Trezeguet, have two men in fine goalscoring form. Tuesday's visit of RC Deportivo La Coruña should provide a stern test for the Bianconeri but they have bolstered their squad with the return of Marcelo Zalayeta, recalled from loan at Sevilla FC, and Vincent Péricard.

Panathinaikos on form
Greek club Panathinaikos FC have also fared well during the Champions League break, losing only one of their eight Ethniki Katigoria matches. Under new coach Sergio Markarian, Panathinaikos have won their last six league games, all by a single-goal margin. New signings Minas Pitsos and Robert Jarni are sure to feature in Tuesday's Group C match at AC Sparta Praha but not Paulo Sousa, who has departed for RCD Espanyol.

Madrid misfiring
Real Madrid CF, who host FC Porto in Group C on Matchday Nine, may be in second place in the Primera División but three defeats in their last four league games is not the ideal preparation for Vicente del Bosque's side. Despite the stunning form of striker Fernando Morientes - he has seven goals in his last three outings - Madrid have lost to Espanyol, Real Valladolid and Athletic Club Bilbao in recent weeks. Del Bosque has added Antonio Tena Nuñez and Francisco Salvador Ela to his Champions League squad, while Bosnia-Herzegovnian striker Elvir Baljic has moved on loan to Rayo Vallecano.

Arsenal injuries
Arsenal have only been beaten once since Matchday Eight and are still in touch with FA Premiership leaders Manchester United FC as the London club prepare to face Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Germany. Efstathios Tavlaridis has been added to an Arsenal squad currently suffering something of a defensive crisis, following injuries to Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Matthew Upson. That said the Gunners have won seven of their 12 league matches and reached the FA Cup quarter-finals since their December defeat of Juventus so all things are relative.

Leverkusen struggle
Leverkusen have found the going tough in the 1. Bundesliga since their 3-0 Matchday Eight win against Deportivo. Klaus Toppmöller's side have lost four of their last eight league games, although they do remain second in the league standings and have booked a berth in the semi-finals of the German Cup. Midfield player Thorsten Wittek has been added to the squad but striker Marquinhos has been loaned to Brazilian club Paraná.

Erratic Deportivo
RC Deportivo La Coruña's league form has been erratic since December, with four wins, three draws and four defeats in their eleven matches. Victories over Valencia CF and RC Celta de Vigo have been countered by defeats against Valladolid and FC Barcelona and Javier Irureta will be looking for more consistency from a squad to which he has added Daniel Mallo Castro in place of the injured Manuel Pablo García.

New man at the helm
FC Porto resume their European campaign with a new manager at the helm in José Mourinho. The 39-year-old has enjoyed a good start at the Das Antas stadium, winning his first four 1. Liga matches since replacing Octávio Machado last month. A former assistant of Bobby Robson at Porto and FC Barcelona, where he later assisted Louis van Gaal, Mourinho said of the challenge of coaching in the Champions League: "I have no experience of coaching at this level, but I have experience in other ways because for the past ten years I have been involved with big clubs in big matches. I am used to the pressure and can assure you that I have the necessary experience to match the big coaches."

Additions to squad
There have been changes on the playing side too during the Champions League hiatus, with the Portuguese side adding the fit-again goalkeeper Vítor Baia, defender Secretario and midfield player Miran Pavlin to their squad.

Exodus from Sparta
Sparta Praha, who have recorded one win and one defeat since the recent resumption of the Czech 1. liga, have also made changes. The Czech champions have added three players in Pavel Zavadil, Tomáš Cízek and Pavel Mareš but lost the services of six squad members, including full-back Vladimír Labant FC and defensive midfielder Martin Hasek to West Ham United and FK Austria Wien respectively.