English exam for lesser lights

'Pass and move'
The last time United went to Denmark, in the group stage of the 2006/07 competition, they lost 1-0 to FC København with Marcus Allbäck scoring the goal. On Tuesday they may be confronting less seasoned opposition in Aalborg BK, but while the Danish champions have made a disappointing start to their domestic season, they showed their class in drawing 0-0 at Celtic FC in their Group E opener. AaB manager Bruce Rioch said of his side: "The Danish culture is that they like to play football – they like to pass and move."

United mismatch
Rioch added: "My sporting director said when [United] signed [Dimitar]Berbatov for £26 or 27m, that's the budget for our whole operation for seven years, which puts it into perspective. I've really enjoyed watching them play [against Celtic] and I'm sure deep down a lot of Celtic fans will go away and say they did come to play. And that's the Danish way, they don't come and destroy as it's not their style. They have their own culture, their own way of playing and they like to enjoy their football."

European firsts
Elsewhere on Tuesday, the champions of Germany and France meet in Group F, with FC Bayern München facing Olympique Lyonnais for the fifth time, having won one, drawn one and lost two of their previous encounters. Group H, meanwhile, sees FC BATE Borisov and UEFA Cup holders FC Zenit St. Petersburg host group-stage games for the first time. Juventus will be the guests in Belarus, while Real Madrid CF make a first trip to the Petrovsky Stadium.

Chelsea journey
The maiden group-stage visitors to the CFR Stadium in Cluj-napoca on Wednesday will be Group A pacesetters Chelsea, to tackle a Romanian team still giddy from their 2-1 win at AS Roma on Matchday 1. In Group B, Anorthosis Famagusta FC also stage their first game at this level – and it promises to be a thriller. Having ousted Greek champions Olympiacos CFP to reach the group stage, they welcome Athenian giants Panathinaikos FC to Nicosia.

Barcelona head east
Wednesday also sees Group C leaders FC Barcelona travel to FC Shakhtar Donetsk for a third time, eager to secure a first away victory over the Ukrainian side, while in Group D Liverpool FC will target a third successive home win against PSV Eindhoven. The Reds may still be smarting from the fact their last success against the Dutch champions at Anfield – 1-0 in the 2006/07 quarter-finals – failed to make up for a 3-0 first-leg loss.