Tuesday's UEFA Champions League action sees first and second place clubs meeting in all four groups, with Milan's visit to Real Madrid headlining the day's affairs. While that match may overshadow Shakhtar Donetsk's visit to Arsenal and CFR Cluj's trip to Bayern Munich, the early start time of Chelsea's match at Spartak Moscow means England's leaders will get their own, early spotlight (and we'll get to watch more than one match live).
UEFA Champions League, Tuesday Preview: Chelsea’s Trip To Moscow The Undercard For Real Madrid-Milan
With the groups’ leaders facing-off, third and fourth place teams get a change to gain ground on a qualifying spot. In Group E, Roma will move into second place if they defeat Basel and get some help from München. Olympique Marseille will be looking for their first points in Group F when they host Zilina. In Group G, Ajax has a chance to pass Milan if a strong performance against Auxerre is coupled with a Real Madrid win, while Sporting Braga looks to turnaround a disastrous start when they host Partizan in Group H play.
Group E
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bayern Munich | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 |
 CFR Cluj | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
 Roma | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
 Basel | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 |
- Bayern Munich found Mario Gómez. Apparently, he had been sitting on the bench all along (who knew). Usually coach Louis van Gaal only notices the German international towards the end of matches, but when he gave Gómez a start against Hannover (actually, his second of the year), the striker responded with a hat-trick, the first goals Bayern's gotten all season from its striker position. Gómez will get a chance to build upon that performance Tuesday against CFR Cluj, with Bayern's other strikers ruled out through injury.
- Roma's weekend victory over Genoa was only their third in nine all-competition matches, giving the Giallorossi faithful hope the club's ready to shake-off a second successive slow start. They're missing their two best players, Mirko Vucinic and Daniele de Rossi (both hurt while playing for country). Still, Roma should have enough to down Basel at the Stadio Olimpico.
Group F
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chelsea | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 6 |
 Spartak Moscow | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 |
 Marseille | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0 |
 Žilina | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 |
- Artificial turf, an early start, a 1,550 mile flight and a slew of injuries make Chelsea's visit to Spartak something more than your run-of-the-mill road trip, but with the Blues undefeated in their last five group stage matches away from Stamford Bridge, Spartak will need more than a minor slip from their guests to get three points. Currently sitting fourth in Russia, Spartak has not lost in nearly two months (all competitions).
- As was the case last season, Marseille's leaking goals to start their Ligue 1 campaign. As was this case last season, they're quickly recovering and climbing the table. Fourth in France and having seemingly figured out how to balance their wealth of attacking talent, l'OM should have no problem getting three from visiting Zilina.
Group G
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Real Madrid | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 6 |
| Milan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 |
 Ajax | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 |
| Auxerre | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0 |
- With Internazionale, José Mourinho won his final three meetings with Milan by an aggregated 8-1. With his Real Madrid team coming-off a 4-1 win at Malaga on Saturday, Mourinho may be impervious to a Rossoneri team that has not lost since September 11. The counter point: Milan took four points from Real Madrid in last year's group stage, getting a 1-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
- Auxerre is limping along in Ligue 1, sitting 18th, having won once all season. While Ajax have had their own troubles of late (recently losing to Utrecht), Luis Suárz and Mounir El Hamdaoui at home against Champions League neophytes could put Ajax back in the race for second.
Group H
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 6 |
 Shakhtar Donetsk | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 |
 Partizan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
 Braga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0 |
- Eduardo returns to the Emirates, but from his time under Arsene Wenger, the Shakhtar striker knows his team should be in for a long 90 minute. While we're likely to see some changes to Arsenal's starting lineup, we're unlikely to see the Gunners deviate from their perfect group record, especially if the likes of Cesc Fàbregas, Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott see time.
- Cup competition this weekend in Portugal allowed Sporting Braga to prepare (read: focus) on Partizan's visit to the AXA, where (in round two) Domingos Pacienca saw his team concede three in the second half to Shakhtar. Initially expected to compete for second place, Braga now has to look at Group H as a learning experience ahead of Europa League, assuming they can beat Serbia's champions for third place.
See More:
