Arsenal face Dynamo Kiev, United take on Villarreal
Arsenal face Dynamo Kiev, United take on Villarreal
United are aiming to extend their home record of 12 consecutive wins in Europe.

New Delhi: Defending champions Manchester United taken on Spanish side Villarreal at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

United are aiming to extend their home record of 12 consecutive wins in Europe with another three points in the Group E encounter.

Winger Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to play for the first time since undergoing an ankle operation in July but there are doubts over new signing Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Carrick taking the field due to injury.

Another English Premier League club in action are Arsenal who travel to Ukraine to play their Group G match against Dynamo Kiev.

Both teams have reached the group stage after victories in the third qualifying round.

Kiev beat Russia's Spartak Moscow 8-2 on aggregate, while Arsenal qualified after beating FC Twente of the Netherlands 6-0 on aggregate.

AP reports that Juventus could face a rough return to the Champions League against UEFA Cup champion Zenit St Petersburg.

The Russian club followed up their first European trophy with another victory over Manchester United in the European Super Cup last month.

Juventus are a two-time European champion but haven't appeared at all in Europe for two years following the Italian match-fixing scandal.

"During this two-year absence from Europe, football fanatics will certainly not have forgotten what Juve achieved over its 100-year history," captain Alessandro Del Piero said. "But if they do consider us a surprise, even better."

Juventus' last European appearance came against Arsenal in the 2006 quarter-finals. Midfielder Mauro Camoranesi was expelled from the first leg and missed the return.

"It's going to be a special night against Zenit for those of us that had to settle for performing on the European stage only with our national team jerseys," said Camoranesi, a member of Italy's team that won the 2006 World Cup.

"We went from the Champions League to the far-flung fields of Serie B," Camoranesi added.

As punishment for the scandal, Juventus played the 2006-07 season in Serie B, then finished third on their return to Serie A last season.

Besides Del Piero and Camoranesi, three other core players remain from the pre-scandal period: goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, midfielder Pavel Nedved and forward David Trezeguet.

Coach Fabio Capello now leads England and Claudio Ranieri is the current manager.

"We're facing a Zenit team that is in form and good at quick counterattacks. We've got to be attentive to play our game and not fall into their trap," Ranieri said.

Juventus have also changed stadiums since their last European appearance, moving from Stadio delle Alpi to the 25,000-seat Stadio Olimpico.

Del Piero will start after missing most of a 1-0 win over Udinese on Sunday. He will partner Trezeguet -- who hasn't played much lately due to his aching knees -- relegating new Brazilian-born signing Amauri, who scored the winner at the weekend, and Vincenzo Iaquinta to the bench.

Ranieri said that he wanted to reward through his lineup those players who remained loyal to the club despite the scandal.

"They suffered a lot and deserve to be repaid," the coach said.

Zenit is led by Andrei Arshavin, Russia's star midfielder at the European Championship who was reportedly courted by Chelsea, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich this summer before deciding to stay in St. Petersburg.

Zenit also signed Danny for a Russian record $42 million from Dinamo Moscow, and the Portugal forward scored the second goal in the 2-1 win over Manchester United in the Super Cup.

Zenit and Juventus are joined by nine-time champion Real Madrid in Group H, considered the toughest of the knockout stage. BATE of Belarus is the fourth club in the group.

This season's final will be played in Rome. Juventus won the last time the Italian capital hosted the game, beating Ajax on penalties in 1996.

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