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Clubs can clinch Liverpool plays for ill manager in Champions League
LONDON (AP) -- With manager Gerard Houllier in hospital recovering from heart surgery, Liverpool has even more incentive than usual in its Champions League game against Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday. The Reds travel to Ukraine with assistant manager Phil Thompson in charge. Houllier had emergency surgery after suffering chest pains just after halftime in Saturday's 1-1 tie with Leeds. "We must do all the right things, the things he has been striving for since he has been at Liverpool -- and we don't want any slip-ups," Thompson said. "This game is absolutely vital and everything else will follow on from there. It's a big game and we are all looking forward to it. " Liverpool, which beat Dynamo 1-0 at Anfield on Sept. 26, will have a tougher time in Kiev, missing star striker Michael Owen, defender Dieter Hamann, Markus Babbel and Gregory Vignal. The Reds are second in Group B, two points behind Boavista, which plays Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. In other games Tuesday, unbeaten clubs Real Madrid and Panathinaikos have a good chance to clinch their places in the next stage of the Champions League. Madrid travels to Anderlecht in its Group A game, hoping its dismal away form does not extend to the Champions League. The Spanish club slipped to 16th in the Primera Liga on the weekend with a 0-0 draw against Alaves. Winless Lokomotiv Moscow hosts Roma in the other Group A match. Panathinaikos travels to London to play third placed Arsenal (3 points) off the back of a goalless draw with Akratitos on Saturday. In the other Group C game, Real Mallorca (6 points) plays Schalke, which is facing elimination with no points. Group D leader Nantes goes to Galatasaray after another disastrous weekend in the French league. The defending champion slumped to a 1-0 loss, and remains at the bottom of the table with just three points from a possible 30. Italian runner-up Lazio, also yet to win a point in the Champions League, hosts PSV Eindhoven. Eight more Champions League games are scheduled Wednesday. In Group E, it's Porto vs. Celtic and Juventus vs. Rosenborg; in Group F: Lyon vs. Fenerbahce, Barcelona vs. Bayer Leverkusen; in group G: Manchester United vs. Deportivo la Coruna; Olympiakos vs. Lille; in group H: Bayern Munich vs. Spartak Moscow, Feyenoord vs. Sparta Prague. In the UEFA Cup second round, first leg, two matches are played Tuesday and 22 Thursday. Clubs such as AC Milan, Celta Vigo, Fiorentina, Leeds, Rangers and Ajax are taking part. Liverpool had a 1-1 draw against Boavista and a 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund, before recording its first Champions League win over Kiev, which has yet to win a game. "We are expecting a difficult game, certainly more difficult than it was at Anfield," Thompson said. "They will fancy their chances, but from the way the lads are reacting, so will we." Real Madrid midfielder Steve McManaman blames World Cup commitments for the club's recent poor form. The point from Saturday's match was the first from four matches on the road. "Our poor away form is due to us being badly hit by injuries and the loss of players on international duty," McManaman said. Madrid will be missing center-back Aitor Karanka, defenders Geremi Njitap and Ivan Campo and midfielders Flavio Conceicao and Ivan Helguera. Zinedine Zidane will sit out the final game of his five-match suspension. Fellow Spanish club Mallorca is also suffering in the Spanish League. It scored only its second and third league goals in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Sevilla and languishes in 18th place. But the club will welcome back influential midfielder Ariel Ibagaza, whose month long injury absence coincided with Mallorca's league slump. Italian champion Roma flew to Moscow without striker Vincenzo Montella and defender Vincent Candela, who suffered light injuries in Saturday's match against Perugia. Montella is replaced by veteran Argentine Gabriel Batistuta. Roma striker Francesco Totti said getting at least a draw in Moscow would be key to holding down second place in the group. "We need at least a point, hopefully even a win, which would allow us to go to Madrid (on Oct. 24) with more tranquility," Totti said. Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira hopes the excessive diving that marked the club's last encounter with Panathinaikos will be absent. "We will need a cool head and we will need to keep our calm tomorrow night," said Vieira, who is stand-in captain while Tony Adams is injured. "What is important is to win the game, no matter how we play. We have to win. That is very important for us."
Rosenborg nears dubious recordLONDON -- Rosenborg could create a new Champions League record on Wednesday -- the most number of consecutive away defeats. The Norwegian champion lost its eighth match in a row with its 1-0 defeat at Glasgow Celtic last week. If Rosenborg loses against Juventus in Turin on Wednesday, it will break Galatasaray's record of eight consecutive defeats. The Turkish club has held the record for nearly four years. Also faring badly in away defeats is Dynamo Kiev, which hosts Liverpool on Tuesday. Dynamo has lost its last five Champions League road trips, somewhat surprising given the club was in the semifinals two years ago. Cole hopes for United startMANCHESTER, England -- Andy Cole hopes his weekend performance against Sunderland will help him start against Deportivo La Coruna in the Champions League on Wednesday. The England striker scored one goal and played an influential part in the 3-1 English league win. Cole started after Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson decided to rest Juan Sebastian Veron, David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy. "I'm very happy the way I have started off the season," Cole said. "It is always difficult to play one game then miss one game, but I will have to keep persevering and hopefully I will get a start in one of the European games." Cole, 30 Monday, was a substitute during England's World Cup qualifier against Greece. He also scored as a substitute in United's win over Olympiakos last week. "There is no point in me saying I have things to prove because I don't think I have," Cole said. "I am enjoying it and I think that is the most important thing. When a team plays the way we did and scores goals then I think everyone is happy." Ferguson will also monitor the fitness of defender Laurent Blanc. The French center-back injured an ankle on Saturday. Rivaldo back for BarcelonaBARCELONA, Spain -- Rivaldo will be back for Barcelona's Group F game against Bayer Leverkusen after he was suddenly withdrawn from Sunday's 2-2 draw with Valencia. The club said the Brazilian had a knee injury, but Spanish media speculated that Rivaldo may have wanted to be left out because he was irritated at being whistled at during Barcelona's 2-0 win over Lyon on Wednesday. "I asked Rivaldo how he was and he told me that his knee was bothering him," Barcelona coach Carlos Rexach said. "I'm completely sure that the whistling on Wednesday has nothing to do with it." Definitely out of the game are central defender Philippe Christanval, leftback Sergi Barjuan, winger Marc Overmars and midfielder Fabio Rochemback. Big names suffering at midpointLONDON -- At the halfway stage of the first group stage of the Champions League, some big names in European soccer don't look like making it to the next round. Schalke, Lazio and Fenerbahce have yet to register a point. Schalke, runnerup in the Bundesliga last season, has lost 2-0 to Panathinaikos, 3-2 to Arsenal and 1-0 to Mallorca in its Champions League campaign. The Germans travel to Mallorca on Tuesday. Lazio, second in the Serie A, has lost 1-0 to Galatasaray and 3-1 to Nantes. Its last loss was a 1-0 to PSV Eindhoven, which Lazio hosts on Tuesday. Turkey's Fenerbahce has lost to Barcelona, Olympique Lyonnais and Bayer Leverkusen. Other teams in danger with one point after three games are Lokomotiv Moscow, Olympiakos, Spartak Moscow, Dynamo Kiev and Rosenborg. Not faring much better are Feyenoord, Borussia Dortmund and Anderlecht, all with two points. Juve hits a lullTURIN, Italy -- After looking strong early in the season, Juventus has hit a lull -- losing two weeks ago to Roma and succumbing to a 3-3 against Torino after leading 3-0. Last week, Juventus was also listless in its Champions League match against Porto. "The most disappointing part is that this was the game that could have put us back on track," Juventus manager Marcello Lippi said. "And instead, we're here discussing the same problems." Juventus plays winless Rosenborg on Wednesday.
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