Wounded Atletico and Juve seek European solace

Given that European competition can at times be a haven from domestic woes then Atletico Madrid and Juventus will relish their Champions League ties this week.

Rocked by a dramatic 2-1 loss to bitter city foes Real Madrid on Saturday, which came on the back of a 6-1 demolition by Barcelona, Atletico hope to extend a perfect start in Group D against five times champions Liverpool on Wednesday.

Atletico will be boosted by UEFA's decision to put on hold a two-match ban on their Vicente Calderon stadium following crowd trouble during a 2-1 win over Olympique Marseille and by the likely absence of their former player Fernando Torres.

The in-form Liverpool striker picked up a thigh injury playing for Spain last week and will almost certainly miss what would have been an emotional return to the Calderon.

Real travel to Turin to face Juventus on Tuesday buoyed by the last-gasp win in the Madrid derby while the Italian giants are reeling after two successive Serie A defeats and a 2-2 draw away to Belarus newcomers BATE Borisov.

Saturday's 2-1 setback at Napoli left Juventus in the bottom half of the Serie A table and although coach Claudio Ranieri admitted they were going through a rough patch, he dispelled suggestions of a crisis.

"We made some silly mistakes but also had some good moves," Ranieri told Sky television after seeing his side throw away a 1-0 lead at Napoli in the last 30 minutes.

"We are going through a tough spell but it's not a crisis."

Chelsea will fancy their chances against AS Roma in an eagerly awaited Group A clash at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday after demonstrating the full depth of their squad in Saturday's 5-0 Premier League rout of Middlesbrough.


IMPECCABLE PERFORMANCE

Despite missing most of their regular starters through injury, Chelsea produced an impeccable performance at the Riverside stadium to stay top of the standings ahead of Liverpool on goal difference.

Holders Manchester United are at home to familiar rivals Celtic in Group E on Tuesday with manager Alex Ferguson facing a dilemma over whether to rotate his strikers after a 4-0 league win against West Bromwich Albion.

Wayne Rooney continued a fine run of form with his fourth goal in as many games for United while Dimitar Berbatov netted his first Premier League goal for the club with Carlos Tevez spending the full 90 minutes on the bench.

"I am really enjoying my football at the moment and the team are helping me in everything I do," Rooney told United's website (www.manunited.com) after he also scored five goals in his last three games for England.

Argentine Tevez and Brazil midfielder Anderson, also rested against West Bromwich after last week's World Cup duty, will be hungry for a start but left back Patrice Evra is doubtful after limping off with an injury midway through the first half.

Barcelona will be favourites on their visit to Swiss rivals Basel on Wednesday while on Tuesday Arsenal face a tricky trip to Turkey to play Fenerbahce and Bayern Munich are also looking at a potential banana skin at home to Fiorentina.

CFR Cluj have a fair chance of continuing their impressive debut when they visit Girondins Bordeaux on Wednesday when fellow newcomers Anorthosis, the other surprise package, face a far tougher challenge at Inter Milan.