Family honour at stake for Lucescus

Family honour will be at stake when Rapid Bucharest coach Razvan Lucescu opposes his father Mircea Lucescu, coach of Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk in today's UEFA Cup group stage tie. A home win will guarantee Shakhtar, who have maximum points in Group G, qualification to the knockout stage.

"I'll beat Razvan because he must learn to lose if he wants to be a good coach," Mircea Lucescu, 61, told Reuters by telephone from Ukraine.

Lucescu, former coach of the Romania national side, said the game had caused an unhappy division in his family.

"It's a disaster for my whole family that this match must be played," he said. "My position is not comfortable at all. If I lose this match or it ends with a draw, I'll be accused of favouring my son."

Razvan Lucescu, 36, who made 230 appearances as a goalkeeper for a number of Romanian clubs, was in more relaxed mood.

"I have nothing to lose from this match because I am not a big name in international soccer yet," he said.

"My father, not me, is under pressure. If he loses, his prestige might be affected."

Holders CSKA Moscow need a victory at home to Levski Sofia to get their defence back on track after taking just one point from two games in Group F.

The Russian side's preparations have been disrupted by the off-the-field troubles of Daniel Carvalho. The Brazilian playmaker has denied media reports that he is being investigated by Russian police after being accused of sexual assault by two teenage girls.

"I must say that I'm totally innocent," Carvalho told a news conference following CSKA's 4-3 win over relegated Alania Vladikavkaz in the Russian season's finale on Saturday.

"I respect this country and its people very much to do such a thing and I will take all the legal steps to prove this."

CSKA coach Valery Gazzayev rested several key players, including Carvalho, against Alania after clinching their second Russian title in three years two weeks ago.

Marseille, who produced a fine 2-1 win away at CSKA in their opening game, entertain Dutch side Heerenveen looking for another classy show from in-form Franck Ribery.

The midfielder's performances this season since a June move from Galatasaray have put him on the fringes of the France squad and have led to calls for national coach Raymond Domenech to test him before the World Cup finals next year.

Bundesliga high-flyers Hamburg could seal their passage from Group A if they draw away at Monaco although a victory would guarantee Thomas Doll's side qualification.

Benjamin Lauth finally broke his scoring duck for the season in Sunday's 2-0 win over MSV Duisburg and that should be enough to keep the 24-year-old former Germany international in the forward line alongside Sergej Barbarez.

"It will give him a boost in self-confidence," said Hamburg's sporting director Dietmar Beiersdorfer. "We've seen his form coming back slowly. He just now needs some consistency."

Middlesbrough are also poised to reach the knockout stage and could welcome back Australians Mark Schwarzer and Mark Viduka to face Alkmaar in Group D. The pair picked up knocks during Australia's World Cup play-off win over Uruguay last week.

Today's fixtures
Group A

Playing Today
Monaco vs Hamburg
Viking Stavanger vs Slavia Prague

Group B

Playing Today
Espanyol vs Palermo
L. Moscow vs Brondby (yesterday) 4-2

Group C

Playing Today
Halmstad vs Sampdoria
Hertha Berlin vs Racing Lens

Group D

Playing Today
AZ Alkmaar vs Middlesbrough
Dnipro vs Litex Lovech

Group E

Playing Today
Roma vs Racing Strasbourg
Tromso vs Red Star Belgrade

Group F

Playing Today
CSKA Moscow vs Levski Sofia
Marseille vs Heerenveen

Group G

Playing Today
PAOK Salonika vs Stuttgart
S. Donetsk vs Rapid Bucharest

Group H

Playing Today
Vitoria Guimaraes vs Bolton
Zenit St Petersburg vs Sevilla