Arsenal, United and Rangers bid to extend perfect start

Half of the six British representatives, Arsenal, Manchester United and Rangers, will go into the Champions League group phase's third games looking to extend their perfect start after collecting six points from their first two matches.

Day Three will be played next week, with matches scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

The situation of the six British contenders read:

Group A - Liverpool: P 2, W 0, D 1, L 1, Gls 1-2, Pts 1.

Away vs FC Porto 1-1 (Kuyt).

Home vs Marseille 0-1.

Liverpool return to Istanbul, where they lifted their fifth European Cup in 2005, to tackle Besiktas.

The Reds lacked cohesion in the first two outings and must roll up their sleeves if they are to progress.

The 2006-07 finalists were not expected to be in this dire position so early in the campaign.

Their opponents, Besiktas, are still without a point and Liverpool must claim maximum spoils in both away and home ties to remain in contention. This will be the first meeting between the two sides in Europe.

Group B - Chelsea: P 2, W 1, D 1, L 0, Gls 3-2, Pts 4.

Home vs Rosenborg 1-1 (Shev-chenko).

Away vs Valencia 2-1 (J. Cole, Drogba).

Chelsea have put aside their domestic troubles by beating Valencia 2-1 at the Mestalla.

Thanks to this three-pointer, the Londoners have gone top of their group. The Blues' win at Valencia brought their total of victories on the continent to 70:

European Cup - 33

Cup Winners' Cup - 23

UEFA Cup - 4

Fairs Cup - 10

Chelsea will square up to German side Schalke at Stamford Bridge.

Group D - Celtic: P 2, W 1, D 0, L 1, Gls 2-3, Pts 3.

Away vs Shakhtar Donetsk 0-2.

Home vs Milan 2-1 (McManus, McDonald).

Celtic suffered a scare when one of their fans invaded the pitch and gave Dida a small slap on the face towards the end of the 2-1 home win over Milan. UEFA punished the Scottish champions with a fine.

UEFA were also correct in their decision to ban Dida for two matches for his unsporting conduct in simulating injury at Celtic Park.

One must also congratulate Champions League holders Milan for not protesting against the result of the match.

In their third appearance the Glasgow giants visit Benfica in Lisbon, the scene where Celtic won the European Cup against Inter way back in 1967.

Last season, the two sides met in the group phase and shared the points after Celtic won 3-0 at home and Benfica prevailed in Lisbon.

Group E - Rangers: P 2, W 2, D 0, L 0, Gls 5-1, Pts 6.

Home vs Stuttgart 2-1 (Adams, Darcheville pen.).

Away vs Lyon 3-0 (McCulloch, Cousin, Beasley).

Rangers have surprised over their own fans with their back-to-back wins in the Champions League as well as for thumping Lyon in France.

The resounding 3-0 away win has been achieved or bettered by Rangers on 10 other occasions in Europe as the following data shows:

2004-05 (UEFA Cup second round): Amica Wronki (Poland) 5-0.

2001-02 (UEFA Cup second round): Din. Moscow (Russia) 3-0.

2000-01 (UEFA Cup qualifying third): Herfolge BK (Denmark) 3-0.

1999-00 (UEFA Cup qualifying two): H. Valkeakoski (Finland) 4-1.

1997-98 (UEFA Cup qualifying first): GI Gotu (Faroe Islands) 5-0.

1996-97 (UEFA Cup qualifying first): A. Vladikavkaz (Russia) 7-2.

1990-91 (UEFA Cup preliminary first): Valletta (Malta) 4-0.

1983-84 (Cup Winners' Cup first round): Valletta (Malta) 8-0.

1968-69 (Fairs Cup second round): Dundalk (Ireland) 3-0.

1960-61 (Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final): Borussia Moenchengladbach (Germany) 3-0.

In midweek, Rangers face mighty Barcelona, who are on six points as well, at Ibrox. This will be the first meeting between the two clubs but Barca have played six times against Scottish sides, losing on two legs to Hibernian (1960-61 Fairs Cup) Dundee United twice (1966-67 Fairs Cup, 1986-86 UEFA Cup) and to Celtic (2003-04 UEFA Cup).

Group F - Manchester United: P 2, W 2, D 0, L 0, Gls 2-0, Pts 6.

Away vs S. Lisbon 1-0 (Ronaldo).

Home vs Roma 1-0 (Rooney).

Wayne Rooney has admitted that winning the Champions League is his biggest ambition.

United's two clean sheets in their opening two outings augur well for their forthcoming ties.

Alex Ferguson's side will be on the road next week when they travel to Ukraine to play Dynamo Kiev.

Gary Neville (98), Ryan Giggs (97) and Paul Scholes (97) are three Manchester United players who are ranked among the top 10 for most Champions League appearances.

In 2000-01, the two sides met in the first group matches of the competition and United held the upper hand by chalking up four points - 0-0 away and 1-0 at home.

Group G - Arsenal: P 2, W 2, D 0, L 0, Gls 4-0, Pts 6.

Home vs Sevilla 3-0 (Fabregas, Van Persie, Da Silva).

Away vs Steaua Bucharest 1-0 (Van Persie).

Arsenal are in their 23rd season in Europe and tenth in the Champions League. The 'Go-Go Gunners' are firing on all cylinders both at home and on the continent.

In the Champions League (including the qualifying round), Arsenal have won all four matches, scoring nine goals and conceding none.

Arsenal will be up against Czech team Slavia Prague, the nemesis of Sparta whom they met in the third qualifying round. This will be the first clash between the two sides.