Winning at home is generally key to progressing out of the Champions League group stage but having failed to bag three points from their opening games, Milan and holders Chelsea hit the road this time needing a kickstart.
Both Chelsea and Milan have patchy records on their travels with the Rossoneri, seven times winners of the European Cup, facing Zenit St Petersburg tomorrow evening having won just one of their last 11 Champions League away games.
The seven-times winners have made an inauspicious start to the season, both domestically and in Europe, with coach Massimiliano Allegri under intense pressure.
A 0-0 draw at home to Anderlecht to open Group C proceedings hardly increased his popularity among the San Siro faithful.
Returning from Russia with points in the bag also represents a stern challenge for Milan.
Zenit are on a 16-match un-beaten home run in European competition, and have won 10 of 11 home European fixtures under Italian coach Luciano Spalletti.
Despite their formidable home record, Allegri will hope to exploit recent turmoil at Zenit.
Crushed 3-0 in Spain by newcomers Malaga in their first game, Zenit have since demoted captain Igor Denisov to the reserve team after he issued a contract ultimatum, while leading striker Alexander Kerzhakov has just been recalled after he was also dropped for “improper behaviour”.
Holders Chelsea went on to win the trophy last season despite not winning away in the group stage – drawing at Valencia and Genk and losing at Bayer Leverkusen.
Roberto Di Matteo’s side, held to a 2-2 draw by Juventus at Stamford Bridge in their Group E opener, will be expected to return home with three points from Denmark after facing debutants Nordsjaelland tonight.
The Danish champions from the small town of Farum with a population of just over 18,000 are staging their home games at the Parken stadium in the capital, a venue where Chelsea won two years ago against FC Copenhagen.
Nordsjaelland began their campaign with a 2-0 loss at Shakhtar Donetsk but Di Matteo said the Danes “had a lot of possession” and “created chances”.
“We will be a scalp for the teams now. The motivation of the other teams will be stronger because we are the holders,” the Italian said.
Di Matteo’s fellow countryman and fellow Premier League coach Roberto Mancini is under pressure to deliver a home victory for English champions Manchester City against Borussia Dortmund in Group D.
After playing their part in a pulsating opening match at Real Madrid in which they conceded two late goals to lose 3-2, City will fancy their chances of getting up and running on the back of a 17-match unbeaten home run in Europe.
German champions Dortmund lost all three away games in last year’s group stage.
Two grand old names of Europe come face to face again tomorrow in Amsterdam, with Ajax hoping for a change in fortunes against Real.
The teams have met at the group stage in the last two seasons with Real winning all four, scoring 12 and conceding none.
The last meeting at the Amsterdam ArenA last December was particularly painful for Ajax.
The Dutch side needed a draw from their last game to advance but Real Madrid’s 3-0 win, coupled with Olympique Lyon’s astonishing 7-1 drubbing of Dinamo Zagreb, dropped them down to third.
Familiarity will also be the order of the day at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow when Arsenal host Olympiakos in Group B.
The two sides are meeting in the group stage for the third time in four seasons.
Nordsjaelland vs Chelsea...
• Nordsjaelland, seeking their first CL point in their debut season, have not won any of their last seven European games, losing six of them.
• Chelsea have never lost to a Danish team and have won on all three visits made to Denmark, the last a 2-0 win over FC Copenhagen in the CL two years ago.
• Nordsjaelland are genuine novices in the competition. None of the 14 players who appeared in their opening game against Shakhtar Donetsk had ever played in the CL before.
• Chelsea are unbeaten in their last seven CL matches but they have won only one of their last seven away games in the competition.
Group E
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| S. Donetsk | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Chelsea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Juventus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Nordsjaelland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
S. Donetsk vs Nordsjaelland - 2-0
Chelsea vs Juventus - 2-2
Juventus vs S. Donetsk - today
Nordsjaelland vs Chelsea - today
23/10/12: Nordsjaelland vs Juve
23/10/12: S. Donetsk vs Chelsea
07/11/12: Juve vs Nordsjaelland
07/11/12: Chelsea vs S. Donetsk
20/11/12: Nordsjaelland vs S. Donetsk
20/11/12: Juventus vs Chelsea
05/12/12: S. Donetsk vs Juventus
05/12/12: Chelsea vs Nordsjaelland
Group F
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| B. Borisov | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| B. Munich | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Valencia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Lille | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
Lille vs Bate Borisov - 1-3
B. Munich vs Valencia - 2-1
Valencia vs Lille - today
Bate Borisov vs B. Munich - today
23/10/12: Bate Borisov vs Valencia
23/10/12: Lille vs B. Munich
07/11/12: Valencia vs Bate Borisov
07/11/12: B. Munich vs Lille
20/11/12: Bate Borisov vs Lille
20/11/12: Valencia vs B. Munich
05/12/12: Lille vs Valencia
05/12/12: B. Munich vs Bate Borisov
Group G
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Barcelona | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Celtic | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Benfica | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Moscow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
Barcelona vs S. Moscow - 3-2
Celtic vs Benfica - 0-0
Benfica vs Barcelona - today
S. Moscow vs Celtic - 18.00, today
23/10/12: S. Moscow vs Benfica
23/10/12: Barcelona vs Celtic
07/11/12: Benfica vs S. Moscow
07/11/12: Celtic vs Barcelona
20/11/12: S. Moscow vs Barcelona
20/11/12: Benfica vs Celtic
05/12/12: Barcelona vs Benfica
05/12/12: Celtic vs S. Moscow
Group H
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| CFR Cluj | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Man. United | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Galatasaray | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Braga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Man. United vs Galatasaray - 1-0
Braga vs CFR Cluj - 0-2
CFR Cluj vs Man. United - today
Galatasaray vs Braga - today
23/10/12: Galatasaray vs CFR Cluj
23/10/12: Man. United vs Braga
07/11/12: CFR Cluj vs Galatasaray
07/11/12: Braga vs Man. United
20/11/12: Galatasaray vs Man. United
20/11/12: CFR Cluj vs Braga
05/12/12: Man. United vs CFR Cluj
05/12/12: Braga vs Galatasaray
Playing tomorrow
Group A
Dynamo Kiev - Dinamo Zagreb
Porto - Paris SG
Standings: Paris SG, Porto 3; Dinamo Zagreb, Dynamo Kiev 0.
Group B
Arsenal - Olympiakos
Schalke - Montpellier
Standings: Arsenal, Schalke 3; Montpellier, Olympiakos 0.
Group C
Zenit SP - Milan - 18.00
Anderlecht - Malaga
Standings: Malaga 3; Anderlecht, Milan 1; Zenit SP 0.
Group D
Ajax - Real Madrid
Man. City - B. Dortmund
Standings: R. Madrid, B. Dortmund 3; Manchester City, Ajax 0.