PREVIEW: Champions League Week 1 (18 September)

FOOTBALL - The following are key facts about the UEFA Champions League matches that will take place on Tuesday 18 September 2012: Dinamo Zagreb - FC Porto, Paris Saint-Germain - Dynamo Kyiv, Montpellier HSC - Arsenal, Olympiacos - Schalke 04, Málaga CF - Zenit St. Petersburg, AC Milan - Anderlecht, Borussia Dortmund - Ajax and  Real Madrid - Manchester City.

Group A: Dinamo Zagreb - FC Porto (18 September, 20:45 CET)

> Porto will be competing in the Champions League for the 17th time, which puts them on a par with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Only Manchester United have more appearances in the Champions League: 18.

> FC Porto have not drawn any of their last 16 away matches in European Cups. Porto’s club record stands at 18 away matches without a draw and was set between 1996 and 2000.

>  Zagreb have lost their last four home matches in the Champions League, a club record. The last time Zagreb avoided defeat at home in the CL was on 15 December 2010 against Club Brugge (0-0).

Group A: Paris Saint-Germain - Dynamo Kyiv (18 September, 20:45 CET)

> It is the first time since the 2004/2005 season PSG are playing in the Champions League main tournament. That season, the French side finished last in the group with five points behind Chelsea, FC Porto and CSKA Moskva.

> Zlatan Ibrahimovic can score for a record six different clubs in the CL now that he is playing for Paris Saint-Germain. He has already scored for Ajax, Juventus, Internazionale, FC Barcelona and AC Milan. He would surpass Hernán Crespo, who also scored for five clubs as well in his career (Parma, Lazio, Internazionale, Chelsea and AC Milan).

> Playing for his sixth different club in the CL main tournament will also break the record of playing for most different clubs. Ibrahimovic is currently tied with Fernando Morientes, Nicolas Anelka, Hernán Crespo, Émerson and Stéphane Dalmat. Javier Saviola can join this group when he plays for Málaga, his fifth club in the Champions League.

Group B: Montpellier HSC - Arsenal (18 September, 20:45 CET)

> Arsenal have never lost a European away match in France, unbeaten in all nine (5 wins, 4 draws). However, they have lost two European finals in the country – the 2006 Champions League final (2-1 to Barcelona in Paris) and the 1995 Cup Winners’ Cup final (2-1 to Real Zaragoza, also in Paris).

> In total, Arsenal have played French clubs in 18 matches in European competitions, and have lost twice, both in the Champions League and at home – 2-1 against Auxerre in the group stage at Highbury in October 2002, and 1-0 to Lens in the group stage at Wembley in November 1998.

> Arsenal will be playing in the Champions League for the 15th consecutive season, only Real Madrid (16), and Manchester United (17) have qualified for the tournament in more successive seasons.

Group B: Olympiacos - Schalke 04 (18 September, 20:45 CET)

> Olympiacos have won their last two CL matches and they can win three in a row for the first time in their club history. Their last defeat came against a German outfit - Borussia Dortmund 1-0 in Nov 2011.

> Schalke’s first goal will be their 50th in the Champions League. Schalke’s second conceded goal would be the 150th against them in all European club competitions.

> Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has scored seven goals in Schalke’s last five Bundesliga matches, and eight goals in Schalke’s last six European matches.

Group C: AC Milan - Anderlecht (18 September, 20:45 CET)

> The match against Anderlecht will be Milan’s 150th match in the Champions League (W69-D44–L36) in 16 CL appearances.

> Milan have not won any of their last three CL matches. Their last victory dates back to 15 Feb 2012 when they beat Arsenal at home (4-0). The last time Milan did not win four consecutive CL matches was between from Dec 2010 to Sep 2011.

> Anderlecht will be competing in the CL for the first time since the 2006/2007 season. It is their ninth appearance in the Champions League overall, most of all Belgian clubs.

Group C: Málaga CF - Zenit St. Petersburg (18 September, 20:45 CET)

>Málaga CF have played in Europe once before, in the 2002/2003 UEFA Cup season. They reached the quarterfinals in which they were eliminated by Boavista FC after penalties (1-0, 0-1, 4-1p).

> Málaga are the first Spanish debutants in the Champions League since Sevilla FC in the 2007/2008 season. Only three Spanish debutants failed to survive the first group stage (Athletic Bilbao, RCD Mallorca and Real Betis).

> Russian clubs have competed in the CL 23 times since the beginning of the Champions League. Only seven times their teams survived the first group stage.

Group D: Real Madrid - Manchester City (18 September, 20:45 CET)

>Real have always survived the group stage. Of clubs which have always survived the group stage, Real has achieved this most often (16 times), followed by Chelsea (10 times).

> Ronaldo scored three goals in his last five PL matches against Manchester City when he played in England. He also received four PL red cards during his time at Manchester United – two of which came in Manchester derby matches.

> Sergio Agüero played in 10 Madrid La Liga derby matches when he played for Atlético Madrid. He was never on the winning side (0-3-7), but netted three goals against Real.

Group D: Borussia Dortmund - Ajax (18 September, 20:45 CET)

>These teams met each other in one head-to-head in the Champions League, with Ajax winning both matches - 0-2 at Dortmund, 1-0 at home in the 1995/1996 Champions League quarterfinals. Ajax went on losing the final after penalties to Juventus that year.

> Current Ajax manager Frank de Boer was part of the team that beat Dortmund 1-0 at home in 1995/1996.

> Ajax kept four clean sheets in six Champions League matches last season (only Real Madrid managed to score against them). However, they scored only six goals themselves (all against Dinamo Zagreb). Eventually Ajax crashed out because Olympique Lyon managed to win 1-7 at Dinamo Zagreb.