Mercury dips as the competition hots up

Manager Alex Ferguson is already without suspended centre back Rio Ferdinand, while Wes Brown is not yet back to his best following a long injury absence.

Captain Roy Keane is set to start in the centre of defence alongside John O’Shea. In attack striker Louis Saha is expected to recover from a calf injury to make his Champions League debut.

VfB Stuttgart have no major injury worries but cannot field new Swiss signings Hakan Yakin and Marco Streller who are ineligible.

They warmed up in poor fashion with a 1-0 Bundesliga defeat at lowly Kaiserslautern on Saturday that left them 10 points behind leaders Werder Bremen.

Stuttgart won their three home games in the opening phase of the Champions League, including a 2-1 victory over Manchester United.

Under pressure Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri may recall Ireland winger Damien Duff following his dislocated shoulder and Achilles problem.

Midfielders Juan Sebastian Veron (back) and Emmanuel Petit (knee) are still out but Argentina striker Hernan Crespo, who missed Chelsea’s league defeat by Arsenal on Saturday with a high temperature, should be fit.

Goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini (groin) is struggling to be ready for a match which is a repeat of the 1998 European Cup Winners’ Cup final in Stockholm won 1-0 by Chelsea.

A tight match looks in store when Deportivo de La Coruna meets Juventus.

The teams have drawn four of their six meetings in Europe’s top club competition over the last three seasons. And it wasn’t until last March that Juventus recorded its first win over the Spanish team, a 3-2 victory courtesy of an injury-time goal by Croatian international Igor Tudor.

“For us, going to La Coruna is not new, we know the team well, it’s a good squad and it will be a tough match,” Juventus coach Marcelo Lippi said.

Deportivo, which has been a Champions League perennial over recent years, will be bidding to reach the quarterfinals for the third time in four seasons.

The team’s recent League form gives it cause for encouragement, having gained 10 of its last 12 points in the Spanish League and still harboring an outside chance of lifting the title for the second time in its history.

Proof of how seriously Deportivo was taking tomorrow’s game was evident yesterday when Spanish international forward Albert Luque stormed off the training field after an argument with coach Javier Irureta. “It’s a sensitive time of the season, with heavy pressure because of what’s at stake against Juventus tomorrow. You can see it in training,” Luque said.

Despite his fit of pique, Luque is expected to partner Diego Tristan in attack as Deportivo’s aims to take advantage of Juventus’ a typical defensive difficulties this season. While Lippi’s team has scored more goals (44) in the Italian League than any other club, it has also conceded far more (25) than its title rivals AC Milan (13) and AS Roma (9).