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UEFA Champions League: Matchday Three (A look ahead)

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As we move into the third Matchday of the UEFA Champions League group stage, teams are starting to feel the pressure to procure points and jockey for the top two spots in their groups.

One of those teams is Liverpool, which suffered a 2-0 defeat to Fiorentina on Matchday Two and now meets Lyon knowing a loss to the French club could drop them three points behind Fiorentina for second place in Group E.

Then you have Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar, which has yet to post a win and must defeat Arsenal to revive its hopes of surviving Group H.

Here is a closer look at Tuesday's half of Matchday Three, along with a rundown of the TV schedule:

UEFA Champions League on TV

2:45pm- FSE- Barcelona vs. Rubin Kazan

2:45pm- FSC- Inter Milan vs. Dynamo Kiev

2:45pm- FSN- Liverpool vs. Lyon

5pm- FSC/FSE-AZ Alkmaar vs. Arsenal (Delayed)

(Reminder-If you have DirecTV and the Sports Package, you can see all the day's matches.)

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Here is a closer look at Tuesday's match-ups:

Liverpool vs. Lyon. Talk about falling on hard times. Liverpool needs a win vs. Lyon but must win without start striker Fernando Torres. Having Steven Gerrard should help, but Lyon won't likely overlook this one after being upset by Sochaux in league play last weekend.

Barcelona vs. FC Rubin Kazan. After falling to Dynamo Kiev in its group opener, Rubin Kazan rebounded with a well-earned draw vs. Inter. Can the Russian champions pull off another shock result against a Barcelona team that dropped its first points of the season in a scoreless draw vs. Valencia?

Inter Milan vs. Dynamo Kiev. Inter come in off an impressive thrashing of Genoa in league play, but will likely find the goals tougher to come by against a rugged Dynamo Kiev defense. Andriy Shevchenko goes up against a familiar foe. 

AZ Alkmaar vs. Arsenal. This was supposed to be the marquee match-up in Group H when the group was drawn, but Alkmaar is winless and in desperation mode while Arsenal is rolling in the EPL and Champions League. Former Ajax defender Thomas Vermaelen knows Alkmaar, and striker Moussa Dembele, all too well. 

Olympiakos vs. Standard Liege. Olympiakos can put a hammer-lock on second place in Group H with a win against the Belgian champions, which may wind up having to settle for third place and a UEFA Cup place if it can't score a win on Greece.

VfB Stuttgart vs. Sevilla. Sevilla knocked off Real Madrid before the international break, but fell back to earth last weekend with a 1-0 loss to Deportivo La Coruna. That won't stop the Spaniards from being favored against struggling Stuttgart, which limps into this match with a 2-5-2 domestic mark.

Debrecen vs. Fiorentina. There are few teams playing better than Fiorentina these days and Alberto Gilardino's boys will be favored against a Debrecen side that was torn to shreds by Lyon in its last group match.

Rangers vs. Unirea Urziceni. Rangers are still winless in group play, but they have a good chance of moving into second place with a win against the Romanian champions in what is the first of two straight meetings.

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What do you think of Tuesday's Champions League match-ups? Think Lyon will keep Liverpool's slide going? Expect Barcelona's attack to get back to its goal-scoring ways? Which match-up are you most looking forward to?

Share your thoughts below.

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