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UEFA Champions League: A Look Ahead

BayernCelebrateUEFASuperCup1 (Getty)

By DAN KARELL

Defending champions Bayern Munich start their 2013/2014 UEFA Champions League campaign on a busy Tuesday with high-profile matches across Europe.

Bayern host famed Russian club CSKA Moscow at the Allianz Arena in the first Champions League match under manager Pep Guardiola, who guided Barcelona to UCL titles on two separate occasions. The German club continued their unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season last Saturday with a dominant 2-0 victory, and Guardiola is hopeful that midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger will be available after missing the last few weeks with an ankle injury.

Guardiola isn’t the only manager at a new club in the Champions League. Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, a former UCL winner as well, makes his bow for the Spanish club knowing that he has the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale to help bring home the club’s 10th title, or ‘La Decima.’ Real Madrid visit Galatasaray, who have two of the top strikers in Europe, Burak Yilmaz (eight goals in last year’s UCL) and Didier Drogba.

On the English isle, David Moyes makes his Champions League debut with Manchester United when they host Bayer Leverkusen in a must-see match. Moyes has played down the fact that it’s his first game managing in the UCL, saying that he’s been at plenty of UCL games and is ready for the challenge. Wayne Rooney scored a fantastic free kick and will be feeling much more confident, and Marouane Fellaini could make his first Man United start after making his debut off the bench last Saturday.

Sacha Kljestan is the lone American in action today as Anderlecht visit Benfica. The U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder could go up against Benfica’s star midfielder, Nemanja Matic, who loves to get forward despite his holding midfield role, and it will be a big challenge for Anderlecht and Kljestan to win at the Estadio da Luz.

Here is a rundown of today’s UEFA Champions League schedule and TV info:

2:45pm – Manchester United vs. Bayer Leverkusen – Fox Sports 1

2:45pm – Bayern Munich vs. CSKA Moscow – Fox Sports Net/MSG Plus

2:45pm – Viktoria Plzen vs. Manchester City – Fox Soccer Plus

2:45pm – Galatasaray vs. Real Madrid – Fox Deportes

2:45pm – Real Sociedad vs. Shakhtar Donetsk – Fox Soccer 2Go

2:45pm – Benfica vs. Anderlecht – Fox Soccer 2Go

2:45pm – FC Copenhagen vs. Juventus – Fox Soccer 2Go

2:45pm – Olympiakos vs. PSG – Fox Soccer 2Go

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What do you think of today’s UCL action? Which game(s) are you interested in watching? Which team could pull off an upset on Tuesday?

Share your thoughts below.

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