The second round of Champions League matches begin on Tuesday with both Manchester clubs in action. The duo are sweeping all before them in the Premier League so can they both do the business in Europe this week? (United 13/2, City 10/1 Champs League Outright)

If you are looking for two genuine Champions League contenders aside from Barcelona or Real Madrid then you don’t have to look much further than the city of Manchester this year. Both City and United have flown out of the traps in the Premier League and now they are about to show the rest of Europe what they are capable of.

That time of the year has come again when football fans up and down the country will gather in front of the television to see whether their teams can pull off a last-minute transfer coup.

They say it never rains but pours and for Arsene Wenger a deluge of questions await should a worrying start to the new season be compounded by an early exit from the Champions League on Wednesday.

There are five 1st-leg Champions League qualifiers taking place on Wednesday night with four-time European Cup winners Bayern Munich in action looking to qualify for the group stage of the competition (totesport – Champions League).

Arsenal should have the edge when they host Udinese in the first game of a two-legged Champions League qualifier on Tuesday but at a match price of 1/2 it is advised to keep your powder dry.

After a superb opening to the Champions League qualifying round last week, the competition carries on this week with four matches on Tuesday, as club’s look to take their final chance to seal a place in Europe’s most lucrative club competition.

Manchester United supporters are likely to take a dim view of Sir Alex Ferguson’s admission that the “type” of world-class midfielder needed to fill the void created by Paul Scholes is “not available” (Man United 7/4 – Premier League 2011/12 Outright).

Newly-appointed Rangers boss Ally McCoist is preparing for his first European night in charge of the Old Firm giants as the club host Malmo in their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday (Rangers 4/9, draw 11/4, Malmo 11/2).

The worst-kept secret in football could unravel in the coming weeks if, as expected, Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas completes his move back to Barcelona.