After last season’s European disappointment, United struggled through their opening group match against Galatasary and cannot afford to be complacent when they head to Romania to meet Cluj (9/2, draw 11/4, United 4/6).

Ione Andone’s men also won their first match of the tournament away at Braga and have now become regulars in Europe after making their debut in 2008.

United themselves have something to prove going into the game, having lost 3-2 at home to Tottenham on Saturday, a result that has prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to drop a number of his more established figures for the trip to Transylvania.

The exclusions could see the veteran coach experiment with some of the talented youngsters that impressed in the League Cup against Newcastle, so don’t be surprised to see a few unfamiliar names on the United teamsheet.

This has all the hallmarks of a banana skin but United should have enough experience to see them through, but they won’t have it all their own way.

In the second game which sees a British team in action, champions Chelsea travel to Denmark to face one of the unknown quantities of the tournament in FC Nordsjaelland (10/1, draw 7/2, Chelsea 4/11).

The Blues almost got off to the perfect start as they took an early lead in their first game against Juventus before being pegged back by the Italian giants as the tie finished 2-2.

This has put them under some early pressure, with Shakhtar Donetsk also in the group, but they’ll look at their trip to Scandinavia as the chance to claim an easy three points.

However, facing the champions of Europe is a massive opportunity for any side and having won their domestic league last season, Kasper Hjulmand’s men will be looking to cause what would be a massive upset.

Like the first game, things certainly won’t be easy for the Blues but their greater experience should see them though and so expect them to claim a comfortable win.

The final game involving a British team sees possibly the toughest test as Celtic travel to Russia to face Spartak Moscow (4/7, draw 3/1, Celtic 11/2).

The Bhoys made a solid start to their European campaign with a goalless draw against Benfica a fortnight ago, but a trip to Russia is always a tough test and you never quite know what threat the opposition will pose.

Neil Lennon’s men will meet a familiar face at the Luzhniki in winger Aiden McGeady, who ironically was the man who scored the winner the last time Celtic won a game in the Champions League.

After dominating Russian football during the 1990s, Spartak have had a difficult few years both on and off the field but Unai Emery’s appointment in the summer has brought freshness to the club and they could be the surprise package of this group.

This is likely to be a cagey affair but despite Celtic’s confidence in the build-up to the match Spartak’s extra class should see them to an easy win.

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Carlo Ancelotti

The Blues have been in mid-table form over the last couple of months, having only won one game in their last nine outings in the top flight.

Chelsea have been boosted by the return of Frank Lampard, who believes that the team are suffering from a lack of confidence.

This mindset will have to change very soon before Premier League frontrunners Manchester United extend their lead over the Blues even further.

Blackburn will welcome the return of their prodigal son Roque Santa Cruz, who completed a loan move from Manchester City on Friday and he will be desperate to play after becoming a professional bench warmer at Eastlands this season.

If Blackburn can keep Chelsea out for the first half hour, they could frustrate the home supporters, which would make life pretty difficult for Ancelotti and his men.

With confidence low and Rovers being difficult to beat, this one could be a draw and this would mean more dropped points for Chelsea.

Fellow title challengers Manchester City can close the gap on United at the top of the table if they beat Wolves at Eastlands on Saturday (Dzeko 3/1 to score the first goal).

City welcome their new signing Edin Dzeko, who is likely to make his debut for his new club as Mario Balotelli is sidelined with a recurrent knee injury.

The Bosnian striker could partner Carlos Tevez up front in what is likely to be a very attacking line-up against a struggling Wolves side.

Mick McCarthy’s side have lost more games this season than any other club in the league and currently sit just above the relegation zone in 17th place.

Despite Wolves having won two of their last three games with shock victories over Liverpool at Anfield and Chelsea at Molineux, a win against an attacking City side will be extremely difficult to achieve and the home side should come out on top in this one.

Arsenal have had a difficult week by their standards. After scraping a 1-1 draw against Leeds United in the FA Cup, they went down 1-0 in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final against Ipswich Town in midweek.

Although they have found playing against Championship opposition heavy-going, they should come out on top against West Ham United at Upton Park on Saturday.

The Hammers have started to get some results in the Premier League and remain the only side to have beaten Manchester United this season, albeit in the Carling Cup.

Avram Grant’s side remain rock bottom of the Premier League table though and are likely to stay there for at least another week unless they can pull off a shock victory over the Gunners (West Ham 5/1, draw 14/5, Arsenal 8/15).

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Liverpool

The Reds may have come away from Old Trafford with nothing to show for their efforts following the 3-2 defeat, but the England midfielder is confident progress is being made under boss Roy Hodgson, who was only appointed in the summer.

A big piece of Hodgson’s summer transfer dealings was keeping Gerrard and star striker Fernando Torres out of the clutches of rival clubs, and the former Fulham chief was rewarded as Gerrard weighed in with a brace which included a penalty at the weekend.

Although naturally disappointed to go down at United, Gerrard was upbeat on Monday morning over the Merseysiders’ chances for the rest of the campaign.

He said: “It is going to take time before the new manager gets his feet in the door and gets his ideas over.

“We are improving and the performance yesterday was very good.

“If we play like that most weeks we will beat most teams in the league.”

Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov’s first hat-trick for the club ultimately proved the difference between the two sides, but it still did not stop Gerrard from stressing what he thought were the positives.

“We kept the ball away from them and I thought we passed it really well; of course we had to be edgy in the first half because we were away from home,” said Gerrard.

“I thought second half we were much more positive and played some terrific stuff but you get nothing for that.

“When you go to places like that you have to create chances from your possession and score goals.

“We scored two but it was not enough.”

One of the main talking points post-match was the form of Berbatov after he stole the limelight with possibly his best game in a United shirt.

But talk also centred on the out-of-form Torres who has found himself accused of cheating following a tussle with United utility man John O’Shea which saw the Irishman booked.

Sir Alex Ferguson commented: “I have watched it again. Fernando Torres made a meal of it, an absolute meal of it. There is no doubt he tried to get the player sent off.”

United (11/2 – Carling Cup Outright) are back in action on Wednesday when they make the trip to Scunthorpe for a Carling Cup third-round clash while Liverpool (15/2) entertain Northampton.

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