Roma and Atletico Madrid face English opposition in the Champions League on Wednesday night as they look to exorcise their demons after painful defeats in league action at the weekend.
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Roma coach Luciano Spalletti is under pressure after poor start to the season.
Italian outfit Roma travel to Stamford Bridge to take on in-form Chelsea after being beaten 4-0 at home by Inter Milan on Sunday. The result has cast doubt on the future of coach Luciano Spalletti after the club's indifferent start to the season which sees them in 14th position in Serie A.
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After two games, Roma are third in Group A following an embarrassing 2-1 home defeat to newcomers CFR Cluj and 3-1 away win over French side Girondins Bordeaux, who play host to Cluj on Wednesday.
Having lost 2-1 at home to bitter city rivals Real on Saturday, a third consecutive La Liga defeat, Atletico Madrid face Liverpool at the Vicente Calderon stadium.
Madrid coach Javier Aguirre could ease the pressure with an immediate reaction against a Liverpool team playing well in domestic football, but who are shorn of former Atletico star Fernando Torres - who misses out on a playing return because of injury.
A win for either side would put them in a strong position in Group D, with both having won their first two matches against PSV Eindhoven and Olympique Marseille.
Elsewhere in Wednesday's Champions League action, Jose Mourinho's Inter host Group B's surprise joint leaders Anorthosis Famagusta, while Werder Bremen visit winless Panathinaikos.
In Group C, Sporting Lisbon are away to Shakhtar Donetsk, while leaders Barcelona travel to bottom side Basel and will expect to maintain their 100% record in the competition this season which stretches back to the third qualifying round in August.
Dimitar Berbatov is on the verge of living up to his £30.75 million price tag according to Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson after the Bulgarian scored his second successive Champions League brace on Tuesday.
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Hot shots: Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney celebrate during the rout of Celtic
United inflicted Celtic's 18th defeat in 19 Champions League away games with the 3-0 win at Old Trafford as the Red Devils notched their 16th consecutive victory in the competition, and Ferguson singled out Berbatov for special praise.
''Dimitar produced some fantastic pieces of football,'' said Ferguson. ''The players are starting to understand what type of player he is a bit more now.
''I always feel he produces passes that mean something. Three or four of them were absolutely superb and overall he has five goals for us already, so he is making a terrific contribution.''
Although the languid 27-year-old's two goals against Celtic had a hint of offside about them they became Berbatov's fourth and fifth goals of the season and Ferguson believes that with goals will come confidence.
While Berbatov's goals appeared to be offside and were allowed to stand, Wayne Rooney had a goal ruled out for offside, though replays suggested the striker had timed his run perfectly to latch onto Cristiano Ronaldo's through ball.
However, Rooney eventually got his name on the scoresheet bagging his ninth goal in seven games for club and country.
The England striker's rich scoring vein is all the more impressive after he failed to score in his first six club games this season and Ferguson believes if Rooney keeps up his performance levels he could emulate Ronaldo, who the United manager expects to land numerous world player of the year prizes.
''Wayne is capable of getting to that level,'' said Ferguson. ''Both him and Cristiano were teenagers when they came to us but their progress has been fantastic.
''The only reason we are not talking about Wayne at the same level as Cristiano is the fact one of them scored 42 goals last season. That is why Cristiano should win the Ballon D'Or. If Wayne can get to that sort of level, he is there.''
But for once, Ronaldo found himself upstaged as United eased home. Even without Rio Ferdinand, who should be fit to face Everton on Saturday after a picking up a minor groin strain in training, United had too much class for the Scottish champions.
A point in the return match at Parkhead in a fortnight should be enough to take the Red Devils into the knockout stages, although Ferguson is taking nothing for granted.
''It was a bad night for Celtic,'' he said. ''I just felt we were always on the attack. The speed of our play was very good and we have to think a result in Glasgow will get us through.
''But Celtic have a very good record up there, so it will be a difficult game.''
BUCHAREST, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Steaua Bucharest coach Marius Lacatus resigned on Wednesday, a day after his team lost 5-3 to Olympique Lyon in their Champions League Group F match.
"I prefer to sacrifice myself and leave, so that Steaua won't suffer after a string of poor results," Lacatus told reporters.
"When a team loses one match after another nobody other than the coach is responsible."
The Romanian team had led 2-0 after the first 10 minutes on Tuesday and were 3-2 up at halftime before Lyon turned things round with three second-half goals.
Steaua are bottom of Group F, with one point from three matches. Bayern Munich lead the group with seven points, Lyon are second with five and Fiorentina have two.
Lacatus said he felt he had no choice but to resign.
"It's clear that I lost the support of everybody, officials, supporters and media, so there is no room for me to go on any more," he said.
Steaua owner Gigi Becali had told reporters after the Lyon defeat: "I am not firing Lacatus, I'll let him drown himself."
Last week, Steaua lost 2-0 to second division team Sportul Studentesc in the Romanian Cup and suffered a defeat by the same scoreline in a league match against Otelul Galati in a run of seven matches without a win.
Steaua lie third in the domestic league table, four points behind arch-rivals Dinamo Bucharest, who are top.
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