Europe's finest ready to go

Eight groups
Over the next three months, 32 clubs will compete in eight groups over six matchdays. By the conclusion of the group stage, on 9 and 10 December, 16 teams will have taken their place in the knockout round, starting in February and replacing the tournament's second group stage.

Title defence begins
A total of 125 matches from now, the 2003/04 champions will be celebrating at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on the night of 26 May. There are some familiar names involved, led by holders AC Milan who, 16 weeks after capturing their sixth European crown at Old Trafford, launch their title defence against AFC Ajax in Group H.

New faces
There are some new faces too. Spain's RC Celta de Vigo visit Club Brugge KV tonight for their first match in a Champions League group stage. Likewise Serbo-Montenegrin champions FK Partizan, who welcome UEFA Cup holders FC Porto to Belgrade.

Beckham's first night
Tonight sees the first matches in Groups E to H and uefa.com's coverage will include live minute-by-minute text commentary of all eight games in eight languages. Among the highlights could be David Beckham's first European night in the white of nine-times winners Real Madrid CF at home to Olympique de Marseille. It will also be coach Carlos Queiroz's first game since replacing Vicente del Bosque, who led Madrid to Champions League wins in 2000 and 2002.

'A great honour'
"For me it's a great honour to debut in the Champions League with Real Madrid," said the Portuguese coach. His Marseille counterpart, Alain Perrin, joked: "We'll be preparing a special defence for each one - Ronaldo, Raúl [González], [Luis] Figo, Roberto Carlos, Beckham, [Michel] Salgado because they all require special attention."

Chelsea threat
Of course in recent months the Spanish champions' mantle as football's answer to the Harlem Globetrotters has come under threat from Chelsea FC and the progress of Claudio Ranieri's expensively assembled squad will be monitored closely, starting with their trip to Czech champions AC Sparta Praha.

'Extra spice'
Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes the field is wide open this year. "Any one of ten teams could easily win it," he said. Ferguson believes the new format will lend "a bit of extra spice" and added: "The first stage does take on greater significance and we won't be taking any chances."

Blank canvas
United kick off their campaign against Panathinaikos FC. The Greek side's coach, Itzhak Shum, observed: "Every match begins with a 0-0 on the scoreboard." The same can apply to the tournament itself: a blank canvas on which the continent's finest are ready to leave their mark.