As kick-off nears in Ukraine, Shakhtar could well be forgiven for simply being pleased to see fans on these noteworthy European nights.

In their last Champions League outing - a 2-2 draw at Lyon - the French side were ordered to play the match behind closed doors.

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AEK Athens spring a counter-attack and Ezequiel Ponce is in down the inside right channel. He pummels one at the near post but it fizzes wide. Bayern get away with one...

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My main man Dmytro Chygrynskiy is among the AEK Athens party. Some of you may remember the day Barcelona shelled out around £20m for him back in 2009.

He banked just over a dozen games with the Catalan giants and ended up back at Shakhtar.

At 31, he has won league titles in three countries - Spain, Ukraine and Greece thanks to AEK's success last season.

Two defeats thus far in the Champions League have been a reality check and another defeat tonight could spell curtains.

Still, on the plus side, he has a great head of hair and that last clearance from practically on his goal line was a throw back to why Barca wanted him in the first place.

Valencia manager Marcelino is out of his chair and using his fingers to offer instruction to his players. He's just seen them denied by a Marco Wölfli save and the Spanish side are bettering things for sure, still 0-0 though as 20 minutes approaches in their tussle with Young Boys.

Back in Athens, there's a player who once featured in La Liga offering up resistance. Dmytro Chygrynskiy - once of Barcelona - has just cleared from under his own bar, denying Robert Lewandowski a tap in.

Guillem Balague
Spanish football journalist on BBC Radio 5 live

"We are talking about a Manchester United team under Jose Mourinho who at this stage, we should be looking at as favourites. Even against a Juventus team which has won everything.

"But we are not saying that, we are saying quite the opposite. It is the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, and what we are seeing is a Juventus side who are very solid in the way the defend - they hardly ever concede. They are like bulldozers, a machine who go at you and eventually bring you down.

"Manchester United do not have that resilience or the quality to beat teams at the top. We know Mourinho does not like many things to happen in a game, to make sure that if anything happens, it favours him. So it won't be a classic, but it is one to watch."

Gary Flintoff
BBC Radio 5 live reporter at Old Trafford

What about this for the front page of the Manchester United programme? This is how to sell a game, even one that does not need selling.

Serge Gnabry seeking plenty of ball down the Bayern left and his cross flashes across the face of goal, narrowly evading Arjen Robben in the goal mouth.

That's the closest we've come to a goal in these two early matches.

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Whisper this quietly but Bayern Munich are fourth in the Bundesliga and have one win in their last five games in all competitions.

A win and a draw in their two Champions League encounters is far from a disaster but head coach Niko Kovac is getting some stick from the press. The club have defended him but according to Uefa reporter Jordan Maciel, Kovac has been left off the club's advent calendar.

Carlo Ancelotti featured on the Bayern Christmas calendar last year, some two months after he got the boot.

Have they adopted a new approach? Whatever the case in their Christmas planning department, the main man Kovac could do with a win.

Miralem Sulejmani hits s dipping free-kick from 35 yards for Young Boys which is well held. He's one of only two men in the squad who have ever scored a Champions League goal.

Bayern Munich put a nice move together down the left flank with Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabr linking at pace. Gnabry's cross is poor and he apologises instantly.

A better spell for the away side though and they have the yellow and black striped shirts pinned back.

Valencia want an early penalty for a tug in the box but there's nothing doing. They've had 34 shots in the Champions League this season and scored none whatsoever.

The wait goes on but against an opponent who seem to produce goals at either end, surely tonight's the night.

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A look at Young Boys in competitive action this season shows up 17 matches and 70 goals. They bang them in and concede for fun too as that's an average of over four a game. They battered Basel 7-1 in the league this term but have so far taken two 3-0 defeats to Juventus and Manchester United in the Champions League.

Striker Guillaume Hoarau has rattled in three in his last two outings and he's top of their scoring charts with eight goals in 10 league games.

Judging by this image, he has a deep relationship with cones too.

Action underway between Young Boys and Valencia, where we expect goals aplenty (more on why shortly) and the ball is rolling in Athens where Bayern Munich need to end a shaky run of form against AEK, who are being roared on.

So this is what we have, starting with updates from the two early games, which are about to kick off.

(all 20:00 BST kick-offs unless stated otherwise)

Group E

AEK Athens v Bayern Munich (17:55 BST)

Ajax v Benfica

Group F

Shakhtar Donetsk v Manchester City

Hoffenheim v Lyon

Group G

Real Madrid v Viktoria Plzen

Roma v CSKA Moscow

Group H

Young Boys v Valencia (17:55)

Manchester United v Juventus

So let's hone in on all things Champions League. In the next few hours we will focus on events in Athens, where AEK face Bayern Munich and also in Switzerland, where Young Boys host Valencia.

There'll be build-up aplenty to Shakhtar Donetsk v Manchester City and of course, we will bring you all the hype, team news and stats prior to Manchester United v Juventus, where it's all eyes on Ronnie...

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Cristiano Ronaldo has walked Manchester United's corridors before.

There were glory days, European cups, personal honours and the guiding hand of Sir Alex Ferguson of course.

Image source, .

Things change. Apologies if the image makes you feel a touch old.

Thankfully this sport allows heroes of the past to return. Tonight is a big night in Manchester...

Magic work by my chum Denise there bringing you the Pochettino lines. We'll now switch our focus to a busy night under the lights.

I love these nights, where Champions League mix with some Championship and pretty much anything can happen. Let's do this...

Tottenham Hotspur

England midfielder Eric Dier: "I think our signature is the same in every competition we play. We’ve been together for a long time now and we’re constantly trying to improve and get better.

"Our style doesn’t change a lot dependent on the competition.

"We’ve done well away from home so far this season with some tough games. We feel very good at the moment and we’ve got to try to continue that feeling tomorrow against a very good side. It’s a game we’re looking forward to and tomorrow is no different."

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