Man Utd's Group B rivals

CSKA MOSCOW

Matches Wednesday 21 October CSKA Moscow v United; Tuesday 3 November United v CSKA Moscow

Current form CSKA Moscow are halfway through their league season, currently third in the table behind second-placed Spartak Moscow and leaders Rubin Kazan – who make their Champions League debut in the same group as Barcelona and Inter. ‘The Army Men’ lifted the Russian Cup in May with victory over the current league leaders.

Home Ah, fond memories. The most exciting thing about this draw is the opportunity to make an early pilgrimage to the glorious Luzhniki Stadium, where John Terry lost his footing, Ryan Giggs kept his head and United lifted the European Cup for the third time. Just in time, too – next year the club will move into the brand new CSKA Moscow Stadium, currently under construction.

Manager Brazil legend Zico was nicknamed ‘The white Pele’ long before terrace songsmiths attributed it to Wayne Rooney. Pele modestly once said: “The one player that came closest to me was Zico.” His first job in management was as Japan’s head coach, leading them to the 2006 World Cup. He moved to Turkey to manage Fenerbahçe, delivering the league title in his first season, then led Fener to the Champions League group stages for the first time in their history, eventually losing to Chelsea in the quarters, albeit after a 2-1 first-leg win in Turkey. A strange spell with cash-rich FC Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan (now coached by Phil Scolari) followed before his move to Moscow this year.

Star man Like many Russian sides, CSKA boast a smattering of Brazilians. The most famous is flamboyant front man Vagner Love. Love's banged them in for CSKA for five years and despite repeated rumours he wants to move, he's still a Luzhniki fixture. He’s scored 61 goals in 118 appearances - the most famous the winner in the 2005 UEFA Cup final against Sporting Lisbon – in Lisbon. Last season he topped the Russian and UEFA scoring charts – netting 11 goals in European competition.

BESIKTAS JK

Matches Tuesday 15 September Besiktas JK v United; Wednesday 25 November United v Besiktas JK

Current form Often in the shadow of bigger city neighbours Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe (Spurs compared to Chelsea and Arsenal), the Black Eagles have the last laugh this season as Turkey’s only representatives in the group stages. However, it's not been a convincing start to the new campaign, with one win in their first three games after losing the Super Cup (Turkey's Community Shield) 2-0 to Fenerbahçe.

Home The Inonu Stadium in the Dolmabahçe district was formerly home to all of Istanbul’s ‘big three’, and boasts views of local landmarks and the Bosphorus. Indeed, it’s not the only local boast – apparently the stadium holds the record for the loudest fans ever recorded, a mark reached against the record’s previous holders Liverpool during their 2-1 win in 2007. We’re not sure who measures these things, but the Merseysiders' response was certainly emphatic to both setbacks – an 8-0 drubbing of the Turks followed two weeks later at Anfield.

Manager Since starting his touchline career in 1987, Mustafa Denizli has had 10 different appointments, including a spell in Germany, one in charge of the national team, reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2000, and has a full house of the top teams in Istanbul, after two stints at Galatasaray, one at Fenerbahçe.

Star man Argentina's Matias Delgado is the side’s central creative force, but will be out for some time with a knee injury sustained earlier in the year. The side will be boosted by the return to the club of Nihat Kahveci, the diminutive striker who was central in the national side’s mind-bending feats of escapology at Euro 2008.

VFL WOLFSBURG

Matches Wednesday 30 September United v VfL Wolfsburg; Tuesday 8 December VfL Wolfsburg v United

Current form Imagine Wigan winning the Barclays Premier League. No disrespect to our friends from the DW, but it’s roughly akin to the achievement of Wolfsburg last season. After years scuttling around in the lower divisions, the Volkswagen works team established themselves as a steady top-flight presence over the past decade, but few foresaw their meteoric rise under former Bayern coach Felix Magath in the past two years. Fifth in 2007/08, the club went four better last year, displacing German football's established powers to clinch the Bundesliga crown.

Home The Volkswagen Arena is your classic, modern stadium, built alongside the River Aller to replace the VfL Stadion in 2002. Holds 30,000, bright, clean, green… er, that’s about it.

Manager We’ll never know how Wolfsburg might have fared under Magath in the Champions League as he’s already left for pastures new, joining Schalke this summer, so it’s a weighty assignment for new boss Armin Veh to keep the club punching hard at this level. Ironically, Veh was sacked by Stuttgart shortly after a 4-1 defeat by Wolfsburg last season, but had already proved his credentials with a title win with Die Roten in 2006/07.

Star man Obafemi Martins was snapped up this summer to add extra firepower in Europe. He’s no shoo-in starter, though. Incumbent strikers Edin Dzeko and Grafite managed 54 goals last season, so beware – these Wolves have sharp teeth.

**taken from Man Utd's official website