UEFA Champions League - Group H - Matchday 1

Juventus vs Zenit St. Petersburg

Juventus will meet Zenit St Petersburg in a Champions League game in Group H. After an absence of two years, 1996 winners Juventus are back in the UEFA Champions League hoping to make up for lost time.

Juventus have done brilliantly to come up to Champions League football after spending two years in the wilderness. The Old Lady of Turin had to suffer the embarrassment of playing in the second tier of Italian football after they were found guilty of match-fixing and despite losing a host of stars; they still have a squad that is good enough to compete with the best in business. The likes of Del Piero, Nedved and Trezeguet are still going strong while summer signings Poulsen, Mellberg, Amauri and Sissoko are all expected to play a major part when Juventus start their 2008/09 campaign with a tricky clash against Russian Champions Zenit.

Zenit come into this season on the back of their finest season in many a year. The Russian Champions were brilliant both domestically and in Europe and they will be expected to give Real Madrid and Juventus a run for their money this season. Zenit started their season with silverware defeating Manchester United in the UEFA Supercup. Zenit have done brilliantly to come all their major stars including Arshavin while new signing Danny should give them an extra edge up front when they come up against Juventus this midweek at the Stadio Olympico.

Kick off time: 20:45
Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)
Stadium: Olimpico