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VALENCIA - Valencia are expecting a stiff Champions League test at home to Manchester United on Wednesday despite the English club's injury problems, according to midfielder Juan Mata.

BERNE - Italy's four representatives will be trying to notch up their first Europa League win of the season this week while holders Atletico Madrid are also attempting to get their campaign off the ground.

MADRID - Valencia should not get carried away with their strong start to the season and must be fully focused when they host Manchester United in the Champions League on Wednesday, goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez said on Monday.

KAZAN - Lionel Messi could return for Barcelona in Wednesday's Champions League match at Rubin Kazan with the Spanish champions determined not to repeat last year's costly mistake of taking the Russian side too lightly.

MILAN - Werder Bremen forward Marko Arnautovic now sets three alarm clocks to make sure he gets to training on time after angering his former Inter Milan bosses last season with his attitude while at the Italian club.

MEXICO CITY - Cuauhtemoc Blanco has played for Mexico at World Cups, got into rows with team officials and hosted a television show but never before been a fireman.

MADRID, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Two goals from Spain winger Santi Cazorla helped Villarreal climb to second place in La Liga with a 3-2 comeback win away to 10-man Malaga on Monday.

BELGRADE - Arsenal must not use their long injury list as an excuse if they do not perform well at Partizan Belgrade in their Champions League Group H match, manager Arsene Wenger said on Monday.

ATHENS - AEK Athens coach Dusan Bajevic, who suffered a vicious assault by fans in August, has quit after they threw seats at him following Sunday's shock 3-1 defeat by newly-promoted Olympiakos Volos.

BASEL - Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal likes to be known as a party animal but says it is his players who are nursing a collective hangover after their exploits at the World Cup.

COBHAM - Chelsea can cope without three leading players in Tuesday's Champions League visit of Olympique Marseille, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday.

LONDON - France received chilling notice that the road to post-World Cup redemption will be long and hard when they lost 1-0 to Belarus in Paris on Friday, while Portugal threw away two points in a frantic 4-4 draw at home to Cyprus.

BERLIN - Schalke 04 slumped to their second defeat in two Bundesliga games this season when they lost 2-1 at home to Hanover 96 on Saturday, another disappointing day for new Spanish signing Raul.

MILAN - AC Milan will try to sign forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Barcelona but the chances of landing the Swede look remote.

MIAMI - Major League Soccer clubs will look to make a mark on the international stage by challenging Mexico's domination of the regional CONCACAF Champions League with Real Salt Lake leading the charge for the United States.

BERLIN - Paul the oracle octopus was given a replica of the World Cup on Monday as a reward for his perfect eight-for-eight record in picking matches as bettors worldwide collected their winnings based on his selections.

POTCHEFSTROOM - Humility has been one of the major reasons behind Spain's success at the World Cup, the president of the country's football federation (RFEF) Angel Maria Villar said on Friday.

LONDON - The start of the 2012/13 English football season will be delayed so as not to clash with the 2012 Olympics, London Games chiefs said on Thursday.

MADRID - Barcelona have agreed to sell France striker Thierry Henry and Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure, the Spanish champions said on Monday.

DURBAN - Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz described a dull 0-0 draw with Brazil on Friday that ended with boos drowning out the vuvuzela trumpets as a "feast of football."

PORT ELIZABETH - The country that gave the world the plastic zipper takes on the nation that invented football and few are discounting tiny Slovenia's chances of ending mighty England's World Cup crusade.

PRETORIA - Much like the character from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Denmark are a strange case.

PRETORIA - A despondent Cameroon captain Samuel Eto'o said his side, the highest ranked African team at the World Cup, had missed a great opportunity to do something special after they exited the continent's first World Cup.

PRETORIA - Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner may be able to manage 90 minutes in Saturday's Group E match with Cameroon after doctors performed a "miracle", coach Morten Olsen said.

PRETORIA - Youthful Germany are so light on their feet and attack with such speed that the absence of injured Michael Ballack is not being felt, coach Joachim Low said a day after their pulsating 4-0 thrashing of Australia.