Champions League Group C preview: First place for the taking

Valencia will aim to be the first side to score against Manchester United in Europe this term when they travel to Old Trafford on Tuesday.

With both sides already guaranteed progress to the final 16 of the Champions League, the fixture will decide who will finish at the top of Group C, with United currently three points clear of the Spaniards.

Despite losing to United in the reverse fixture in September, Valencia need a victory by any score to leapfrog the Premier League giants at the top of the group.

The form of Sir Alex Ferguson’s side has been somewhat erratic in recent weeks, with a 7-1 annihilation of Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League last month followed by a 4-0 Carling Cup quarter-final loss to West Ham on Tuesday.

Valencia, who sit in fifth place in La Liga, will also head into the fixture on the back of a loss after a strong-willed performance was not enough to avoid defeat at the hands of Real Madrid at the weekend.

In the group’s other match to be played Tuesday, Scottish champions Rangers journey to Turkey to take on group minnows Bursaspor.

The Turkish champions are yet to record a point from their five Champions League matches, which sees them trail Rangers by five points and means they have no hope of taking part in European competition after Christmas.

Rangers have plenty to play for and as well as the chance of securing a seeding in the draw for the Europa League knockout stages, the cash-strapped Glasgow club will earn a prize in the vicinity of 750,000 pounds for victory.

A lack of match practice may pose a problem for Rangers, however, after wintry weather conditions led to a postponement of their last two Scottish Premier League matches. That means Walter Smith’s side have not played competitively since their 1-0 loss to Manchester United a fortnight ago.