Champions League Group H prospects

A look at the prospects for European champions Porto, Chelsea, Paris St Germain and CSKA Moscow in Group H of the Champions League this season:

PORTO (PORTUGAL)

Porto, surprise winners last season, have lost coach Jose Mourinho and will come face to face with their old boss when they meet Chelsea.

Key players from the team that won the UEFA Cup in 2003 and the Champions League in May have gone and Mourinho's replacement, Italian Luigi Del Neri, lasted only a few weeks before falling out with the club's management and being replaced by Spaniard Victor Fernandez.

The club have used some of the 70 million euros ($85.61 million) from sale of players, including defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira to Chelsea and playmaker Deco to Barcelona, to bring in fresh talent.

They have signed Brazil's exciting striker Fabiano and his Copa America team mate Diego, along with Greece defender Yourkas Seitaridis, one of the most impressive players in his country's Euro 2004 winning side.

Brazilian defender Pepe, midfielder Hugo Leal, winger Ricardo Quaresma and returning striker Helder Postiga are also new additions and with so many changes Fernandez's first task is to mould his side into an effective unit.

COMMENT: Coach Victor Fernandez: "Chelsea and Porto are the favourites to go through because we are the champions and they've spent so much money on reinforcements."

CHELSEA (ENGLAND)

Chelsea reached the Champions League semi-finals last season under Italian Claudio Ranieri and qualified for this season's competition after finishing runners-up in the Premier League.

But this was not good enough for Russian owner Roman Abramovich who wants a return on the 210 million pounds ($372.9 million) he has invested in players since he bought the London club in July 2003.

Jose Mourinho replaced the sacked Ranieri in July after winning the Champions League with Porto and will hope to emulate the success of his former club.

But the Portuguese is under pressure to win trophies and his decision to buy young talent, such as strikers Mateja Kezman and Didier Drogba, while bringing over defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreiro from his old club will be scrutinised.

COMMENT: Director Peter Kenyon: "It is odd that we have been drawn against Porto where Jose Mourinho was so successful last season. There will be a lot of emphasis on Porto but we shouldn't forget the other teams that are in there. It's a tough group ... but overall you've got to be generally happy.

PARIS ST GERMAIN (FRANCE)

Four French league matches without a win have brought Paris Saint-Germain to the verge of a crisis just as they were preparing for their return to the Champions League.

Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic criticised his team after they were held to a 2-2 home draw by Saint-Etienne last weekend and they have also been shaken by the last-minute transfer of vice-captain Fabrice Fiorese to arch-rivals Olympique Marseille.

There are some new faces, though, with the highly rated central defenders Mario Yepes and Sylvain Armand brought from Nantes and France playmaker Jerome Rothen arriving from Monaco.

COMMENT: Coach Vahid Halilhodzic: "We have been drawn against the titleholders and the richest club in the world and we couldn't travel further away than Moscow. So, make your own mind up -- its bound to take its toll."

CSKA MOSCOW (RUSSIA)

The Russians have qualified for Europe's premier club competition for the first time since 1992 and Yevgeny Giner, CSKA's ambitious owner, hopes they can challenge Europe's elite having spent millions of dollars on his squad.

He broke the Russian league transfer record twice last year signing Czech midfielder Jiri Jarosik from Sparta Prague for $3.7 million and then Croatian striker Ivica Olic from Dinamo Zagreb for $5.73 million.

This year CSKA have bought Russia's Sergei Ignashevich and Yevgeny Aldonin, Argentine midfielder Osmar Ferreira and Brazilian strikers Daniel Carvalho and Vagner Love. They should not be underestimated.

COMMENT: President Yevgeny Giner: "Chelsea have so many great players, their coach won the Champions League last season, they play excellent football -- do you need any other intrigue besides this?" he said after UEFA officials queried whether Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich might have a controlling interest in CSKA as well, which they later decided he does not.