Preview of Champion's League Group Stage
ANDERSON: Well, if you are a football fan, you don't me to tell you that Tuesday brings a return of the Champion's League to the sporting landscape, Europe's most prestigious club football tournament, of course, now the biggest of its kind the world. So let's get you a taste of things to come. We're going to run through Europe for you with a preview of what is the new season. Have a look at this.</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In Russia, two teams are vying for a first ever Champion's League title. Spartak here in Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg. For Spartak, it's an 11th group stage campaign. But Zenit has creating all the buzz. Not only is it their Champion's League debut, but they've also splashed out $103 million on just two players: Hulk and Axel Witsel. If there is to be a return on that investment, it begins Tuesday in Malaga.</s>FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Four teams will be flying the German flag when the Champion's League group stage kicks off. You have Borussia Dortmund, the reigning Bundesliga champions, four time European Champions Bayern Munich as well as 2011 semifinalists Schalke. Now Borussia Dortmund kick off against Ajax Amsterdam in the Group D. Now that is the group that is known as the group of death, probably the toughest group in the entire Champion's League, that has a long with Ajax and Borussia Dortmund also Manchester City as well as Real Madrid. Bayern Munish have a chance to redeem themselves after narrowly losing the final four months ago. They play at home against Valencia.</s>ANDERSON: Alright, as Fred mentioned group of death is Group D this season. And it features a marquee match-up Tuesday as Real Madrid and Manchester City lock horn. Let's bring in Amanda Davies for more on that. Amanda, Real Madrid coming into this match, well, let's just say they've been reeling a little bit aren't they?</s>AMANDA DAVIES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: They have, Becky, yeah. Jose Mourinho has always had a great reputation, hasn't he, of taking the pressure away from his side ahead of these big occasions from letting them have it a little bit easy until now, because he has given his Real Madrid side a verbal battering this weekend ahead of the big match, the big one against Roberto Mancini's Manchester City, the English Premier League champions of course, in large part because they were beaten 1-0 by Sevilla in La Liga at the weekend. They now sit eight points behind their nearest rivals Barcelona in La Liga. So Mourinho didn't go easy on his team. He has said we were bad in the first half, we were bad in the second. And he then went on to say he didn't have a team. Some people are saying it might be mind games, he's trying to give them a little bit of a kick up the backside, but the former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has said maybe the team think they haven't got a manager. So it should be an interesting one this week.</s>ANDERSON: Excellent stuff. If he hasn't got a team, what did he pay for in the last couple of seasons? I don't know.</s>ANDERSON: Lots of mind games being played there, I think. Amanda, good to have you with us. Amanda Davies out of CNN Center for you this evening. You're watching Connect the World here on CNN about 20 hours to go until the Champion's League. So stick around with us for that over the coming hours. Still to come tonight, though, as Fresh protests erupt over a film mocking Islam is it time for the United States to rethink its foreign policy on the Muslim world. That, a debate just ahead. And as William and Kate press charges, can this popular royal couple really expect any degree of privacy? We're going to talk about that. And meet the Kenyan activist who took on the world's biggest banks to stand up for the planet. All that coming up in the next half an hour and your headlines, of course, here on CNN.