Milan - Their standing in the Serie A may not show it clearly, but champions Inter Milan are facing some unexpected problems in a defence package that was crucial for them in the successes of the past seasons.

The five goals conceded in the last two games, a 3-2 win over tail-enders Reggina and a 3-3 draw at Cypriot side Anorthosis, sent bad signals that president Massimo Moratti did not fail to point out.

"There must be something to adjust," he said. "It's partly a psychological problem and a matter of mistakes. They make them, and if you make mistakes, you concede goals."

London - Liverpool will be hoping to regain top spot from Chelsea, for 24 hours at least, this weekend when they take on West Bromwich Albion in the latest round of fixtures in the English Premier League.

Rafael Benitez's side suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend when they went down 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur and laboured to a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in midweek.

But with Chelsea, who lead the table from Liverpool on goal difference, not in action until Sunday, the Anfield side know that three points will restore their place at the top and continue their impressive start to the season.

Madrid - Spanish champions Real Madrid announced Wednesday afternoon that defender Pepe would miss that night's Champions League home game with Juventus.

The Portuguese defender failed a late fitness test after pulling the quadriceps muscle in his left thigh in Sunday's 1-1 draw in an away game with Almeria. He has still not properly recovered.

Real coach Bernd Schuster will now have to decide whether to bring

in German central defender Christoph Metzelder, as he did against Almeria, or play Gabriel Heinze in the centre alongside Fabio Cannavaro. He would then put Marcelo at left-back instead of Heinze.

Hamburg - Tottenham Hotspur hope to carry their rising Premier League form into the UEFA Cup on Thursday while Aston Villa seek a second win and Manchester City seek a good start into the competition.

Spurs were humbled 2-0 at Udinese in their opening group D match two weeks ago but now hope to rise from last place with a victory against Dinamo Zagreb.

City, who were idle on the first group match day, are at home as well, against Dutch side Twente Enschede in group A. Villa visit Slavia Prague after defeating former winners Ajax Amsterdam in their group F opener.

Hamburg - Champions League hopefuls Chelsea suffered an unexpected defeat Tuesday on a night of surprises in the lucrative Champions League.

Also on the night Inter Milan and Liverpool had to come from behind to snatch late draws in their group matches, while Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon became the first clubs to go through after making sure of finishing in the top two positions in Group C.

Last year's finalists Chelsea lost their Group A game in Italy against AS Roma 3-1 and had Portuguese international Deco sent off, while Liverpool needed a last-minute penalty in their Group D game against Atletico Madrid for a 1-1 draw at home.

Buenos Aires - Former Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona, officially appointed to coach Argentina Tuesday, said the new position was "a dream come true".

"For me it is an honour and a dream come true to be the coach of the Argentine national team, at the side of Carlos Bilardo. I will give my everything so that things go well for us," Maradona said in a press conference.