PARIS — English heavyweights Chelsea and Manchester City get their Champions League campaigns off the mark Wednesday against German rivals Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich, with Paris Saint German star Zlatan Ibrahimovic returning to his old club Ajax and Spanish giant Barcelona also in action. Five-time winner Bayern, which made a third consecutive European semifinal last season, faces off against English Premier League winner Manchester City for the third time in four years in the group stage starting in Munich. City came from two goals down to end Bundesliga champion Bayern's record 10-game run of Champions League wins last season. Both teams finished level on points with Bayern coming out on top after its 3-1 win at City. Bayern eliminated Arsenal in the last 16 and City's neighbor Manchester United in the quarterfinals, before losing to eventual champion Real Madrid 5-0 on aggregate in the semifinals. The 2013 winner is boosted by France playmaker Franck Ribery who marked his return from a knee injury to score in a 2-0 win over VfB Stuttgart that put the champion joint top of the Bundesliga. City, meanwhile, has had a sluggish start to its Premier League title defense with a draw against Arsenal Sunday leaving it fifth with just seven points for its first four games. Roma coach Rudi Garcia, meanwhile, is set to hand former Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita his full debut when the Giallorossi end a four-year absence from the Champions League by hosting CSKA Moscow. Malian international Keita, who has come off the bench in two league wins so far, is set to step in for the suspended Daniele De Rossi. New Barcelona coach Luis Enrique's European campaign debuts with La Liga runner-up hosting Cypriot outfit Apoel, competing in the group stage for the third time and quarterfinalists in 2011-12 . Last season the Catalans failed to reach at least the semifinals for the first time since 2007 being stopped in the quarterfinals by eventual runner-up Atletico Madrid. The four-time winner is boosted by the statistic of having lost just one of its last 27 home Champions League matches. Dutch champion Ajax, which won the last of its four European titles two decades ago, faces a potentially tricky test at home against last season's quarterfinalist Paris Saint-Germain. The Amsterdam outfit will also have to contend with its former Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, now an international star 13 years after he joined Ajax, as it bids to survive the group stage for the first time since 2006. But French champion PSG, which plays its first ever tie in the Netherlands, has won just one of its last seven away games, being held Saturday in Ligue 1 action. In-form Premier League leader Chelsea, with maximum points on the domestic front after four games, will be looking to repeat last season's display against Schalke 04 whom it beat 3-0 home and away. Bolstered by new signings Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea is favorite to advance past the group stages as it bids for second title after 2012. The Londoners reached the semifinals last year and can be boosted by the fact it has never lost against a Bundesliga side at home. Resurgent Sporting Lisbon returns to the Champions League group stage after a six-year absence with Nani among a new-look side bolstered by 11 new signings who open against Slovenian champion NK Maribor, itself back in Europe after 15 years. Athletic Bilbao returns to the Champions League group stage for just the second time and the first in 16 years after its 4-2 aggregate victory over Napoli in qualifying last month and is hopeful of making it out of a group which also includes Porto and BATE Borisov. The Basque side has struggled in La Liga this season with just three points from three games, while its rival Shakhtar has notched up six consecutive victories in its league despite playing its home games in the western Ukranian city of Lyviv because of unrest in the Ukraine. Portuguese side Porto will be looking to put its struggles at home last season behind it when it hosts Belarus outfit BATE Borisov, which is in the group stage for the third time in four seasons. — Agencies
