Hamburg - European champions Manchester United and Italian title-holders Inter Milan are among some of the continent's leading teams hoping to ensure their passage to the Champions League knock-out stage in this week's penultimate group matches.

Nine-time European champions Real Madrid, meanwhile, badly need a win following two defeats to already-qualified Juventus, while England's remaining contingent of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are among other contenders looking to seal their progress.

Munich - Frustrated Germany forward Lukas Podolski has told his club Bayern Munich that he wants to leave the Bundesliga champions during the upcoming winter break, the Bild daily reported on Monday.

Bild said that Podolski, 23, made this move even though Munich manager Uli Hoeness on the weekend ruled out any departure during the January transfer window.

"I have told those responsible that I want to leave in winter," Podolski was quoted as telling Bild. "I have reached the decision that I want to leave the club in winter."

Frankfurt - SV Hamburg are under investigation by the German football federation DFB after a player from visiting Werder Bremen was hit by a battery thrown from the stands in the teams' Bundesliga match on Sunday.

The DFB said in a statement that Hamburg have been asked for a report, on which further action will be based.

Werder captain Frank Baumann needed treatment after being struck in the face by a mobile phone battery thrown from the crowd while joining team-mates to celebrate Bremen's goal in the 2-1 defeat near the corner flag.

"It hit me on just above the left eyebrow. It was a shock and painful. There was a little bit of blood but it didn't hinder me," Baumann said.

Hamburg - This week's European Champions league matches could be a further indication that German top clubs Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen are heading in opposite directions.

Bayern are unbeaten in the Champions League and require only a draw at home to Steaua Bucharest on Tuesday to qualify prematurely for the knockout stages.

They lie third in the Bundesliga within striking distance of surprise leaders Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen, whom the both play over the next fortnight.

Bremen, by contrast, face a Champions League exit on Wednesday when they visit Anothorsis Famagusta with no win in the first four games.

Munich - A 46-year-old mother-of-three who is reputed to be Germany's richest woman and has drawn huge publicity in a "gigolo" case has given a rare glimpse of the pressure created by her wealth.

Susanne Klatten, who reported to police in January that a Swiss man romanced her then tried to extort millions of euros from her, has given only one interview about her ordeal. An indictment is expected within weeks.

Mainz, Germany  - Officials spoke of hope as the cornerstone was laid Sunday for a new synagogue in the German city of Mainz, just over 70 years after the old one was destroyed.

The old house of worship was destroyed in the November 9, 1938 pogrom known as Kristallnacht, when Nazis ransacked thousands of Jewish homes, shops and synagogues, destroying many. The rebuilding ceremony comes weeks after ceremonies to commemorate the losses Germany's Jewish community suffered that night.