MOSCOW (Reuters) - Andrei Lugovoy, the poisoning suspect at the centre of a diplomatic row between Britain and Moscow, will join fans supporting Chelsea at Wednesday's all-English Champions League final.

Police reported no trouble as thousands of supporters arrived for the match between Manchester United and Chelsea, the London team funded by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Extra police have been mobilised to keep order at the first major European soccer final in the Russian capital for nine years. British police officers have flown out to Moscow to help identify potential troublemakers.

Red and yellow banners flew from lampposts along Moscow's main boulevards, bars and clubs advertised in English and an artificial pitch has been laid on Red Square for demonstration matches.

Former Russian security service agent Lugovoy is Britain's chief suspect in the 2006 murder of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, who died in a London hospital after being given a fatal dose of radioactive polonium.

Lugovoy has denied any involvement in Litvinenko's death and alleged it was part of a plot by British intelligence.

A spokeswoman for Lugovoy, who is now a member of Russia's parliament, said he would be cheering on Chelsea. Abramovich is also expected to be at the Luzhniki stadium.

"It's a personal choice," said Lugovoy's spokeswoman. "He will be going to the stadium to watch the final tonight."

NO INCIDENTS WITH FANS

Around 40,000 British fans are expected in the Russian capital for the biggest match in European club soccer. It is the first time two English teams have played in the final.

As they awaited the 10:45 p.m. (7:45 p.m. British time) kick-off, some supporters congregated at a special fan zone on Red Square.

"It was quiet last night," a police spokesman said. "The police do not have any reports of incidents involving football fans and we hope that everything will be fine tonight."

Match tickets are selling on the black market for up to 4,000 euros (3,205 pounds), about 20 times their original value, Russian media reported.

The Izvestia newspaper prepared its readers with a tongue-in-cheek list of phrases they might need if they encountered an English fan.

"No use beating the waiter. He won't give you another beer," was one suggested phrase, which was also spelled out phonetically in the Cyrillic script.

Another phrase read: "Calm down, sir. The Russian bear goes hunting at night."

The final will be staged at the hulking Soviet-era Luzhniki stadium, built on the banks of the River Moskva for the 1980 Summer Olympics.

The only previous European club final staged in Moscow was the UEFA Cup final between Parma of Italy and Olympique Marseille of France nine years ago.

(Editing by Robert Woodward)