Two weeks from now this year’s Champions League group stage will begin, so it’s the time to take a look at the teams, the groups, tip some clubs as favorites and talk about their major moves this summer. Italian outfit Internazionale Milano are the defending champions, hoping to reach Wembley stadium on 28th May 2011.
For the first two places of Group A there will be Inter, Werder Bremen and Tottenham to fight. Dutch team Twente is the fourth team, but I can’t see them to do more than maybe fighting for the third spot. Inter are not strong favorites for this group, as they proved in the last seasons they are not reaching their best in the group stage. With coach Mourinho managing Real Madrid now, and the team led by Rafael Benitez off to a disappoiting start of season, Inter will have to put their best on the pitch to win this group. On the other side, even without Mesut Ozil, Werder Bremen put in a great performance home against Sampdoria, bagging three goals, but also conceding three in Genoa. Tottenham Hotspur is also a contender for going through the group at their Champions League group stage debut. The London based team signed Rafael Van der Vaart in the last hours of the transfer window and has a decent attack, with Keane, Pavlyuchenko and Crouch. Signing Gallas from Arsenal gave them confidence in defence, while Van der Vaart’s move may be a hit for Redknapp’s midfield. I doubt Twente will be able to challenge the teams I’ve talked about above, but in Champions League there are also surprises.
The second group drew Lyon, Schalke, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Benfica. That’s another group with three contenders for the two top spots. Lyon are strong favorites, but it will not be a big surprise if they will not top the group. Benfica gets through most of the times and Schalke reinforced the team this summer, so coach Felix Magath probably expects at least a second spot. Furthermore, meeting Lyon is not like meeting Real Madrid, Barcelona or AC Milan; it will be tough for Schalke and Benfica, but not impossible. Even with Yoann Gourcuff added to the midfield line, Lyon doesn’t look so strong as last year, while Schalke added Raul and Huntelaar, player who could brake every defense in each moment of the game. Benfica is the same strong team we know from the last seasons, but without Angelo Di Maria and Ramires, secured by Real Madrid and Chelsea. I predict Lyon will top the group, Benfica will be the second, while Schalke will get through Europa League. Hapoel doesn’t stand a chance in this group.
Group C is a very good one for favorites Manchester United. They will meet Valencia, Rangers and Bursaspor. Valencia seems a strong contender, but remember they don’t have Silva and Villa anymore, two key players in the last successful seasons. Valencia might not even get through the group to the first knockout round. On the other side, Rangers was never a strong team to fight the other European giants, but I can easily see them second in this group. Bursaspor makes its debut in Champions League group stage, so earning good results against the other opponents should be a target for them. However, they’ve been a surprise in last year’s Turkish Superliga, so expect them to play for the three points. Manchester will top the group, Bursaspor will finish fourth. I have doubts about Valencia’s quality right now, so I can’t predict a second place for them. Rangers has to be favourite for that spot.
Barcelona definitely got the easiest job in Group D, with Rubin Kazan, Panathinaikos and FC Copenhagen to challenge them. Still, with the Spanish team strong favorite for this one, there are doubts about the second team. Rubin Kazan won 2-1 away against Barcelona last year. They have many tireless and talented players and might be this group’s surprise, while Panathinaikos made some interesting moves this mercato, bringing Govou, Boumsong, Luis Garcia and Daniel Fernandes in. The Danish team found it hard in Champions League recent years and I can’t see a change soon. They simply don’t have the quality to reach more than the fourth place, but in this group all is going to be different. Panathinaikos will finish second, Rubin third, and FC Copenhagen the fourth.
There are still many big clubs we haven’t talked about. Real Madrid, AC Milan, Bayern, Chelsea and Arsenal are all seeded in the last four groups, which we are going to talk about soon. Stay tuned for the second part!
