2011-2012 Champions League Preview

There’s football and then there’s football (played mainly with, you know, feet). It’s that time of the year again, when Europe’s (and parts of Asia’s) best teams battle in what amounts to an intercontinental version of the Super Bowl and World Series. As liveblogged by JustTyler, FC Barcelona beat Manchester United to win it all last year. But can Barca continue its dominance?

This is the beginning of the group stages, where the top two of in each of the eight groups advance to the playoff rounds. Thoughts? Predictions? Without further ado:

Group A

FC Bayern München: To the joy of Bayern fans and players, coach Louis van Gaal, who once dropped his pants during training to show that he had the balls to drop any of the players from the team, , was finally fired last season. A much better and happier Bayern emerged and have been on a roll for the beginning of the season, the most recent being a 7-0 win against SC Freiburg. Bayern will be without forward Arjen Robben.

Villarreal CF: Villarreal started the season with a 0-5 thrashing by Barcelona and a 2-2 draw against Sevilla. Last year the team was in the Europa League semi-finals and placed fourth in La Liga. Despite being a strong team, Villarreal is likely not strong enough to emerge from this Group of Death.

Manchester City FC: Man City has been doing well so far, but not without drama. Forward Carlos Tevez, who has been whining for ages about how he wants to leave, had a transfer deal fall through and is now awkwardly back in the city and team he hates. Midfielder Samir Nasri, who apparently thinks he’s too big for his former club, joined Man City along with forward Sergio Aguero. Despite the drama, Manchester City is enjoying a great start to the season. This is the team’s first time at the Champions League group stage.

SSC Napoli: Like Man City, this will be Napoli’s debut at the Champions League group stage. The team is enjoying a sort-of revival. nder coach Walter Mazzarri and led by forward Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani, as well as midfielder Marek Hamsik, the team placed third in Serie A last year.

Matches:

  • Villarreal v. Bayern (Wednesday 9/14)
  • Man City v. Napoli (Wednesday 9/14)

Predictions: It’s hard to choose in the Group of Death, but: Bayern, Manchester City

Group B

FC Internazionale Milano: The big story of the summer was whether midfielder Wesley Sneijder would leave for Manchester United. Although he did not, Samuel Eto’o left for some Russian club which is paying him a shitload of $$$$$$. Unfortunately for Inter, new transfer forward Diego Forlan has been ruled ineligible to play in the Champions League until the knock-out rounds in February, as he had played for Atletico Madrid in the Europa League. Inter is nursing its wounds after a 4-3 loss against Palmero this past weekend.Midfielder Thiago Motta will likely sit out due to injury.

PFC CSKA Moskva: Last year, the club made the Europa League round of 16 and won the Russian Cup. This season has not started well, as Moscow lost 0-4 to Dinamo Moscow this past weekend. Midfielder Keisuke Honda and goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev are both out due to injury.

LOSC Lille Métropole: Though Lille were the Ligue 1 champions last year, key players such as midfielder Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle), defender Adil Rami (Valencia) and forward Gervinho (Arsenal) left. However, the club is on a three game winning streak.

Trabzonspor AS: The team finished second in last year’s Turkish Super League. This is the team’s first time in the Champions League group stage. Trabzonspor replaces Fenerbahce, who were withdrawn by the Turkish Football Association due to a match-fixing investigation.

Matches:

  • Lille v. CSKA Moskva (Wednesday 9/14)
  • Inter Milan v. Trabzonspor (Wednesday 9/14)

Predictions: Inter Milan, Lille

Group C

Manchester United FC: Man United, particularly Wayne Rooney, has been on a roll lately. Despite the retirements of goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and midfielder Paul Scholes, United are currently undefeated in the Premier League and thrashing their opponents (see 8-2 drubbing of Arsenal and the 5-0 beatdown of Bolton this past Saturday). The influx of young players to what was a comparatively older team has helped. Injuries remain a concern, though, with Cleverly, Welbeck, defender Nemanja Vidic and defender/midfielder Rafael all out.

SL Benfica: Second in the Portuguese League, this team is known for its defensive lapses. To alleviate the problem, Benfica signed several defenders (Ezequiel Garay, Joan Capdevila and Emerson) as well as goalkeeper Artur. The team is currently on a three game winning streak. Midfielder Enzo Perez may be out due to a knee injury.

FC Basel 1893: Basel won the Swiss League last year and is coming off a 4-0 win against Servette. However, the team is not known for their defense, which will be fatal against teams like Manchester United and Benfica.

FC Otelul Galati: Although Otelul are Romanian league champions, the fact that this is a young team with a tiny annual budget of 3 million euro means that the team does not have the experience to advance far in this tournament. The team faces a further disadvantage, as the team must play their games in Bucharest since their stadium does not meet UEFA standards.

Matches:

  • Benfica v. Man United (Wednesday 9/14)
  • Basel v. Otelul Galati (Wednesday 9/14)

Predictions: Manchester United, Benfica

Group D

Real Madrid CF: Although Real Madrid lost a few smaller cups to Barcelona, Real Madrid, particularly forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, look better than last year. While coach/awesome troll José Mourinho will supposedly be watching the match from his hotel room after yet another suspension, midfielder Sami Khedira is expected to be back from injury.

Olympique Lyonnais: After last year’s frustrating season, Lyon now appears to be filled with rainbows and unicorn giggles with the departure Claude Puel and the promotion of now first-time-ever head coach Remi Garde. Lyon’s prospects remain to be seen, depending on how quickly the players adjust to Garde’s playing style and midfielder Yoann Gourcuff’s (currently injured) performances, the latter of which weren’t quite as expected last season. Several players are out for this game, most notably forward Lisandro Lopez, captain and defender Cris and midfielders Ederson and Gourcuff.

AFC Ajax: This legendary Dutch club has had a good start to the season with four wins and a draw. Although certainly not the club that it used to be, Ajax is still a tough team despite losing forward Luis Suarez to Liverpool.

GNK Dinamo Zagreb: The Croatian team has been off to a great start, with a six game winning streak that ended with this past weekend’s draw. Dinamo Zagreb have only conceded one goal this season in 588 minutes. However, the club will be without midfielders Arijan Ademi and Mehmed Alispahic and defenders Igor Bišcan, Šime Vrsaljko and Josip Šimuni?.

Matches:

  • Dinamo Zagreb v. Real Madrid (Wednesday 9/14)
  • Ajax v. Lyon (Wednesday 9/14)

Predictions: Real Madrid, Lyon (with Ajax in a close third). At least Real Madrid and Lyon won’t be together in the first knock-out stage.

Group E

Chelsea FC: Chelsea is currently third in the Premier League under coach Andre Villas-Boas, who won the Europa League with FC Porto last year. Though the team has many star players, many of them are nearing retirement age and are not the players they used to be. Additionally, forward Fernando Torres has still not found his form. Chelsea will be without forward Didler Drogba and midfielder Michael Essien.

Valencia CF: Valencia was third in La Liga last year. Despite losing midfielder Juan Mata to Chelsea, the team has won all its matches, including friendlies, this season. Only midfielder Bruno Saltor may sit out this round due to a thigh injury.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Second in the Bundesliga last year, the team is coming off of a 4-1 win over FC Augsburg this past weekend. Bayer Leverkusen will be without first-choice keeper Rene Adler, defender Bastian Oczipka and midfielder Tranquillo. Midfielder Michael Ballack, who used to play for Chelsea, may also sit out.

KRC Genk: The Belgian champions admit that it does not expect to advance, as coach Mario Been stated that “UEFA Champions League will not only be an opportunity to visit some nice cities in Europe and to have fun, it will also be a way for us to show that we can play good football as well.” The team will be missing several players due to injury, including midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, defender Tordben Joneleit and goalkeeper Stijn Wertelaers.

Matches:

  • Chelsea v. Leverkusen (Tuesday 9/13)
  • Genk v. Valencia (Tuesday 9/13)

Predictions: Chelsea, Valencia

Group F

Arsenal FC: This season’s start was disastrous, with the highly anticipated but still last minute departures of midfielders Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona) and Samir Nasri (Manchester City). Things are slowly turning around though, after the club finally decided to get off its ass and sign a slew of much needed players (including forward Park Chu-Young, who was stolen from Lille). Unfortunately, Arsenal will be without defender Thomas Vermaelen and midfielders Tomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere.

Olympique de Marseille: Marseille’s a tough, gritty team, yet coach Didier Deschamp admitted that he was concerned about the club’s poor form. The team has drawn three and lost two of their Ligue 1 matches and may be distracted since the team faces rivals Lyon this coming weekend. To add to their troubles, forward André Ayew is injured.

Olympiacos FC: Because of issues surrounding a match-fixing scandal in the Greek league, the team has not played a single game this season. There’s no knowing how well the team will do, but presently it doesn’t look good.

Borussia Dortmund: Last year’s Bundesliga champions return to the Champions League after eight years. Unfortunately, the season hasn’t started out so well, including suffering their first home defeat in 18 years this past Saturday.

Matches:

  • Dortmund v. Arsenal (Tuesday 9/13)
  • Olympiacos v. Marseille (Tuesday 9/13)
Predictions: Arsenal, Dortmund (with Marseille in a very close third)

Group G

FC Porto: Last year, Porto won the Portuguese treble, winning the Portuguese cup, the Portuguese league and the Europa Cup. However, that was under coach Andre Villas-Boas, who left for Chelsea. Nevertheless, the team continues its unbeaten streak in the Portuguese league with a 3-0 win last Friday. The team will be without defenders Rolando, Emídio Rafael and Álvaro Pereira and midfielder Fredy Guarín.

FC Shakhtar Donetsk: The current Ukranian league champions made the Champions League quarterfinals last year. Currently Shakhtar Donetsk have won all their matches (including pre-season friendlies) this season except for one draw.

FC Zenit St Petersburg: Zenit won the Russian league last year. This is the second time that Zenit has made the group stage in the Champions League. The team will be without midfielder Sergei Semak due to injury.
APOEL FC: This is the Cyprus team’s second appearance in the Champions League group stages. APOEL is unlikely to advance out of the group. At least they don’t have injured players.

Matches:
  • Porto v. Shakhtar Donetsk (Tuesday 9/13)
  • APOEL v. Zenit (Tuesday 9/13)
Predictions: A tough group, but: Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk

Group H

FC Barcelona: Barcelona is the best, if you’re against Barcelona, you’re against soccer, blah blah blah blah blah. With essentially the same team, besides the sale (with buyback clause) of forward Bojan Krki? to Roma and signings of forward Alexis Sánchez and The Bargain Midfielder Who Was Suffering At Arsenal. There is concern about Barcelona’s mortality, as they merely drew against Real Sociedad this past Saturday. Nevertheless, defender Carles Puyol returns from injury, but Mr. Shakira (defender Gerald Pique) and Sánchez are out.

AC Milan: Last year’s Serie A champions will be without forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho and may also miss midfielder Gennaro Gattuso (he who battled with Spurs coach Joe Jordan last year). AC Milan had a topsy-turvy preseason and drew with Lazio this past weekend, but the club got to a slow start last year, too.

FC BATE Borisov: Belaurs champions BATE have never won a Champions League match, though BATE may win one against Champions League newcomers Plze?. BATE will be without forward Vitali Rodionov, defender Evgeni Kuntsevich and midfielders Dmitri Likhtarovich and Aleksandr Pavlov.

FC Viktoria Plzen: This will be a series of firsts for this club, as Viktoria Plzen won the Czech league for the first time last year and will enter the Champions League for the first time in this match. The club with be without goalkeeper Roman Pavlik.

Matches:
  • Barcelona v. AC Milan (Tuesday 9/13)
  • Plzen v. BATE (Tuesday 9/13)
Predictions: Barcelona, AC Milan

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