Group A: FC Barcelona, FC Chelsea, Werder Bremen, Levski Sofia. Group B: Inter Mailand, FC Bayern, Sporting Lissabon, Spartak Moscow. Group C: FC Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Girondins Bordeaux, Galatasaray Istanbul Group D: FC Valencia, AS Rom, Olympiakos Piräus, Schachtjor Donezk Group E: Real Madrid, Olympique Lyon, Steaua Bukarest, Dynamo Kiew Group F: Manchester United, Celtic Glasgow, Benfica Lissabon, FC Kopenhagen Group G: FC Arsenal, FC Porto, ZSKA Moscow, Hamburger SV Group H: AC Miland, OSC Lille, AEK Athens, RSC Anderlecht It's Group A for me. Barca, Chelsea and Bremen - best Spanish, best English and best German team
Hmmh... Group A has Spanish Champs (and CL Holder), English Champ, and 2nd place German team. This is a no-brainer. I feel sorry for Levski.
I 2nd that... sorry levski. Werder could be a stunner in this group if chelsea and barca underestimate them
Levski aren't exactly pushovers either. Readed the 1/4 finals of the UEFA Cup. Surely the 4th place team at the end of the day, but they could cause a shock.
yeah, us at Levski are screwed, but at least the team will make sure to leave a good impression, and prove what they can do against the world's best teams. Of course I can already imagine Ronaldinho just playing with the defense, but at least our players will gain even more valuable experience for the domestic league, and for the next years... And anyway, since Levski will play against the most mediatized teams, the club is sure to win a whole lot of cash from the campaign. Plus, we can never rule out the power of luck, who knows, Levski might get some kind of result from its games and pull a miracle
Barcelona doesn't have any pressure, Barca is the Liga champions and CL Champions. Got nothing to lose, so be afraid.
Werder Bremen really upgraded their team this year. They can pull an upset. Meanwhile, Arseanl should walk away in Group G, but the 2nd place team will be tough.
Group A has got to be the group of death... man do I feel bad for Levski Sofia, a talented squad that has been given essentially no chance due to who they face. I think you'll see Celtic advance out of their group as I belive Manchester United will win the group and Celtic will beat out Benfica for 2nd. If Celtic can take at least 1, preferrably 2 points from the ManU set they will have Benfica set up for a showdown for 2nd. Benfica, while a talented team, aren't as out of Celtic's league as Manchester United seems to be especially considering their league form as of late. Celtic could afford to play for a draw in Portugal and then get a W at home against Benfica to secure 2nd. I don't know much about FC Copenhagen but the fact that they made it as far as they did speaks volumes about how talented a club they are. If anyone goes to sleep on them they may not get a result. Here's to a great Champions League!!
Group A. Barca and Chelsea are contenders to win the CL, Bremen is worthy of at least going into the second round or quarter-finals and Levski could be underestimated. It would be a shame if Werder went out in the first round because they may not be a glamour club like Barca or Chelsea but they still have a good team. Is there such thing as the Group of Life (the weakest group)? I'll give that honour to Group H. Milan has it so easy. They could have Ambrosini, Foggia and Boriello starting and the rossoneri could still win the group.
Group E Real Madrid - former winners of Ch. League, O. Lyonnais, STEAUA Bucharest - former winners of Ch. League and Dynamo Kyiv...Hey don't forget STEAUA Bucharest defeted Dynamo Kyiv in the final of Europe Supercup in 1987, with 1-0...goal scored by Hagi
Is any of those guys from 1987 going to be playing? Like I said before, a team chances every 2 years, and you are talking about 20 years ago. I bet you also believe that Uruguay is just as good as France
Group D for sure. Look at the group Valencia, Roma, Olymp and Shaktar, there is no clear cut favourites in this group. This group seems wide open. Every game will mean something. I won't be suprised with any of these teams advancing. Group A is not the group of death. Even though Bremen is a good team, Barca and Chelski will advance quite comfortably.
No doubt. Chelsea are "Pot 1" quality and to have Werder Bremen as the "third" team is just insane. Toughest group by far.
I disagree. There are two clear-cut favourites in Valencia and Roma. Shakhtar and Olympiakos simply don't have what it takes to get into the second round, especially the Greeks. Maybe they should consider getting rid of Nikopolidis.