Champions League/Europa League Draw Reaction

Champions League Draw
Lyon v Apoel
Napoli v Chelsea
AC Milan v Arsenal
Basel v Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen v Barcelona
CSKA Moscow v Real Madrid
Zenit v Benfica
Marseille v Inter Milan


So the draw for the last 16 has been completed in Nyon this morning and it is the clear the two English sides have received the toughest draws available for Group winners.


I think the Chelsea draw is an interesting one as Napoli have shown what they are about in the Group along with Manchester City. However, this is one of those where I think playing away from home in the 1st Leg could be vital to their hopes of getting through to the Quarter Finals.


Chelsea have to have the mentality of going to Italy and not coming back behind in the tie- that would allow Napoli to hit Chelsea on the counter all day long in the 2nd Leg and could give them a chance to go through. I am looking forward to this tie, it should be a very interesting one.


Arsenal must also be a little disappointed that they drew the toughest team they could have in this round. AC Milan have definitely improved since they last met in 2008, but they have been beaten by English teams at this stage in each of the last 3 seasons and there may be a slight mental block as far as they are concerned.


The 1st Leg is perhaps more important to Milan in this case- it is in the San Siro that they have been beaten by Arsenal (2008), Manchester United (2010) and Tottenham Hotspur (2011) while achieving draws when visiting North London. Milan will surely look to avoid defeat in the 1st Leg and then take their chances at the Emirates Stadium and I am sure they would take a draw right now.


Arsenal's style of play should cause problems for Milan, but I think it will be 'easier' for them in the 1st Leg when the onus will be on the Italians to push forward in front of their own fans. This is another tie that should be fascinating viewing for the neutrals around Europe.


All 3 favourites for the Champions League (Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich) should be delighted with the quality of their opponents in this round, although Real do have a long trip to Moscow to negotiate.


I fully expect all 3 sides will go through with a lot of room to spare and can only imagine that they have all hardened in prices to win the tournament.


Marseille v Inter Milan should be a close contest to call, although the Italians have improved a little bit after having a tough time replicating the form that won them this competition in 2010. Marseille are a side that have done well to reach this stage, but they are beatable and I expect Inter will make their way through.


Lyon and Benfica should both be happy with the draws they received, although neither Apoel nor Zenit will be an easy pass to the last 8.




Europa League Draw
Porto v Manchester City
Ajax v Manchester United
Lokomotiv Moscow v Athletic Bilbao
Salzburg v Metalist Kharkiv
Stoke City v Valencia
Rubin Kazan v Olympiacos
AZ Alkmaar v Anderlecht
Lazio v Atletico Madrid
Steaua Bucharest v Twente
Viktoria Plzen v Schalke
Wislaw Krakow v Standard Liege
Braga v Besiktas
Udinese v PAOK
Trabzonspor v PSV Eindhoven
Hannover v Club Brugge
Legia Warsaw v Sporting Lisbon




Salzburg/Metalist Kharkiv v Rubin Kazan/Olympiacos
Legia Warsaw/Sporting Lisbon v Porto/Manchester City
Steaua Bucharest/Twente v Viktoria Plzen/Schalke
Wislaw Krakow/Standard Liege v Hannover/Club Brugge
Stoke City/Valencia v Trabzonspor/PSV Eindhoven
AZ Alkmaar/Anderlecht v Udinese/PAOK
Lazio/Atletico Madrid v Braga/Besiktas
Ajax/Manchester United v Lokomotiv Moscow/Athletic Bilbao


I was fascinated by the Europa League draw this morning and could not have asked for more interesting ties for Manchester United... The trip to Ajax will be fun, and the potential for a trip to Bilbao is brilliant.


The draw is much like the Champions League in the fact the English sides both got tough draws in comparison to what they could have been given. Manchester City's game with Porto should be a lot of fun but I do expect they will be too strong for them. United should be too good for Ajax too unless they decide to play a weakened team in this competition.


The other stand out tie is the one between Lazio and Atletico Madrid and there are some big teams in the competition, and I do believe the last 16 and beyond will see some interesting matches taking place.


I am also pleased Stoke City get to play Valencia as they deserve a European night of that magnitude- it will be interesting to see how the technical Spanish side cope with the pressure football played by Stoke.

Champions League Group Stage Draw Reaction

I know it sounds silly, but I love watching the Champions League Group Stage draw, even though it rarely throws up that much excitement with the vast difference between the sides in pots 1 and 2 and those in the last 2 pots.

However, this year was a little different with the likes of Manchester City, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund and Zenit St Petersburg being potential banana skins for the big teams.

Group A: Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City and Napoli- This looks an interesting group and all 4 teams must fancy their chances of Qualifying.


Manchester City have some tough away games in that group, but they have got together a squad that has plenty of Champions League experience and I think they will be good enough to join Bayern Munich in the next stage.


Trips to Villarreal and Napoli will cause problems, but I think those two teams will not travel so well and that's what will let them down.




Group B: Inter, CSKA Moscow, Lille and Trabzonspor- On first glance, I would be extremely surprised if Inter Milan fail to get through the Group and are very likely to finish top.


CSKA Moscow are tough to play in Russia and I think that will make the difference and help them join Inter in the last 16.




Group C: Manchester United, Benfica, Basel and Otelul Galati- Manchester United will be extremely happy with the group they have been given, and it should provide an opportunity for Sir Alex Ferguson to give many of the younger players their first taste of European football. I expect the likes of Phil Jones, Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley, Ashley Young, Chris Smalling and David De Gea to play in the majority of these fixtures and give the more experienced players a chance to keep the Premier League run going.


Benfica are the toughest opponents in the group and I think their performances at the Stadium of Light will ensure they get enough points to join United in the next round.




Group D: Real Madrid, Lyon, Ajax and Dinamo Zagreb- Jose Mourinho should be very happy with the draw, especially after helping remove the Lyon curse Real Madrid had last season.


Lyon and Ajax should be fighting for 2nd place and it could come down to how they play at Dinamo Zagreb, a very tough looking away game.


Dinamo may feel they can cause a surprise if they get off to a positive start, but I think Real Madrid will be joined by Lyon's experience in the next stage.




Group E: Chelsea, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen and Genk- Chelsea should be glad what the draw has offered, with little travelling required during the early part of the season and with opponents that should not have enough for them.


Valencia are not the team of old, having lost a number of key players over the last couple of years including Juan Mata to Chelsea and they may just be surprised by Bayer Leverkusen in getting through.


Genk are easily the weakest team in the group and will likely be satisfied if they can get one win, while enjoying the financial benefits of hosting the sides in the group.




Group F: Arsenal, Marseille, Olympiakos and Borussia Dortmund- At first glance it looks like Arsenal have a decent draw, but a little further digging suggests it may not be as straightforward as it seems.


All 3 away games will be tough, while Borussia Dortmund were the best team in pot 4 and the most difficult opponents for the Gunners.


Marseille showed how tough they can be when pushing Manchester United in the last 16 last season, and also beating Chelsea at home in the group stage, while Olympiakos are a tough ask in Greece.


Arsenal will need to improve their away form if they want to go through, else it could be a shock exit in store for Arsene Wenger's team.




Group G: Porto, Shakhtar Donetskk, Zenit St Petersburg and Apoel- This is perhaps the most unappealing group (unless you support one of the sides involved) in terms of viewing. The top 3 sides will feel they can all make it through, while Apoel may be all the better from their previous experience at this stage.


Porto have been weakened by losing their manager and star striker Falcao in the Summer, so I think Shakhtar Donetsk will win the group after reaching the Quarter Finals last season.


Zenit could be the surprise to join them in the last 16 this season, with Porto being the most vulnerable of the Pot 1 clubs.




Group H: Barcelona, AC Milan, BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzen- It looked like shaping up to be the group of death after the first two teams were put together, but the latter two sides don't look likely to cause too many problems so I do expect Barcelona and AC Milan to move through in that order.




I will make some outright picks before the first group games begin in September, but I think most of the big names will be very glad with what has been put in front of them. I can't see too many surprises, although Arsenal and Manchester City will need to start off well if they don't want to cause too many problems in their qualification.

Porto look the weakest of the top seeds and I think they may be the most likely to go out at this stage.

Teams like Borussia Dortmund, City, Zenit St Petersburg and Bayer Leverkusen look the teams most likely to reach the last 16 after being outside of the top 2 pots in the draw.

Hopefully the layers will have their prices up soon in the outright and group betting markets, and we can find some angles to move forward with.