Champions League Groups Drawn

By Brian Lofrumento | 27th August 2009

Champions League Groups Drawn | read this item

Related News

champs-league-trophy We’re all set for another exciting season of Champions League action as club directors and players alike were in Monaco for today’s group stage draw.

Here’s what to look forward to during the 2009/10 Champions League campaign:

Group A

Bayern Munich have some tough opponents in Group A, but none bigger than Italian giants Juventus. These two veteran Champions League sides are joined by French side Bordeaux and Maccabi Haifa. Both Bayern Munich and Juventus will expect to easily qualify out of this group, but Bordeaux will have something to say about that.

Group B

Manchester United fans should be licking their lips at the prospect of Group B. While it’s not the easiest group out of the bunch, United will pit their wits against German champions Wolfsburg and Turkish champions Besiktas. Russian runners-up CSKA Moscow round out a relatively tough group. All of these teams realistically have a chance at going through, but you’ve got to favor United and Wolfsburg. Keep in mind that this group has three domestic league winners.

Group C

Group C sees two European giants face off. AC Milan and Real Madrid will go head to head in this group with French runners-up Olympique Marseille. FC Zurich rounds this group out, but the men from Switzerland will simply enjoy playing against some of Europe’s top teams. Milan and Real are the clear favorites, but Marseille will be tough to beat and Zurich will want it badly.

Group D

Just after John Terry was named Defender of the Year, he drew the ball that pit Porto against Chelsea. It won’t be easy for either of these teams as Sergio Aguero and Atletico Madrid find themselves in Group D. Champions League newcomers APOEL round out the group, and the Greek minnows will face an uphill battle. There’s no clear favorite in this group, but Chelsea should have enough firepower to progress.

Group E

By far the group of death in this year’s Champions League, English runners-up Liverpool couldn’t have ended up in a trickier group. Dominant French side Olympique Lyonnais join Liverpool, but that’s not all. Italian giants Fiorentina got past Sporting Lisbon in the qualifiers and find themselves in Group E. Luckily for these three it’s just Debrecen that rounds out the group, but don’t underestimate the underdogs.

Group F

Group F should be exciting as the Spanish champions collide with the Italian champions. Defending Champions League winners Barcelona will have two matches against Inter Milan in this year’s Champions League, and Dynamo Kiev and FC Rubin will be dreading the task of finishing above the two giants.

Group G

Scottish champions Rangers will not only be delighted just to be in this year’s group stage, but they have a realistic chance of moving on to the knockout stages. They’re joined by Sevilla, Stuttgart, and Unirea, and on their day Rangers can beat any of these sides. Likewise, though, Sevilla and Stuttgart will see their chance to progress, and it could be a three way battle to get to the round of 16.

Group H

Arsenal perhaps have the easiest of draws of any English club, but their one big challenge comes in the form of Dutch club AZ Alkmaar. Make no mistake about it, though, it will by no means be a cake walk, as Olympiakos and Standard Liege are staples in the Champions League each year. Regardless, Arsenal should have enough talent to progress, and the other three will be fighting for that second spot.

Who do you think is in good shape after this draw? Have your say below!

Laszlo Fekete says:

August 27, 2009 at 9:23 pm

Debreceni VSC is the best club in Hungary! I know it because i am hungarian. i think we can win some point(s) and should not write down us. it’s a very strong group for every team. For the ‘big’ Liverpool too.

Reply to this Comment
Brad says:

August 27, 2009 at 9:16 pm

This is pretty good!!! Nice consice analysis. I would like to add that maybe Maccabi Haifa could do a little damage in group A, but I might be biased because of my Israeli friends. Here is what my friend wrote up (quite similar to this): http://ranjeremysports.blogspot.com/2009/08/uefa-champions-league-predictions.html

Reply to this Comment
Thomas O'Loughlin says:

August 27, 2009 at 8:34 pm

Beware the Italian teams in this year’s Champions league, very little is excepted of them. Inter will finally have some pace in the side with etoo, also Juventus will be a lot stronger this year with some good young players and new signings like felipe melo and diego

Reply to this Comment