Let us continue with our look at the final four groups of this season’s Champions League continuing from my last day’s preview article concentrating on the Groups A to D.

Group E: This is the group of the champions as Manchester United start their defence of the title against Villareal, Celtic and Danish underdogs Aalborg. United face-off against Spanish outfit Villareal at Old Trafford with a semblance of revenge on mind as the yellow submarines were instrumental in packing off the Red Devils from the competition in the 2005/2006 season.
Scottish giants Celtic would always pose a problem or two to any side particularly at the imposing Celtic Park and with Danish side Aalborg promising to match the best toe to toe, this group could prove to be intriguing with two ‘Battle of Britain’ ties proving to be the catalyst for an enthralling group stage.

Group F: The return of German football powerhouse Bayern Munich dominates this group as they prepare to end their elite European hibernation with clashes against Steaua Bucharest, Lyon and Fiorentina starting with a trip to the Romanian capital. Group F could prove to be interesting as Lyon and Fiorentina are all capable in upsetting Bayern boss Juergen Klinsmann’s plans for the Bavarian club’s success and there is no way that one can underestimate Bucharest.
Above all according to football terms, Bayern’s pedigree in European football and Lyon’s experience could see them pip Fiorentina and Bucharest for places in the knockout stage.

Group G: Arsenal have been provided a group that will prove to be tricky in terms of the journey across the continent. The Gunners are desperate for silverwares this season after few years of complete starvation but Arsene Wenger’s men are confident of going one step further compared to the 2005/2006 season when the North London side lost to Barcelona in Paris. While Kiev will be a hard place to travel, Arsenal are lucky that they are facing Dynamo Kiev in September rather than November or December under severe wintry conditions. FC Porto are favourites to join the Gunners into the next round but no one should forget Fenerbahce’s heroics last season as they advanced to the quarter-finals before being edged out by Chelsea but not before giving the Stamford Bridge side a mighty scare in the first leg at Istanbul which the Turkish side won 2-1. The atmosphere in the boisterous Turkish city of Istanbul will always act as an advantage for the Bosphorus club and this could rattle any of the three sides in the group.

Group H: Juventus marks their return amongst the crème de la crème of European football with a difficult home tie against UEFA Cup and Super Cup champions Zenith St Petersburg and the upcoming Russian side would again rely on their superstar Andrei Arshavin to deliver the knockout blows having succeeded in keeping hold of the Russian starlet in a summer full of speculation surrounding the Barcelona and Tottenham target.
Real Madrid would try to win their tenth European title and the battle begins in earnest against Champions League newboys BATE Borisov of Belarus.

As I finish my look at the groups of this season’s Champions League let me remind my readers that the road to Rome will be hard and bumpy and whoever stays the stronger mentally and can cope with the rigours of domestic and European football more efficiently would follow Manchester United for the title come May.

LET THE WAR BEGIN
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