Champions’ League Draw - Part 2 - Groups E to H
Groups E to H contain some of the shining lights of European football. Whereas, Arsenal, Chelsea and last year's finalists, Bayern Munich might be happy with their groups; it is the Galacticos of Real Madrid who may be a little peeved with their tricky group. Not quite the group of death, Jose Mourinho has an inconvenient group to navigate in his first outing as the manager of the Whites of Madrid.
Group E - Bayern Munich, Roma, Basle, CFR Cluj
The Bavarian giants, Bayern Munich and the team from the Eternal City, Roma are the biggest names that stand out in the group. Even though Swiss side, Basle has made a habit of being in the group stages of the Champions League, theirs is a limited side, which at the most may be able to get a draw out of their four encounters against the more illustrious German and Italian opponents. CFR Cluj are strictly the minnows of the group and will have their work cut out in order to avoid thrashings. Given the fact that Bayern had completed the double last season and lost narrowly to Inter Milan in the final of last season's Champions League, they will be favorites to end up ahead of their Italian opponents. Despite the fact that Roma has more than enough quality to ruffle Bavarian feathers, one would have to pick Louis Van Gaal's side to take leadership of the group. It seems as if Bayern Munich and Roma will take the top two spots in this group.
Group F - Chelsea, Marseille, Spartak Moscow, MSK Zilina
Didier Drogba will finally have a chance to go back to the ground where he made his name. The Chelsea hit-man has always spoken of his love of Marseille and in this group F, he will finally have the chance to go back to his old stamping ground along with his Chelsea side. Despite Marseille's decent form and the fact that Spartak Moscow are always competitive in the group stages, Chelsea should comfortably top this group. With due respect to MSK Zilina, the second place will be a straight shootout between the Russian and French sides. Marseille has improved massively in the last few seasons and might just pip Moscow due to the fact that they have a few more quality players in their squad.
Group G - AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax, Auxerre
Jose Mourinho always attracts attention. In group G, his expensively assembled Real Madrid squad will be the centre of attention as Mourinho tries to weave his magic at the Bernabeau. Not that it will be easy for the "Special One" in his new assignment. Standing in Madrid's way to the knock out round are Italian giants, AC Milan, mercurial Dutch side Ajax and French team Auxerre who knocked out the highly rated Zenit St. Petersburg. Madrid and Milan should qualify from this group but not before they are involved in some tricky encounters. None of the teams in this group are pushovers but the quality of the Spanish and Italian sides is a notch higher. That gap in quality will show over the course of 6 matches that each contender in the group will have to play. Expect Madrid to top the group while Milan to just nick in second position. Ajax and Auxerre will have to battle it out for the Europa League spot but Dutch side might just pip that because it contains the striking prowess of Luis Suarez.
Group H - Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Partizan
Arsenal will be very happy with their group. They are involved with Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga and Partizan. All are decent sides but none are the sort which will send shivers down the spines of the young Gunners. Arsenal will be expected to top the group with the three other teams to battle it out for the second spot. Donetsk has been in the group stages long enough to be canny and experienced. On the other hand, Partizan saw off Anderlecht while Braga defeated Spanish side Sevilla in a very impressive win. Due to the fashion of their win, Braga might just sneak into second position to join Arsenal in the knock out rounds.
All in all, the draw puts up some very interesting match ups and fans of football should all be excited for the feast of football.
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