Champions League Matchday 1: Preview

 Champions league football is back!

Match day 1 will fall on the 15th and 16th of September.

Tuesday, 15th September 2009 matches:
Group A:  Juventus vs Bordeux
                Maccabi Haifa vs Bayern Munich

Group B : Wolfsburg vs CSKA

                Besiktas vs Man Utd.

Group C:  Marseille vs Milan

                FC Zurich vs Real Madrid

Group D:  Chelsea vs Porto

                Atletico Madrid vs APOEL

Juve-Bordeux....both teams are unbeaten in their respective leagues..

Juve  finished Serie A in second place last season, and didn't make it past the round of 16 in the champions league. They will be looking to better those results. Alessandro Del Piero (pictured) is back from injury, but is not likely to be playing as he is not 100% fit. Cannavaro is set to make a return after being rested against Juve's 2-0 win over Lazio. Big injury news is that summer signing Diego is out for 2 weeks after picking up an injury over the weekend. This is coach Ciro Ferra's first champions league match and he'll be wanting to walk away with 3 points.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                       
Bordeux topped the French League last seaon but didn't advance past the group stage in the Champions league, they had finished 3rd in their table. They have a formidable pair - playmakers Yoan Gourcuff and the Arsenal-sought Marauanne Chamakh. Coach Laurent Blanc will be wanting to capitalize on their recent run of good form in Ligue 1 by notching up an early win in the Champions League. They're looking in good shape but I feel Juve may have the edge in this one.




Chelsea-Porto

The Champions League trophy is the title that Chelsea will be itching to get their hands on. New coach Carlo Ancelotti seems to have breathed a new lease of life into the Blues. They are unbeaten in the Premier League, and they've been looking more disciplined and together this season. However, their strike force will be led by Anelka (left). Didier Drogba will serve the first of his 3 match bans for misconduct in "that"semi-final against Barca last season. Bosingwa will also sit out this one for a similar ban imposed on him. But The Blues are not without talent, as Ancelottic has Belletti or Ivanovic at his disposal to fill in the Right Back position. Carvalho is set to return to the team, while Deco    and Joe Cole are likely to be left out.

PORTO

Coach Ferrira will rely on newcomer Falcao, who has scored in all 4 of their league matches this season. He also has options in the form of Hulk, Cristian Rodriguez and Mariano Gonzalez. I feel that Chelsea at Stamford Bridge is going to be too big a task for Prto. My prediction: a Chelsea win.

Wed, 16th September 2009:
Group E:   A. Lyon vs Fiorentina
                 Liverpool vs Debrecen
Group F:   Dynamo vs Rubin
                 Inter Milan vs Barcelona
Group G:   Sevilla vs Unirea Urziceni
                 Stuttgart vs rangers
Group H:   Standard vs Arsenal
                 Olympiakos vs Alkmaar

Match Previews to follow..