The Champions League group stages have finished, and now it’s time to see which teams will face each other in the round of 16 which is coming up next. UEFA will be drawing the match-ups for the Champions League and the Europa League on December 17th, and there’s a set of guidelines which the round of 16 matches will have to comply with. Here’s the guidelines below:

• Winners and runner-ups of the groups will be drawn against each other.

• The runner-up team will play the first leg at home.

• No two teams from the same association can be drawn against each other, ex. Manchester United – Arsenal cannot be drawn because both sides are from the Premier League.

• No two teams from the same group can be drawn against each other, ex. Tottenham – Inter Milan cannot be drawn because they were in the same group.

With these guidelines, I’ve put together the matches that I want to see in the round of 16. I tried to think about match-ups which will be exciting, even, and hopefully full of goals. Here they are below:

Tottenham Hotspur – Valencia

Schalke 04 – FC Copenhagen

Manchester United – Marseille

Barcelona – Roma

Bayern Munich – Inter Milan

Chelsea – AC Milan

Real Madrid – Arsenal

Shakhtar Donetsk – Lyon

What do you think about my choices? I decided to put Bayern Munich against Inter Milan, because I think it would be exciting to see Bayern take revenge for last season’s final which they lost. I also decided to put Arsenal against Real Madrid because Arsene Wenger’s side tries to replicate Barcelona’s beautiful passing and attacking style, could they do it against Real Madrid? Tottenham against Valencia seems like an extremely exciting match-up to me, because both sides love to play an attacking and free-flowing style, and I don’t think I can predict a winner between those two. And I put Chelsea against AC Milan because of Carlo Ancelotti facing his former side, along with the possibility of seeing an Ibrahimovic-led AC Milan side try and break down Chelsea.

Make sure to share your thoughts on what match-ups you want to see in the round of 16 by commenting below! What could be the most exciting match in the next round? Comment below!

The Champions League group stages have been extremely exciting this season, and as the knockout stages draw nearer, we’re beginning to see the sides which will take part in the latter stages of the competition. Right now, the sides which have qualified are: Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Schalke 04, Lyon, Manchester United, Valencia, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Manchester United – Valencia

Manchester United sealed their qualification in first place of the group after drawing 1-1 against Valencia at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side started with a bit of complacency, they were sloppy, and unable to transition quickly like they were able to do in their 7-1 victory against Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League, mostly because Valencia closed them down quickly and efficiently. Berbatov and Anderson both had great opportunities to score, but poor finishing was what stopped United from taking the lead. Then Michael Carrick lost the ball (not for the first time) and allowed Pablo Hernandez to score the opening goal for Valencia.

What Manchester United were lacking was a bit of spark, a midfield maestro, or an experienced playmaker in the middle of the park. The second half began, and Rio Ferdinand had to be substituted in the 50th minute, when his hamstring seemed to be causing him problems. Chris Smalling was placed in the center of defence, and the big defender struggled against a Valencia side which was looking for another goal. But Manchester United got the final goal of the match, tying up the result which qualifies them in first place of the group.

It was the lively Anderson who got on the end of Park Ji-Sung’s parried shot, and the Brazilian tucked away his first goal at Old Trafford. It was a good game, and Valencia looked very dangerous against a slightly complacent Manchester United side. It’ll be interesting to see which side will have to face Valencia, and I’m sure that the Spanish club will give their next opponents a tough game.

FC Twente – Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur also qualified in first place of their group after their 3-3 draw, away against FC Twente. Harry Redknapp’s side had a lucky start when the FC Twente goalkeeper Boschker scored a comical own goal in the 12th minute. Boschker was about to clear a pass from his defender, Wisgerhof, and the keeper completely missed the ball, allowing it to roll into the back of his own net! But Twente recovered and eventually equalized when they were awarded a penalty about ten minutes later when the ball bounced off of Assou-Ekkoto’s arm.

In the second half the two sides alternated scoring goals, with Jermain Defoe scoring a brace, and Chadli scoring a fantastic free kick which equalized the score at 3-3. It was a great result for Tottenham, especially with their rivals for first place, Inter Milan, being humiliated 3-0 by Werder Bremen.

Other games

Barcelona had few problems defeating Rubin Kazan 2-0 at the Camp Nou. Josep Guardiola put out a very young side, and his youngsters proved him right with 21 year-old Andreu Fontas and 23 year-old Victor Vazquez scoring the two goals.

Copenhagen also qualified in the same group with Barcelona after their 3-1 win against Panathinaikos. The Danish side had no trouble until the 90th minute, when Kante scored a consolation goal for Panathinaikos, making the final score 3-1 for Copenhagen.

Schalke 04 qualified in first place of their group after a fantastic 2-1 away win against Benfica. Schalke were two up with Jurado and Howedes having scored the goals when Luisao scored a consolation goal for Benfica. This win is fantastic for Felix Magath’s side which hasn’t been playing too well this season. Maybe this is where their season turns around?

Lyon qualified second behind Schalke 04 after their exciting 2-2 draw against Hapoel Tel Aviv. Hapoel Tel Aviv thought that they’d managed to win when Zahavi scored their second goal with a beautiful bicycle kick to make it 2-1, but it was the youngster Lacazette who ruined their victory dreams. If the Israeli side had managed to hold on for the win, they’d have qualified for the Europa League, but instead it will be Benfica which will be playing in the Europa League this season.

Share your comments regarding the Champions League action below!

With just one more set of group stage matches to go, many teams have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages, but few did it better than Barcelona. Although Valencia destroyed Bursaspor 6-1, Barcelona played their usual brand of spectacular football, and they crushed Panathinaikos 3-0.Right now the teams which have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages are:

Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Schalke 04, Manchester United, Valencia, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Among the qualified teams you have some surprises, the newcomers Tottenham Hotspur fought well for their spot defeating the German side Werder Bremen 3-0 at home. Aaron Lennon was devastating on the right wing as he provided two assists with phenomenal runs. Eunice Kaboul netted the first with a great volley, Modric scored the second after Crouch headed it down into the Croatian’s path to control and volley, and then the big Englishman Crouch got a goal as well, tapping in from close range after Lennon had nutmegged a defender before passing it to him.

Inter Milan also qualified with their 1-0 win over Twente, and although the Italian side has been going through difficult times with a big injury list, Rafa Benitez’s side played excellently. Although the nerazzurri hit the woodwork a couple of times, the lone goal was scored by Cambiasso who reacted first to get on the end of a deflection off of Sneijder’s free kick. But Twente were dangerous as well, they clipped the crossbar late in the second half after a well worked chance, but the nerazzurri had already won. If you’re interested in a full breakdown of how Italian teams are doing in the Champions League, click here.

Manchester United also won, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team defeated Rangers 1-0 at Ibrox Stadium with a late penalty scored by Wayne Rooney. Rangers had played well throughout the match, and although the red devils had some good chances during the match, they never capitalized. But the win arrived with Wayne Rooney scoring the late penalty and celebrating with plenty of intensity.

What are your thoughts regarding the teams which have qualified? Make sure to share your thoughts regarding the Champions League matches below!

In the first eight matches of this Champions League matchday, there was plenty of excitement to go around. Some sides like Chelsea have made sure that they’re going through top of the group, while others like Arsenal have complicated their Champions League campaign terribly.

In these eight games, there were 23 goals scored, making for an average of 2.8 goals per game. But what I find very interesting is that in these eight matches, there were four players sent off with red cards! All four sending offs were in the second half of the matches, and three were in the last five minutes. I guess it’s a sign that the tension is rising as teams need to qualify for the next round of the tournament.

The most exciting match which took place today was Roma – Bayern Munich, with the Italian side triumphing at home 3-2. Bayern started the scoring with Gomez taking advantage of shaky Roma defending in the 33rd and 39th minutes, leaving Ranieri’s side in a bit of disarray going into the second half. But Roma came out to win the match in front of their home fans, and Borriello pulled one back four minutes into the second half, then in the 81^st minute De Rossi scored to make it 2-2. And in the 84^th minute, Roma were awarded a penalty, and their legendary captain Francesco Totti stepped up and scored the winner.

A fantastic match which keeps Roma in second place, three points behind Bayern Munich, and three ahead of FC Basel. FC Basel defeated CFR Cluj at home 1-0, with Alerares scoring the only goal in the 15^th minute. Cluj had Piccolo sent off with a direct red card in the 88^th minute, and the player will miss their next Champions League match against Roma. So Group E is relatively tight with Roma needing a win if they want to qualify, while Bayern look pretty solid up in first place with a goal difference of +7.

Chelsea faced Zilina at Stamford Bridge, and while they went a goal down in the first half, Ancelotti’s side scored twice in the second half in order to win 2-1. Zilina scored from a quick give-and-go passing move which Bello poked past Turnbull. It was the youngster Sturridge who equalized, and Chelsea began to press on, with Drogba almost scoring from a free kick, and  youngster van Aanholt smacking an effort against the post. It was Florent Malouda who scored the winner in the 86th minute for Chelsea, helping his side get their fifth in a row in the Champions League, qualifying them mathematically for first place.

Behind Chelsea which has fifteen points, Olympique Marseille are second with nine, with Spartak Moscow following the french side with six points. Marseille defeated the Russian team comfortably 3-0 in Russia, with Valbuena, Remy, and Brandao scoring the goals while Welliton was sent off for Spartak. While it is mathematically possible for Spartak Moscow to steal Marseille’s second place and qualify for the next round, Marseille have a goal difference of +8, while Spartak’s is -4, so it’s very likely that Chelsea and Olympique Marseille will move on to the next round from Group F.

While Chelsea have qualified to the next round, Arsenal have made their qualification a little more difficult after their away loss to Sporting Braga. It was a 2-0 win for the Portuguese side with Matheus Nascimento scoring both very well taken goals. What will bother Arsenal fans the most is probably the fact that their side conceeded the goals in the 83^rd and 90^th minutes, and that they’ll probably have to win next Champions League matchday in order to qualify.

This is because Sporting Braga are tied with Arsenal with nine points, with the English side ahead by goal difference. Ahead of both of the sides is Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk which defeated Partizan 3-0, which puts them first with 12 points. Watching all the action from the very bottom of the table is the Serbian side Partizan, the team has only scored one goal, and has zero points, and their chances of picking up some points next matchday are slim, considering that they’ll be facing Arsenal which will be fighting for qualification.

Jose Mourinho will be glad that his team, Real Madrid, conquered first place in the group with a 4-0 away win over Ajax, but he won’t be too glad about the two players which received red cards in the final minutes of the match. Everything was going perfectly all the way until the last five minutes of the match, the Spanish side were 4-0 up with Benzema and Arbeloa on the scoresheet along with Ronaldo who scored twice, of which one of the goals was a penalty.

But in the 87^th minute Xabi Alonso gets a second yellow card for time wasting (his first was for throwing the ball away during a stoppage of play), and therefore a red card, and just minutes later Sergio Ramos replicates his teammate and gets sent off for wasting time as well! But Jose Mourinho won’t care too much, especially considering that this win mathematically qualifies his side in first place.

AC Milan have also mathematically qualified for the knockout round in second place after their 2-0 win away from home against Auxerre. And it was Ibrahimovic who scored a fantastic goal, a truly unstoppable rocket which shows that the Swede has been playing wonderfully and scoring plenty of goals to help his side, whether it be in the Champions League, or the Serie A. Ronaldinho got the other goal in the 90^th minute, a sly dribbling move finished by a curled left foot shot onto the far post.

What are your thoughts regarding these matches? Will Arsenal qualify? What about Roma? Can they catch Bayern? Share your comments below!

The penultimate matchday of the Champions League group stages is coming up, and it’s make-or-break time for some big clubs. These midweek matches could even decide the future for some coaches, like Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan, who’s been getting some bad results with the holders of the Champions League. Plenty of teams have the chance to qualify for the knockout round, but they’ll have to do the business, and see how they match up against Europe’s other elite sides.

Roma – Bayern Munich

This is a match of huge proportions for both sides, while Bayern Munich have already mathematically qualified, the Bavarian side has been having lots of difficulty in the Bundesliga. Louis van Gaal’s side is 8th in Germany’s top league, with 14 points to make up between them and the table-leaders Borussia Dortmund. So this match is relatively important if Bayern want to begin to string together some wins, and have a hope of retaining the Bundesliga title this season. Roma on the other hand have six points in the group, and they lead the other two sides by three points. Claudio Ranieri needs to win this match if he wants to go deep into this competition with the giallorossi, and it seems like his squad has the momentum. The frenchman Menez has scored great goals so far this season, and he looks like a very dangerous player for any opposition defence, the question is, will he be able to pierce Bayern’s?

All of the Group A matches

Group A is extremely tight right now, you have last season’s competition winners, Inter Milan, second only by goal difference to the newcomers Tottenham Hotspur, with both sides on seven points, and below those two, Twente have five points, while Werder Bremen only have two! So the matches taking place in this group are crucial to see who will pass through to the next round, and who will come first.

First you have Inter Milan hosting Twente, and the Dutch side get to face Benitez’s team at the perfect time. The nerazzurri are in total disarray, having not won once in their past five matches, and the team is devastated by injuries to many key players. So if Twente can pull off a surprise win away from home,they’ll have a good chance of going through to the next round in place of the holders of the competition.

The other Group A match is first placed Tottenham Hotspur hosting Werder Bremen, and it’s the German side which has been doing badly this season. They’re 12th in the Bundesliga table, just four points away from the relegation zone, and in the Champions League group, qualification would take a miracle. Tottenham on the other hand are coming in to this match having just won a fantastic North London Derby against Arsenal where they came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, away from home! So while on paper this looks like a pretty simple Tottenham win, Werder Bremen might pull out a sneak result, putting a stick between the spokes of Tottenham’s Champions League campaign.

I haven’t been able to adress all the matches which will be taking place this midweek, but if you have any comments or thoughts regarding any matches in the Champions League, make sure to share them below!

Under Jose Mourinho, Inter gradually developed an aura of invincibility, and their defence – generally made up of Maicon, Lucio, Samuel and Chivu (or Zanetti) – had become the envy of the rest of Europe. The Nerazzurri had finally brought back the success of generations gone by, and despite one or two question marks over the overall age, the squad looked formidable with quality players in every part of the team; Julio Cesar, Maicon, Walter Samuel, Lucio, Cambiasso, Sneijder, Eto’o and Milito to name a few.

Having secured a historic treble, Mourinho departed to take the reigns at Real Madrid, and Benitez was brought in to replace him. Since that moment, things seem to have got steadily worse for Inter. First they were tactically outclassed in the European Super Cup by Atlético Madrid, although this was followed by a more promising performanace in a 3-1 win over Roma in the Italian Super Cup.

After only managing to win the much less prestigious of these two trophies, which Mourinho considered to be “on a plate” for Benitez, Inter haven’t showed any real signs of improvement. Convincing 4-0 wins over Werder Bremen and Bari have been two of the only high-points of their season so far, but Bari are rooted to the bottom of Serie A and Werder Bremen are languishing in 11th place of the Bundesliga following their recent 6-0 humiliation at the hands of Stuttgart.

Benitez has to be held directly responsible for this slump, as he has handled just about every aspect of the team extremely poorly. Firstly, he wasn’t given any money to build a side in his image, so it was absolutely vital that he didn’t attempt to make any major changes to the way the team plays. Possibly out of pure stubbornness, he has tried his best to do so anyway by using two returning young, raw talents on the wings; Coutinho and Johnathan Biabiany. These two youngsters have been used in an effort to play uncharacteristically (both for Inter and Benitez) attacking, high-pressing football, but this move simply hasn’t paid off. These two players lack the experience to assert themselves regularly at a high level, and Coutinho is much more comfortable when he is playing as a central playmaker. As a result, Inter have often found themselves “enjoying” large periods of possession but they have lacked the spark and intelligence to open their opposition up.

Benitez’ insistence on playing a high defensive line has been even more bizarre. Inter’s defenders are fantastic in the tackle, dogged, brave and generally dominant in the air, but they can also be made to look very ordinary if they aren’t used correctly (as demonstrated by Walter Samuel and Lucio’s struggles at their previous clubs). One of their undoubted weaknesses is having balls played in behind them, and the high line has already caused this weakness to become exposed on multiple occasions. Gareth Bale managed to humiliate the previously-proud defence three times at the San Siro, and yet Inter still failed to learn their lesson. Bale again had repeated success in the return match, and things got no better against AC Milan. Milan broke Inter’s long, proud unbeaten home record with relative ease by playing early balls over the top of the defence for Ibrahimovic and Robinho to run onto, and in truth, they could’ve scored several more goals from this simple, unsubtle method of breaking through the Inter defence.

Unless Moratti loses patience before it’s too late (which is perfectly likely, considering his track record), it’s entirely possible that Inter will finish second to Spurs in Group A of the Champions League and then get overrun in the first knockout stage if they are drawn with one of the big forces. Jose Mourinho will be the smuggest man alive, as if he wasn’t already.

After a truly fantastic matchday of Champions League action, there are so many things to review, especially after so many goals were scored. There were 53 goals scored in all 16 matches of the Champions League this midweek, that’s an average of 3.31 goals per game! Not bad at all.

Real Madrid travelled to Milan to play the rossoneri, and while Jose Mourinho added a little spice to the crowd by waving with three fingers (which indicates the treble he won last season with Inter Milan), the match was full of excitement. The first goal came at the 45 minute mark when Higuain took advantage of a slightly disorganized Milan backline, received a simple pass with his back to goal, and turned around to slot it into the back of the net.

Then in the second half, Allegri put on Inzaghi for Ronaldinho, and the Italian striker was phenomenal for AC Milan. He scored two goals to give the home side the lead, and surpass Gerd Muller’s all time scoring record in the competition by scoring his 70th goal in the tournament.

But Mourinho is a sly and lucky man, and in the 94th minute of the game, substitute Karim Benzema picked out another substitute Pedro Leon with a defence-splitting through pass, and Leon finished through Abbiati’s legs for an epic equalizer. With this point, Real Madrid have qualified for the knockout stages, but AC Milan will have to do will in their upcoming two matches against Auxerre and Ajax to make sure they qualify as well.

There was another story of revenge in this Champions League midweek, with Eduardo’s side Shakhtar Donetsk defeating his former club Arsenal. Things looked a little worrying for Shakhtar when Samir Nasri clipped the outside of the Ukrainian goal in the beginning of the match. After that, just ten minutes into the match Theo Walcott scored a wonderful goal from a deadly counter-attack finished by a sublime low curling shot. Arsenal needed a win to cinch qualification, and things were looking good for the gunners early on.

But Shakhtar fought back right away, and managed to hit the woodwork and then forced Fabianski to an excellent save. Finally Shakhtar scored, and it was the former Barcelona player Chygrynskiy who headed home from a free kick, and Fabianski couldn’t do much since there was a slight deflection as the ball flicked off of Eastmond’s head. Then, the true blow for Arsenal fans arrived, and it was their former player Eduardo who delivered it. A composed first-touch finish by Eduardo from a low pass across Arsenal’s penalty box gave the home side the winner. And while Arsenal fought back, it wasn’t meant to be as Shakhtar held on for an amazing home win.

Tottenham defeated Inter Milan 3-1 at White Hart Lane, with another outstanding performance by Gareth Bale. The Welsh international dominated the left wing and assisted two goals for Harry Redknapp’s side, and it was Samuel Eto’o who scored a lovely goal for Inter Milan.

Chelsea also got a big win, 4-1 over Spartak Moscow, and it was Bratislav Ivanovic who scored a brace! Drogba also made his Champions League season debut this match, and had the captain’s armband on for the English club as he scored as well.

Roma fought for a good 3-2 win away against Basel, a particularly inspired Menez gave the Romans the lead, and then Totti followed up with a penalty. After that Frei pulled one back for the home side, but the youngster Greco scored Roma’s third to make sure that Basel didn’t get their hopes up. Shaqiri scored the final goal of the match to make it 3-2, as Roma pull off an important win in this Champions League campaign.

Bayern Munich travelled away and pummelled CFR Cluj 4-0 with Mario Gomez scoring a hat-trick, but that wasn’t the biggest scoreline of this midweek. Marseille defeated Zilina in Slovakia, with Gignac scoring a hat-trick, and even former Real Madrid defender Heinze getting a goal.

There were plenty of amazing matches, and sadly I can’t cover them all. Please comment below about any of the matches which happened in the Champions League today, or any which will be happening in the Europa League tomorrow!

With the another matchday of the Champions/Europa League group stages coming up, I’ve decided to take  a look at what could be the more interesting matches of the 40 which will be played in the two competitions. The way I’ve chosen these matches is by looking at the teams which are playing, how they’ve been doing recently, and whether it’s make or break time for them.

Tottenham Hotspur – Inter Milan

After the fantastic 4-3 match which the two sides played out last matchday at the San Siro, I couldn’t not not include this return fixture which will take place at Tottenham’s stadium, White Hart Lane. But this match looks to be slightly different from the previous one, especially with Inter Milan probably missing Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic, and their main keeper, Julio Cesar. But Tottenham have missing players as well, their main playmaker Rafael van der Vaart limped off holding his thigh on the weekend, so he might not be able to play against Inter. And Tottenham’s first choice keeper Gomes is suspended after the red card he received last game against Inter.

My prediction for this match is a 3-1 win for Inter Milan. I expect Rafa Benitez’s side to create and finish opportunities, especially with Samuel Eto’o up front, and I think that they’ll be a little more wary of Gareth Bale. Do you agree or disagree? Share your prediction below by commenting!

CSKA Moscow – Palermo

This match is a very interesting match, although Palermo have been playing some beautiful football in the Serie A, with their brilliantly talented playmaker Javier Pastore, they haven’t started well in the Europa League. The Italian side are second-last in the group with only three points, meanwhile CSKA Moscow are top of the table with nine points having won all three of their matches so far. But what I think makes this match very interesting is the fact that Palermo need to get a result, and they have the players to do it in style. So could we see a full-out attacking match by the Italian side which will be fighting for whatever it can get away from home? I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a big scoreline from this match.

AC Milan – Real Madrid

This is a strange match, and while at first it may look like a clash of giants, I think that the game will be very one-sided for the Spanish side. The two historic sides faced each other at the Santiago Bernabeu last matchday, and that match was dominated by the home side which comfortably won 2-0. While you think that AC Milan will be able to pull something off at their home stadium in order to regain some pride, they just lost to Juventus 2-1 with the San Siro crowd booing the home side. As for Jose Mourinho’s side, Real Madrid are top of the La Liga table having scored 25 goals in just nine matches.

My prediction is a 2-1 win for Real Madrid. I think that Jose Mourinho is too meticulous and careful to detail to let this disorganized AC Milan side stop his team’s good run. And Cristiano Ronaldo looks sure to score considering that he has been playing wonderfully for Real. Agree or disagree with me? Well, make sure to share your thoughts on how this big match will go by commenting below!

FC Basel – Roma

This is a big match for Group E, with Bayern Munich in first with nine points, and the rest of the sides all tied up below the Germans with three, this could decide who goes through to the next round. Roma have been doing terribly in the Champions League, and having already faced FC Basel at their home stadium, the giallorossi were humiliated losing 3-1 in Rome. But Claudio Ranieri’s side has gained momentum, and after their latest 2-0 victory over Lecce, their were plenty of positive things which could be transferred in their away trip to Switzerland. So can Roma manage to win away against Basel to claim the second place in the group? We’ll have to wait and see until Wednesday before we get an answer.

If you have any thoughts or comments regarding matches in the Europa/Champions League, be sure to share them below by commenting!

Group D has an easy-to-predict first place but the rest of the group is wide open. FC Barcelona are a class above the teams they have been drawn in to Group C with, so complacency is going to be their biggest enemy. The real battle is going to be the home-and-away fixtures between FC Kobenhavn, FC Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos F.C.

FC Barcelona
Key Signing: David Villa. Villa, as we previously discussed, is one of the top goal scorers in Europe and will replace some of the pace and predatory instinct that Samuel Eto’o brought to the team a couple of seasons ago.

Key Departure: Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I don’t know what has happened behind the scenes so this may turn out to be a positive move for both Zlatan and Barca. I felt that on the field, Zlatan gave Barca a different option than their small, pacy forwards such as Messi and Pedro. However, this Barca side are so domineering in possession that having an option to alter their style of play may be wholly unnecessary.

Player to Watch: Sergio Busquets. I anticipate a big season for Busquets. With Yaya Toure departing for Manchester City, a spot in the starting XI is no longer a question for Busquets. He rose through the Barca ranks and featured in the B team under Josep Guardiola, and was often preferred over Toure last season. Busquets is an intelligent defensive midfielder and like all Barca players, an excellent distributor of passes.

X-Factor: Complacency. Both domestically and in the group stages. Having swept aside the competition with seemingly little effort, Guardiola will have to work hard to get his troops focused for the full 90 minutes of each match. From the look of Matchday 1, he seems to have got his homework correct.

FC Kobenhavn (FC Copenhagen)
Key Signing: Solvi Ottesen. Signed from SonderjyskE for approximately 1 million Euros, Ottesen has already repaid the club by scoring a vital goal in the final round of qulifcation. His goal against Rosenborg B.K secured FC Kobenhavn a place in the group stage.

Key Departure: Atiba Hutchinson. A fixture in central midfield for several seasons, the Canadian international departed for PSV Eindhoven this summer after his contract expired. His experience and vision will be difficult though not impossible to replace.

Player to Watch: Dame N’Doye. The former Panathinaikos forward will get a chance to show his old club what they are missing out on. His headed goal on Matchday 1 carried FCK to an important 1-0 victory over Rubin Kazan. N’Doye is one of the leading goalscorers in the Danish Superliga early in the season with 6 goals in 8 matches.

X-Factor: Shutting the door. Goals against were a problem for FCK during qualification as they narrowly edged out both BATE Borisov and Rosenborg BK. They will need to tighten up defensively in order to progress. The defenders showed glimpses of their potential in the second leg vs Rosenborg and Matchday 1 again showed some positive signs but there were still some anxious moments and sloppy distribution from the back four against Rubin Kazan.

FC Rubin Kazan
Key Signing: Carlos Eduardo Marques (commonly called Carlos Eduardo). After moving from Gremio to German team 1899 Hoffenheim for 8 million Euros, Eduardo helped them reach the Bundesliga and solidify their status as a top-flight club. This summer Russian premier champions Rubin Kazan signed him for a fee of 20 million Euros and hope that his talent will carry them to another league title as well as Champions League success. Most often used as an attacking midfielder, Eduardo is quick, clever on the ball and has already scored some key goals for Rubin in their domestic campaign.

Key Departure: Aleksandr Bukharov. The 25 year-old striker moved to rivals Zenit St. Petersburg after scoring 34 goals in 72 appearances for Rubin. His height, presence in the opposition penalty area and goals will need to be replaced.

Player to Watch: Obafemi Martins. Attempting to replace some of Bukharov’s goals will be Martins’ job. After a moderately successful one-year stint at Wolfsburg, Martins has moved on to the Russian league and will hope to improve his goal-scoring rate.

X-Factor: Keeping their form. Unlike other European football leagues, the Russian Premier League runs from March to November, to avoid playing games under the cold and snowy weather in winter. This will not be a problem early in the group stage but if they progress it will mean that players might lose game sharpness.

Panathinaikos FC
Key Signing: Sidney Govou. The former Lyon forward will add some experience to the Greek club. One could see him fitting in quite nicely and forming an understanding with another former French international Djibril Cisse. If these two veterans can develop some chemistry, Panathinaikos could have a formidable strike duo.

Key Departure: None. There were several youth and fringe squad players that were moved on over the summer but none of the core starting XI were lost.

Player to Watch: Sotiris Ninis. The 20 year-old Greek playmaker has been attracting attention from bigger European clubs like Barcelona and Manchester United. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has had little success in recent years finding a replacement for veteran Paul Scholes. Ninis has represented Greece at U21 and senior level including two substitute appearances at the 2010 World Cup in matches against Nigeria and Argentina. Ninis has been described as talented, fast and a good dribbler. While he prefers a central playmaker role he can be utilized as a right-sided midfielder as well.

X-Factor: Mental strength. After taking a battering from FC Barcelona on Matchday 1, the Greek side are going to have to quickly re-group and get back to the task at hand. The defenders in particular will need to improve their performance vastly or the team could quickly be left languishing at the bottom of the group.

Predicted Order of Finish
1) FC Barcelona
2) FC Copehagen
3) FC Rubin Kazan
4) Panathinaikos FC

I’m running behind schedule on the previews but I will be done before Matchday 2 kicks off !

Group C contains annual challengers Manchester United, a Valencia team facing life post-David Villa, a Rangers side facing transition and newcomers Bursaspor who won the Turkish League for the first time in their history.

Manchester United FC
Key Signing: Javier Hernández Balcázar (commonly known as “Chicharito”). The 22 year-old reminds me a little of Michael Owen in the way he makes intelligent runs and can turn defenders inside-out in close quarters. He will offer them depth and a different element coming off the bench. Manchester United were clever in wrapping up his transfer before his breakout performance for Mexico at the 2010 World Cup.

Key Departure: No core players from last season’s squad departed. Several youth/reserve players have been sent out on loan while goalkeeper Ben Foster has been sold to Birmingham after seeing his chances at the backup/future #1 role diminish.

Player to Watch: Park Ji-Sung. Often overlooked in this star-laden lineup, Park is able to play anywhere across the midfield and his discipline, work rate and movement off the ball all ensure that he will play a role at some point for Sir Alex’s team.

X-Factor: Wayne Rooney’s health. This is a two-pronged problem. Rooney does have a history of injury but his recent off-field problems may also play a part in his performance this year. Last season’s haul of 34 goals in 44 appearances will be tricky to replicate even without the distractions. If he is not producing at the same rate, other players such as Dimitar Berbatov and Nani must step up their production. When Rooney is on his game, United have one of the world’s top players to rely upon and he has shown that he can carry them far.

Valencia CF
Key Signing: Roberto Soldado. It would be cruel to expect Soldado to replace the goals that David Villa took with him to Barcelona. Villa had scored 108 times in his 166 league appearances for Valencia and is one of Europe’s elite strikers. However, if Soldado can repeat or improve on his 16 goals in 26 appearances from last season, Valencia will at least have some base upon which to achieve results. As we’ll talk about in the next section other departures point towards a different style of play for Valencia this season.

Key Departure: The Davids. Losing both Villa and Silva in the same off-season is a major blow for Valencia though the 70 million Euros will go some way to easing their financial concerns. The club debt had climbed to over 500 million Euros and work on their new stadium, Nou Mestalla, has been halted. While the sales might be a success in the boardroom, on the field the departing Davids took with them some of the major creative force that had driven Valencia back into the Champions League last season. Villa’s scoring prowess we have already discussed. David Silva contributed 10 goals and 15 assists in 36 appearances last season and had he stayed would have certainly eased the loss of David Villa. With both gone, Valencia will have to look at a more conservative style of play to be successful in this season’s Champions League.

Player to Watch: Juan Mata. Much rumoured to also be on the way out to alleviate the debt load, this young star remains with Valencia for a while longer. His pace, vision, and goalscoring ability will give the side some spark. He had a strong season in 2009-10 with 11 goals and 13 assists (second in La Liga to FC Barcelona’s Xavi).

X-Factor: Matches v Rangers. I feel this group will come down to a battle between Valencia and Rangers for second place. Valencia simply need to defeat Rangers at home and a minimum of a draw in Glasgow. If they can avoid being upset at home and get something away, they will be in great shape to make the Round of 16.

Rangers FC
Key Signing: James Beattie. After the departures of steady goal scorer Kris Boyd, Beattie has a tall order on his hands to match or come close to Boyd’s production rate. 101 goals in 143 appearances for Boyd will be somewhat of a measuring stick but if Beattie can produce timely goals and form an effective partnership with Kenny Miller or Kyle Lafferty, the signing will have been a success.

Key Departure: Certainly the aforementioned Kris Boyd would rank high on Rangers supporter’s minds but I think the departure of central midfielder Kevin Thomson will be felt at the club. Thomson was a key contributor to Rangers winning their second title in a row in the 2009-10 season.

Player to Watch: Kenny Miller. The Scottish international has been red-hot with 6 goals from the first 4 SPL matches. Rangers will be hoping his run of form carries on into their Champions League campaign.

X-Factor: Walter Smith. Smith signed a new one-year deal to continue as Rangers manager throughout the 2010-11 campaign, stating that it will be his last within football. This could work one of two ways for Rangers FC. Either the players will want to perform for Smith to give him a good send-off or he could be viewed as a “lame duck” manager and the team could falter as rumours about a new manager begin to circulate.

Bursaspor
Key Signing: Gokcek Vederson (born Wederson Luiz da Silva Medeiros). This Brazilian-born central defender received Turkish citizenship in March 2007 and took his Turkish name from Melih Gokçek, the mayor of Ankara and the honorary president of Ankaraspor where he was playing at the time. He gained valuable Champions League experience in his time with Fenerbahce and will be expected to provide some guidance to this younger, inexperienced side.

Key Departure: Tomas Zapotocny. The veteran centre-back was recalled by Besiktas from Bursaspor after a successful loan spell last season. His experience and the occasional goal will be missed.

Player to Watch: Ozan Ipek. The 23 year-old midfielder is one of the rising stars of Turkish football. Mostly known as a creative, goal-scoring winger, Ipek was deployed as a central midfielder for Bursaspor before the arrival of manager Ertugrul Saglam. Saglam moved Ipek to the left side of midfield and he flourished in the new role. It had been rumoured earlier in 2010 that Chelsea had scouts watching Ipek but for now he remains a Bursaspor player.

X-Factor: Confidence. This was a tough draw for Bursaspor. With a 4-0 home defeat to Valencia already on the books, I simply hope that they do not let Champions League defeats like this affect their domestic campaign.

Predicted Order of Finish
1) Manchester United FC
2) Valencia CF
3) Rangers FC
4) Bursaspor