The Round of 32 produced a few dramatic results including a thrilling two-leg sweep of Roma by Panathinaikos. The Greek club won both legs by identical 3-2 scores and should be full of confidence for their matches against Standard Liège.

A quick look ahead to the Round of 16. Depsite their domestic foibles, I do expect Liverpool’s overall depth to show against Lille. Lille have performed well this season and I think they will keep the tie close but ultimately the Reds will move on.

A potential upset in the making sees Fulham take on Italian giants Juventus. Juve have struggled for form this season and I look for master tactician Roy Hodgson to engineer a win.

PREDICTIONS:
Hamburger SV v RSC Anderlecht
FC Rubin Kazan v VfL Wolfsburg
Club Atlético de Madrid v Sporting Clube de Portugal
SL Benfica v Olympique de Marseille
Panathinaikos FC v Royal Standard de Liège
LOSC Lille Métropole v Liverpool FC
Juventus v Fulham FC
Valencia CF v Werder Bremen

After strong showings in the first leg of the playoff round, both Lyon and Arsenal are in a comfortable position to enter the group stage. Lyon can claim a tenth consecutive group-stage appearance unless they completely fall apart. The French club overwhelmed RSC Anderlecht 5-1 last week, while a 2-0 deficit would appear insurmountable for Celtic FC as they travel to London to take on Arsenal.

Celtic have to overcome a Gunners side in top form if they are to progress – they must win away in Europe for only the second time in 24 matches. Celtic have fought back from a home defeat once already in this season’s qualifiers, beating Dinamo Moscow 2-0 in Moscow on goals from Scott McDonald and Georgios Samaras to make overturn a 1-0 first-leg loss in Glasgow. It was Celtic’s first away win in Europe in 23 matches. A win for Arsenal will mean a 12th successive appearance in the UEFA Champions League. On current form, I simply cannot see Arsenal losing 3-0 at home to Celtic

Despite their gutsy performance, Panathinaikos find themselves needing to make history on two fronts to book a place in the group stage of the Champions League. Beyond needing to win on Spanish soil for the first time in their history, they must also mount a first successful comeback from an opening home loss in Europe competition. On the five previous occasions Panathinaikos have entered a return fixture after a defeat in Athens, they have go on to lose the tie. Atletico are sitting in a good spot having scored 3 away goals in the opening leg with strikes from Maxi Rodríguez, Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero.

I think there is simply too much stacked against the Greek side and that we’ll see Atletico celebrating a return to the group stage. Henk ten Cate, the Panathinaikos manager, admitted to uefa.com that he felt some of his players would be affected psychologically by the fires in Athens. The club doctors told the team to refrain from training because the smoke in the air could have been hazardous for the players. I certainly feel for the players and their families and I hope the wildfires are brought under control.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the losers in this playoff round as they will continue their European campaigns in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

The names of the clubs who have claimed multiple UEFA Champions League Football titles are the stuff of footballing legend. Clubs like Manchester United, AC Milan, Liverpool and Real Madrid are recognised as the greatest on the planet partially because of their exploits in the Champions League, and their ability to come out on top in the ultimate battle of the world’s richest, strongest clubs.

The hype over the top clubs in the Champions League naturally overshadows the less than stellar exploits of some of the clubs who have made up the numbers at the tournament over the years.

10. Brøndby IF

Brøndby IF have been the outstanding team in Danish football for the last two decades, winning the Danish championship 10 times since 1985 and finishing as runners-up on another 9 occasions. However, the Champions League has been a different matter entirely. During their only Champions League campaign Brøndby played 6 games, losing 5 games, drawing 1 and conceding 18 goals in the process.

9. Rapid Wien

Looking to outdo Brøndby IF in the totally hopeless stakes are multiple Austrian league title winners, Rapid Wien. The club reached the group stages of the Champions League on two occasions, and clinically disproved the old dictum that ‘practice makes perfect’ by putting in equally inept performances in both campaigns. Rapid Wien failed to win one of its 12 Champions League matches as its porous defence let in 27 goals.

8. Anderlecht

Belgian club Anderlecht has the distinction of bearing the title of the worst of the seasoned campaigners in the Champions League. In eight tournament appearances Anderlecht has progressed beyond the group stages only once, and has managed to amass a goal difference of -50, letting in an average of almost 2 goals a game in all Champions League matches.

7. Steaua Bucuresti

Steaua Bucuresti also doesn’t have much to show for its five Champions League appearances. The Romanian club have won only 4 of their 30 matches in the tournament, and have never managed to progress beyond the group stage of the Champions League.

6. Besiktas

Besiktas are one short of Steaua Bucuresti’s record of 5 Champions League appearances without securing progression to the second round. However, it is not this fact that earns them a place of honour amongst the worst clubs in Champions League history. Instead, Besiktas must be acknowledged for being on the receiving end of the biggest hiding in Champions League history, taking an 8-0 pasting from Liverpool in the group stages of the 2007/2008 Champions League.

5. Lierse SK

Lierse SK is another Belgian Club without much to celebrate in the Champions League. During their single Champions League campaign, Lierse were on the receiving end of 12 goals, scored three of their own, and departed the tournament with just a single victory to show for their time on Europe’s biggest football stage.

4. Willem II Tilburg

One must assume that the ‘II’ in the name of Dutch club Willem II Tilburg was not inserted to commemorate their 2 point haul in the 1999 Champions League. Tilburg qualified for the tournament by virtue of finishing second in the Dutch League and were rewarded for this feat by having 17 goals hammered past their defence as they tumbled out of the tournament without a single win.

3. AIK Stockholm

AIK Stockholm are the only club to have represented Sweden in the Champions League, and were hailed by an expectant Swedish public when they qualified for the tournament in 1999. AIK Stockholm’s Champions League debut proved to be a baptism of fire, as the hapless Swedes lost 5 games and drew 1. AIK Stockholm eventually departed the Champions League with only a single point and a -12 goal difference to show for their efforts.

2. FC Kosice

Just when you thought that clubs had scraped the bottom of the barrel in the Champions League, along comes FC Kosice. The Slovakian Club represented their country in the Champions League in 1998, and in the space of just a few months achieved the significant feat of becoming the first ever club to be knocked out of the Champions League without picking up a single point.

1. Levski Sofia

Not to be outdone by the exploits of FC Kosice, Levski Sofia arrived on the scene in 2006 with the apparent intention of making Kosice’s Champions League record look respectable. The Bulgarian side played 6 fixtures during the course of its Champions League campaign, conceding an average of 3 goals a match and scoring just one goal of its own. The club departed the tournament with no points.

Drogheda United, Modrica and Domzale enjoyed winning Champions League debuts after dismissing their first qualifying round opponents on Wednesday. Irish champions Drogheda will face Dynamo Kiev after defender Graham Gartland gave them a 1-0 win at Levadia Tallinn to complete a 3-1 aggregate win over the Estonian champions.

Bosnian title holders Modrica scored twice in the last two minutes in a 2-1 home win over Dinamo Tirana that gave them a 4-1 aggregate win against the Albanians. They now go on to face Danish side Aalborg.

Slovenia’s Domzale (whom I incorrectly predicted would be knocked out) racked up a 2-0 home win over Luxembourg’s Dudelange to earn them a 3-0 aggregate victory. They now go into the second round to take on Croatian rivals Dinamo Zagreb. Dinamo Zagreb, who are hoping for their first Champions League group stage appearance in eight years, registered a 3-1 overall win against Northern Ireland’s Linfield after being held to a 1-1 home draw.

The big scoreline was put up by Sweden’s IFK Gothenburg after they thrashed Murata 9-0 on aggregate. Gothenburg midfielder Niklas Barkroth scored twice in a 4-0 home rout of the San Marino side this week. Gothenburg now face a second-round clash with Swiss champions Basel.

The second qualifying round sees some well-known names enter the competition. Anderlecht, Fenerbahce, Glasgow Rangers and Sparta Prague are all part of this second round and the action will only continue to heat up as we progress. The first legs of the second qualifying round are set to go next Tuesday and Wednesday with the return legs on Aug. 5th and 6th. The complete list of second qualifying round matchups are listed below. My predictions are in bold and so far in this competition I am doing OK. I was 11 of 14 in the last round. I don’t know that I can pull that off again but here goes

Anorthosis Famugusta (Cyprus) v Rapid Vienna (Austria)
Drogheda United (Ireland) v Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)
IFK Gothenburg (Sweden) v FC Basel 1893(Switzerland)
Tampere United (Finland) v Artmedia Petrzalka (Slovakia)
AaB Aalborg (Denmark) v Modrica (Bosnia)
Domzale (Slovenia) v Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
Anderlecht (Belgium) v BATE Borisov (Belarus)
Fenerbahce (Turkey) v MTK Hungaria (Hungary)
Beitar Jerusalem (Israel) v Wisla Krakow (Poland)
FC Inter Baki (Azerbaijan) v Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)
Brann Bergen (Norway) v Ventspils (Latvia)
Rangers (Scotland) v Kaunas (Lithuania)
Panathinaikos (Greece) v Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia)
Sheriff (Moldova) v Sparta Praha (Czech Republic)