The Champions League draw is finally out, and the scene looks good for the English clubs.
Manchester United and Chelsea have been reunited with teams they beat at the quarterfinal stage last year. The Mancs face Roma in Group F, whom they defeated 8-3 on aggregate in 2006. Chelsea are set to take on Valencia in Group B after knocking them out with a last-gasp Essien goal.
Liverpool and Arsenal also have little reason to worry, as their hardest competition will most likely come from Porto and Sevilla, respectively.
That said, it's always foolish to expect any easy matches in the Champions League, as the Mancs found out two years ago when they finished fourth in an "easy" group consisting of Villarreal, Benfica, and Lille.
Liverpool are drawn against Portuguese champions Porto, Marseille, and Turkish runners-up Besiktas. Rafael Benitez should be quietly confident of surviving the group stage without a loss—and will likely look to to give some of his main players a rest.
Porto are no longer the team that won the tournament in 2004; Mourinho is with Chelsea and a host of other players, notably Deco, have left. Marseille, although a force in Ligue 1, will not trouble the Reds, and Anfield should be hoping to see Cisse and Zenden again. Besiktas are probably the weakest of the group—the only challenge for Liverpool will be the travel to Turkey.
Overall, the English teams should be happy with their groups, and should be hoping to progress to the knockout stages.
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about 1 year ago
I'm liking Liverpool's chances this year both in the Champions League and the EPL. The team is just too stacked with quality talent not to perform at a high level. With Rafa's steady hand guiding the ship, expect them to make quite a run this year.
about 1 year ago
I think Liverpool will walk it in France but I think they will struggle due to their expected intense Turk atmosphere as well as the journey. Porto are a stern test too, they have a whole different squad since they won it, of course, but with the likes of Gonzalez and Quaresma they could cause problems to Liverpool that they caused Chelsea last season. They should qualify but there might be a few bumps in the road.
from about 1 year ago
Agree with you, to an extent, regarding the test at Porto, but i still believe that Rafa will have the squad prepped for a tough task every game. He's not one to take a game easy and expects his players to react in the same way. When it comes to Besiktas, i believe they don't have a squad good enough to match the likes of Liverpool - just keeping my fingers crossed.
about 1 year ago
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