UEFA Champions League 2012-2013: Looking at the Biggest Matches from Each Group

The 2012-2013 Champions League groups have been announced and fans are already in for a treat.

Just looking at the groups, there are only a handful of teams that would surprise people if they made it to the tournament.

There are arguably more top European teams in this edition of the Champions League than ever before. It looks like all of Europe's top teams will play for the biggest trophy of all, bar only a few.

Looking forward to the group stages, there are more than a few matches that already whet the appetites of fans.

We've got league champions battling each other, former Champions League winners squaring off and a few rivalries being renewed.

Read on to see a few of the biggest matches from each group and then let us know which ones you are most looking forward to.

Group A

Group Review

Not a bad draw at all for newcomers Paris-Saint Germain.

The French club was labeled a spoiler that could knock some giants out of the group stages since they were coming from Pot 3, but they lucked out with one of the easier groups of all.

Biggest Match

The biggest match for PSG and the group will be when they face the reigning Portuguese champions FC Porto.

Porto houses many top players with the headliner being Hulk. The Brazilian is one of the most exciting and powerful players on the continent and the Parisian side will struggle to slow him down.

It may be Europe's greatest showcase of talent, but this match will be a Copa America mini-battle as both teams are loaded with South American talents.

Players to Watch

Porto—Hulk, Joao Moutinho, James Rodriguez

PSG—Thiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Javier Pastore

Group B

Group Review

Let's call this one "Group of Death Lite."

There are no elite teams here and probably no contenders, but Group B will be one of the toughest in the entire tournament.

We have the most successful club in Greece, reigning champions of Lique 1, one of the best clubs in Germany and an Arsenal side that always performs very well in Europe.

Biggest Match

Welcome home, Olivier!

I'm not sure the Frenchman expected to return to his former club so soon, but that is what Olivier Giroud will do when Arsenal plays Montpellier in France.

This may not be the best match of the group—that will likely be when Schalke plays Arsenal—but with Arsene Wenger and his new striker returning home, this could be the biggest.

Players to Watch

Arsenal—Giroud, Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski

Montpellier—Younes Belhanda, Henri Bedimo

Group C

Group Review

The clear favorites to finish atop this one are Zenit. They have been plowing through Russia's Premier League over the course of the last 12 months and only AC Milan should pose a major challenge.

Anderlecht and Malaga are strong enough to cause problems for either side, though, so this will be a group where it is worth watching every match.

Biggest Match

Milan vs. Malaga

If I called it the "Debt Derby," would that offend anyone?

OK so technically, Malaga isn't in debt. They have a filthy rich owner who is just unwilling to fund his club at the moment, forcing them to sell some of their biggest stars.

Milan has had to do the same thing this summer and got rid of their two greatest assets in order to balance the books.

Let's see how these two deal with their losses.

Players to Watch

Milan—Robinho, Ricardo Montolivo, Stephan El Shaarawy

Malaga—Isco, Jeremy Toulalan, Joaquin

Group D

Group Review

Oh wow, Christmas has come early, folks.

Welcome to this year's Group of Death. Or perhaps we should call it the "Group of Champions."

Group D gets the rare fortune of having four league champions in the same group. The best of the German, Dutch, English, and Spanish leagues will all be on display here.

Thank you, UEFA!

Biggest Match

Real Madrid vs. Manchester City—a battle between the two best champions of Europe.

OK, Manchester City, you finally get your chance to prove that you deserve to be mentioned along with Europe's best.

For the past few years, Man City fans have tried to convince themselves and others that their club is one of Europe's elite teams.

There will be no truer test than the one they now face in Group D. Borussia Dortmund and Ajax will both trouble the English side that is still new to European competition, but the biggest threat will come from Spain.

Roberto Mancini will have a chance to learn about the Champions League from one of the tournament's most successful managers in history—Jose Mourinho.

Let's see how the English champions handle the pressure.

Players to Watch

Real Madrid—Cristiano Ronaldo, Mezut Ozil, Iker Casillas

Manchester City—Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Joe Hart

Group E

Group Review

Poor Nordsjaelland. There is no unluckier team in all of Europe right now.

The champions of the Danish Superliga were put into the same group as the reigning Serie A title-holders, the Ukrainian Premier League winners and the reigning champions of Europe.

Talk about bad luck.

Biggest Match

Welcome back, Juventus.

The Old Lady makes their long-awaited return to Europe's greatest tournament and how does UEFA thank them, by pitting them with the holders from last season.

Chelsea vs. Juventus gives us one of the most storied, successful European clubs in history against one of the new-era financial powers.

Juventus will try overcoming serious off-field troubles this summer while Chelsea will try to become the first team in history to repeat as Champions of Europe.

Players to Watch

Chelsea—Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Fernando Torres

Juventus—Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon, Claudio Marchisio

Group F

Group Review

It may seem like the runners-up from last year's tournament got an easy deal, but I guarantee Bayern will be showing their opponents more respect.

Valencia and Lille will be a big problem for anyone they face and will probably play for rights to the knockout stages of the tournament when they face each other.

Biggest Match

Bayern Munich vs. Valencia

The German powerhouse will square off against the champions of La Liga's "Other League."

Javi Martinez will also make an early return back to Spain, this time as the most expensive transfer in Bundesliga history.

Players to Watch

Bayern Munich—Javi Martinez, Arjen Robben, Manuel Neuer

Valencia—Roberto Soldado, Adil Rami, Diego Alves

Group G

Group Review

Cue Jose Mourinho and his conspiracy-theorist rants.

While the Real Madrid coach heads the Group of Death, his league rivals face a much easier trio of teams.

But that does not mean Group G will be easy for La Blaugrana. Benfica, Spartak Moscow and Celtic will all trouble Barcelona away.

They just pale in comparison to Group D's champions.

Biggest Match

We finally get to see what would have happened if Benfica had a better striker last season.

Benfica was a team that outplayed Chelsea for most of their pair of quarterfinal matches last season.

Unfortunately, the Portuguese lacked real bite and ended up losing to Chelsea with just 10 men in the second leg.

Had they won, they would have played Barcelona in the semifinals instead of watching from home. Now we get to see these two square off.

Players to Watch

Barcelona—Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez

Benfica—Javi Garcia, Axel Witsel, Eduardo Salvio

Group H

Group Review

You're welcome, Sir Alex.

Perhaps UEFA was feeling sorry for the legendary Manchester boss. Perhaps they wanted to get some of that lost TV revenue from last season back.

In all seriousness, the Manchester boss is very fortunate with his team's draw this year.

Manchester United crashed out of an easy group last year and became the biggest disappointment of the group stage.

They have been given another comparatively easy route to the tournament this year with Braga, Galatasaray, and Cluj rounding out Group H.

Surely they will do better this season.

Biggest Match

It is likely that Braga and Galatasaray will be fighting for second place when they face each other—barring an APOEL-type run from Romanian side Cluj.

While each team could take points from Manchester United, chances are that the Premiership giants will finish on top of Group H with relative ease.

Players to Watch

Braga—Mossoro Lima, Hugo Viana

Galatasaray—Burak Yilmaz,Tomas Ujfalusi, Hamit Altintop

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