Champions League Draw 2012: Predicting Paths for the Premier League Clubs

Thursday saw the Champions League draw provide us with as much thrills, spills and Group of Death revelations as it always does at this time of year.

With Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and current title holders, Chelsea, all in the mix, England has its usual amount of representatives in good voice.

Three out of the four were in the tournament’s Pot 1 heading into the draw, with just league champions, Manchester City, sitting in Pot 2 as per the guidelines of the coefficient system.

With four sides carrying the English banner, there’s as good a chance as any that a Premier League club will make another run at the Champions League crown, bringing European glory to the nation two years in a row.

But first, the quartet will have to make their way through each of their four respective groups which, in itself, will be a considerable task.

With competition as rife as ever, what chance does each side have of advancing through to the knockout stages of the Champions League?

Chelsea

If the West London side are to defend their Champions League crown this season, they’ll have to go through the Italian, Ukrainian and Danish league champions to do so.

While they could have done worse in the draw, the prospect of travelling to that fortress known as Juventus Stadium and to the cold climates of Donetsk will make this journey a difficult one for the Blues.

Roberto Di Matteo has built his side impressively in the summer months, but Juve have done just as well, if not better, in strengthening their squad across the board.

A particular revelation for Chelsea has been the signature of Eden Hazard, and while many had already counted on the Blues new £32m midfielder to flourish with his new team, his very promising first few games in England have exceeded expectations.

As for Group E, FC Nordsjælland will undoubtedly be looked upon as the underdogs, and rightly so.

However, it’s often these fixtures that can prove to be the dealbreakers in competitions like this, and all three visitors will need to be careful in their trips to the 10,100-capacity Farum Park.

Roman Abramovich has been sure to strengthen his squad since the success of 2011-12 and has by no means rested on his laurels, waiting for his side to stagnate.

The race to top Group E will assuredly be between Chelsea and Juventus but the lack of attacking options for the Old Lady could certainly come back to bite them.

Prediction

1st: Chelsea

2nd: Juventus

Arsenal

Considering his side have been struggling to score goals, Arsene Wenger could have hoped for a slightly easier draw going into this season’s Champions League.

While they may not have won the league themselves, or even placed inside the top two, Schalke 04 are by no means a pushover in Group B and will be a stiff threat to top the pool.

Die Knappen held the fourth-best defensive record in the Bundesliga last season and were even more impressive when going forward, failing to score in just six percent of their home games.

Add to that the competition of facing the Ligue 1 champions, Montpellier, and the Gunners’ chances of progress begin to look all the slimmer.

La Paillade shocked everyone when they fended off the big spending machine of Paris Saint-Germain last season, and Arsenal will be hoping that summer signing Olivier Giroud can find his shooting boots before a visit to his former club.

Although the Greek Super League isn’t held in the highest of regards, Olympiakos will still pose a challenge to some of the bigger boys in this group.

However, I wouldn’t bank on the side coming anywhere but the bottom of Group B after losing top scorer Kevin Mirallas to Everton.

Prediction

1st: Schalke 04

2nd: Arsenal

Manchester City

In a pool of clubs affectionately christened this season’s Group of Death, all four of Group D’s inhabitants won their respective leagues last season.

As such, if Manchester City were ever to prove their worth amongst the European elite, this campaign will be the ideal opportunity for them to do so.

After bringing the Premier League trophy home for the first time in the club’s history last season, Roberto Mancini’s side have bigger expectations surrounding them than ever.

It goes without saying that Real Madrid pose the biggest threat to the Citizens hopes of success, and the Spaniards will remain favourites to come out on top.

However, Borussia Dortmund are going to run the English giants very close to the wire as well and have the dark-horse tag firmly slapped on their hide.

Jürgen Klopp’s men won the Bundesliga title for the second year running last season and while losing Shinji Kagawa will affect their squad, the acquisition of Marco Reus works massively in their favour.

Most likely to finish at bottom of the heap, Ajax lost a major club figure in Jan Vertonghen over the summer and are bound to succumb to Real Madrid in the Champions League for a frustrating third season in a row.

Prediction

1st: Real Madrid

2nd: Borussia Dortmund

Manchester United

Although the reaction will have been similar in last year’s draw, Manchester United will again be licking their lips at the proposition of an easy-looking Champions League group.

Regardless of how talented the likes of SL Benfica, FC Otelul Galati and FC Basel may be, Galatasaray, Braga and CFR Cluj don’t quite pose even that level of competition.

United won’t have the fondest memories of Gala, following their Champions League ejection at the hands of the Turkish club in 1993, offering Sir Alex Ferguson another shot at redemption.

This will be the first time that Manchester United face either CFR Cluj or Sporting Braga, so the English giants won’t have much to go by in terms of previous experience.

Braga have been impressive in the Europa League of recent seasons, but Group H is looking to be a bit of a one-horse race at this stage.

Prediction

1st: Manchester United

2nd: Sporting Braga