UEFA Champions League Preview, Group G: September 15, 2010

AC Milan vs. Auxerre

AC Milan has won the Champions League seven times and has made it to the round of 16 in the last two years.

They have a strengthened attack this season after having made two titanic signings in the form of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robson de Souza, both of whom will be looking to prove themselves again after coming off shaky spells at their previous clubs.  However, these new signings have yet to do the club much good, as they suffered an embarrassing defeat to newly promoted Cesena on the weekend. Milan may have a great attacking force on paper, but their back end has been dire.

If they can tighten up at the back, then this match shouldn’t be too much of an issue for Milan. However, if they put in another sloppy performance like they did over the weekend, then they could have some problems.

Auxerre is by all means the underdogs of this group.  That’s not to say that they aren’t going to get through; this is a side that on many occasions have played above themselves. Auxerre is also having a poor start domestically and don’t look too likely to set the world alight with their performance.

This will be an uphill battle, but if they can exploit Milan’s shoddy defence, they have a good chance of winning this match.

Real Madrid vs. Ajax

Real Madrid has not come out of this fixture as the better side on most occasions. There has, however, been a significant change in the balance of power since the last time these two sides met.

For the last few seasons Real Madrid has started their Champions League campaigns with the hope that they could actually win the competition, and it’s not as if the odds haven’t been in their favour; they have just never quite managed anything other than failure.

The Spanish giants will be hoping that this time around they can actually manage to go the distance, and a starting win against Ajax could certainly put them on the right track.

Ajax may not be the side that they used to be, but that doesn’t exactly mean that they aren’t a force to be reckoned with. They have been absent from the Champions League for a few years now, but this could be the season that Ajax once again becomes a European powerhouse. They’ve certainly started to put things back on track.

Ajax is likely to miss striker Luis Suarez severely. However, if they can exploit Real’s sometimes flaky back four, they have every chance of picking up some points here.

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