UEFA Champions League Matchday 3 Preview, Group D: October 20, 2010

Joe LazarOct 19, 2010

Barcelona vs Copenhagen

Barcelona looked at their best last weekend for the first time in a while, despite the fact that several key players were unavailable. They came back from a goal down to win 2-1 against Valencia, which is an achievement in itself. This match is going one way and let’s face it, Barcelona are going to win this. The real question is: who will score first out of Villa and Messi? Villa might have looked a little shaky in international duty, but with the way Copenhagen have been playing this shouldn’t challenge the player too much.

Copenhagen don’t really have many players who can really trouble Barcelona, maybe the smart thing to do would be to play for a draw seeing as they are a little out of their depth in this match. N’Doye is likely to be the only man who can put any real pressure on the home side, and even then, it would be a little ambitious to presume that he would convert that pressure successfully. On the other hand, he has netted the opener in both of Copenhagen’s other Champions League matches since the start of the season, maybe he’ll make it three-for-three—only time will tell.

Panathinaikos vs Rubin Kazan

Panathinaikos have never played against Rubin before, in fact they have only played a Russian team once before in the competition, where they beat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 in the UEFA cup. Panathinaikos have actually set a new record as having the worst ever start to a Champions League campaign from any Greek side, which isn’t exactly something which they will be coveting. Having said that, they also lost their first two matches (conceded fewer goals) last year but actually managed to win their group by the time the points were actually tallied up. Oddly enough, this is actually the first time that a Greek Club has played a Russian one in the Champions League, it may seem strange considering, but it really has never happened before.

Rubin may struggle here, Panathinaikos have been struggling like we mentioned, but if they are going to turn things around, this is the perfect opportunity for them to do it. On the bright side for Rubin, they do have the fortunate advantage that Panathinaikos have taken second least shots so far in the contest which means they shouldn’t have much in the ways defensive worries.