UEFA draw in Monaco

Europe’s biggest competition is finally getting started. Today’s draw brought some intriguing, yet obvious, matches. The groups and fixture dates will be as follows:
Group A:Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux, Maccabi Haifa.
Group B:Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Besiktas, Wolfsburg.
Group C:AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, FC Zurich.
Group D:Chelsea, Porto, Atletico Madrid, APOEL Nicosia.
Group E:Liverpool, Lyon, Fiorentina, Debreceni.
Group F: Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dynamo Kiev, Rubin Kazan.
Group G:Sevilla, Rangers, Stuttgart, Unirea Urziceni.
Group H:Arsenal, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Standard Liege.

Matchday 1: 15th/16th September,
Matchday 2: 29th/30th September
Matchday 3: 20th/21st October
Matchday 4: 3rd/4th November
Matchday 5: 24th/25th November
Matchday 6: 8th/9th December

I know what you’re thinking. Group F and Group C were kinda expected, weren’t they? Here comes the drama and the story. Players pitted against old teams. Kaka having to face his old club, while Eto’o and Irbahimovic also having to do the same. DRAMA!

But before we get into that lets break it down group by group:

Group A: Bayern Munich and Juventus should have no problem sweeping through to the next round. And Juventus vs Bayern should provide some entertainment, even though don’t expect a festival of goals.

Group B: Manchester United SHOULD get through fairly easily, but they should have beat Burnley fairly easily as well. The second spot will be a fierce fight between the three remaining, but I’m thinking CSKA moscow will pull through.

Group C: O yes the Kaka vs Real Madrid story. Sorry Marseille and FC Zurich, but AC Milan and Real Madrid are going through. And then Real Madrid will meet Manchester United so that Ronaldo can face his old club. Seriously aren’t you expecting that?

Group D: The hardest group by far. Chelsea still seeking that holy grail will have to face some hard competition. Porto are no joke and Atletico Madrid look dangerous for the first time in years. Chelsea and Atletico Madrid.

Group E: Interesting group, but I think Liverpool and Lyon will find a pretty easy route to the knockout stage. Fiorentina are the dark horse in this group, they might provide a shock or two

Group F:And here comes the other story line for this tournament :Ibrahimovic going back to Inter Milan and Eto’o going back to Barcelona. Two stories for the price of one. Not to mention Mourinho personal history with Barcelona (remember while Mourinho was at Chelsea, Barcelona and Chelsea got into a lot of interesting matches; and Mourinho did also coach at Nou Camp). Inter and Barca will sail through this group, but will also provide the best matches in the group stages. Mark your calender, Barcelona vs Inter Milan.

Group G:No drama in this group. Sevilla are the favourites and Stuttgart should follow them to the next stage.

Group H:Arsenal by far has the easiest draw and are expected to make it through. Joining them will most likely be Olympiakos.

This year’s matches should provide with some interesting drama, so stay tuned!