UEFA Champions League 05/06 Groups Drawn

[SirFozzie]

(yes, I'm stealing from my own SGS update) :D

Liverpool did NOT get country protection, due to their entry into the Champions League under unusual circumstances:

Here are the eight groups. The Schedule has yet to be decided.

Group A
Bayern München (Germany)
Juventus (Italy)
Club Brugge KV (Belgium)
SK Rapid Vienna (Austria)

Group B
Arsenal (England)
AFC Ajax (Netherlands)
AC Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
FC Thun (Switzerland)

Group C
Barcelona (Spain)
Panathinaikos (Greece)
Werder Bremen (Germany)
Udinese (Italy)

Group D
Manchester United (England)
Villarreal (Spain)
Lille (France)
Benfica (Portugal)

Group E
AC Milan (Italy)
PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
Schalke 04 (Germany)
Fenerbache (Turkey)

Group F
Real Madrid (Spain)
Lyon (France)
Olympiakos (Greece)
Rosenborg (Denmark)

Group G
Liverpool (England)
Chelsea (England)
Anderlecht (Belgium)
Real Betis (Spain)

Group H
Inter Milan (Italy)
Porto (Portugal)
Rangers (Scotland)
Artmedia Bratislava (Slovakia)

Easiest group:F
Group of Death: E

[Butter]

Totally not rigged... Chelsea and Liverpool in the same group. Mm-hmm.

[Alf]

yeah, we will have the right to see Zidane twice vs Lyon :) COOOL §/!

[Crapshoot]

Liverpool got screwed. Man U and Arsenal both have cake walks IMO - Arsenal in particular with an Ajax side that doesnt really seem to ever live up to the talent on display.

[Crapshoot]

At first glance , E and G appear to be the toughest groups.

[MIJB#19]

Rosenborg (Denmark)Lynch your sources, Rosenborg BK is from Norway.
Easiest group:F
Group of Death: EGroup H is by far the weakest group. Inter is the top team and they should be second to third tiers in any other group.

I actually think group F could be the closest to being a 4-team race for the top two spots to the next round.



By the way, I'll shortly post a new CL prediction competition thread. ;)

[Crapshoot]

Easiest Group is B imo - the "big boys" haven't exactly done much in Europe recently, and Sparta Prague doesnt posess any game breakers. I suppose F could be easy in that Madrid and Lyon should cakewalk, but I'm not sure Madrid beats Lyon to first.

[MIJB#19]

More details thoughts per group. Note quite the same as my initial thoughts, but I'll share anyway.


In Group A it should be an easy walk to the next round for Juventus and Bayern. I can see Club Brugge upset Bayern at home, but they will choke the second place race in the head-to-head with Rapid Wien, who I expect to fall total victim and not even get the third place into the UEFA Cup.

Group B has Arsenal as top favorites written all over. Ajax and Sparta Praha seem to be pretty similair, but with their reputation, Ajax should survive this group as runners-up. FC Thun is the unknown team and given the state of Swiss club competition football, I'll expect them to have one lucky 1-1 draw at best.

Looking at Group C I can't immediately see a weak team. Barcelona is the clear top favorite and we should expect them to have clinched a top two spot after four or five games. Udinese is the new team in the competition, but as Italian teams may be tough to beat. Panathinaikos always make it a close race until the last game for a ticket into the next round, while the always rebuilding team fron Werder Bremen isn't a bad team either. I forcast a crucial late penalty in the last game between the two teams not playing Barcelona deciding who takes second place.

Group D is Manchester United's to take, but it isn't an easy group. Villarreal and Lille seem to be underdogs, but have proven to be consistently good in strong leagues. They don't have the European historical fame to look back at, which Benfica does have. Expect the Portugese side to challenge the others. Right now I'd dare to predict Lille as group winners, just ahead Man. Utd.

Is Group E the toughest group? Well, with last season's semifinalists AC Milan and PSV it sure looks like having 'group of death' potential. PSV is rebuilding and should watch over their shoulder. Schalke 04 is coming of a great season in the German league, while Fenerbahce is one of the Turkish top team you should never underestimate. I don't see AC Milan getting in trouble, I do see Schalke upsetting PSV.

Group F may look easy for Real Madrid, but I doubt it will be a piece of cake. Lyon has dominated the French league, which is amazing since it has been one of the most competitive of Europe for the past decade. Olympiakos and Rosenborg have a history of upsetting bigger sides, but may lack the players to have more than one upset score against Madrid and Lyon. I see Lyon winning this and Madrid clinching second in the sixth game.

And then we had Group G with two more semi finalists from last season. Liverpool is the defending champ, but we all know Chelsea is the best English club right now. In my best knowledge, Anderlecht is famous for chocking in Europe and I see them do it again. Real Betis will challenge Liverpool for second place and eventually come short on a crucial 0-1 loss at home to Chelsea.

Place your best now, Group H will be the one to make a fortune in betting. Artmedia Bratislava is the biggest underdog in years to make the 32 group stage teams and could face a six played, six lost record. Above them, Porto and Rangers will have a close race, just behind Inter, who I see clinch the first place on a crucial red card to an opposing player in the last game.

[ice4277]

MIJB, pretty good analysis. I think that, top to bottom, group H is by far the weakest. Inter should have no problem finishing first. Group G is by far the most top-heavy with Liverpool and Chelsea, but I don't think you can count out Betis by any means. Group E would appear to by my 'group of death' though, with any of the four squads IMO capable of making the knockout stages.

Overall, some interesting matchups will take place in the group round. Bayern/Juve and Liverpool/Chelsea should be especially interesting.