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Champions League Defending Champs, Man United – stuttering start

The Champions League Saga Continues..

Match Day 2 of the 2008/09 Champions League is upon us and perhaps this round will see chinks of light beginning to open up between the top and bottoms of the group.

Here is a preview of the upcoming CL matches this week...

Holders Feeling Frustrated
Title-Holders Manchester United head to Denmark to take on Aalborg with United looking to kick-start their season after a period that can be best described as stuttering so far.

At the weekend United finally grabbed their first home league win of the season due to a terrible refereeing decision and a casual finish by Wayne Rooney in a 2-0 win over Bolton but to be fair, there was only one team in the game.

A lack of cutting edge has blighted United throughout this season so far and even though they can call on four hot shots like Berbatov, Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez, they have found goals hard to come by. Aalborg will be looking to frustrate United whilst hoping for a counter. If the Danish team can take something from this game, they will have had a truly tremendous start to this year’s Champions League.

The other game in Group E sees the Yellow Submarine of Villarreal welcome Celtic with the Scottish champions praying they can get a monkey off their back. 15 away games in the Champions League have seen the club record only one draw to go with their 14 defeats. That point was on Spanish soil though so perhaps the time is right for Celtic to add to their away day points.

Villarreal will see this as a vital match in their attempt to finish in the top two of the group though and will be taking no chances and look to score early. Celtic’s problems have came from losing early goals in big European away games but the club will be buoyed with their thrilling 3-2 victory over Aberdeen in the SPL on Saturday, which saw Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink score the winner in the 90th minute as the Bhoys rallied from 2-1 down.

Will Bayern be Lyon Tamers?
Group F could see a cracker as Bayern Munich play host to Lyon in a game that features two highly experienced Champions League teams. Bayern are struggling in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 loss to Hannover at the weekend increasing the doubts that are being placed upon Jurgen Klinsmann.

A strong performance against the perpetual French champions would go some way to relieving the pressure on FC Hollywood but Lyon look in great shape with five victories and 1 draw in their 6 league games so far this season.

Fiorentina will be looking to shake off the disappointment at drawing in Lyon after they held a 2-0 lead at halftime and the home match against Steau Bucharest will offer the Italian team a great chance to get 4 points on the board before their double header against Bayern Munich. If the Italians can win on Tuesday and Lyon take something in Germany, the Violets will be keyed up for their two games against the current German champions.

Can Porto Emulate Mighty Hull?
Group G sees Arsenal welcome Porto to the Emirates but how welcoming they will be is up for debate after Arsene Wenger’s barbed comments about Porto’s inclusion in this year’s Champions League. If Arsenal are as welcoming as they were on Saturday when Hull stunned the Gooners with a 2-1 victory, then the Portuguese team may be in with a shout of causing an upset.

Fenerbache versus Dynamo Kiev will give the Turkish team an opportunity to get their first points of the campaign but the Ukrainians will be in no mood to settle for dropping points as they will still be bristling with the way Arsenal scored a late equaliser on Matchday 1.

Tricky Trip for Real in Group H
Group H rounds off Tuesday action and sees FC Bate play their first home match in the group stages as they welcome Juventus. If this result goes to form the Italians will be on 6 points and positioned perfectly for their head to head games against Real Madrid.

The Spanish champions head to Russia to face the European Super Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg and they will be fully determined to avenge their loss to Del Piero’s wonder strike. If the Russians can conquer Real, Group H is going to look very interesting and one major team could be in trouble.

Roma Need to Bounce Back, Quickly
Wednesday night sees Groups A – D in action and another team is making their home debut in the competition. CFR Cluj play host to Chelsea looking to maintain their 100% record in the group stages of the Champions League.

Playing last season’s runners up will no doubt be a daunting task for the Romanian outfit but given the defeated Roma in their last match, they should have no fear against Phil Scolari’s blues. Roma will be looking to avenge that embarrassing defeat when they travel to Bordeaux but both teams are currently locked on zero points so there is a lot to play for.

Group B sees the Cyprus versus Greece clash when Anorthosis Famagusta play Panathinaikos with the Cypriot team having a point whilst there more illustrious neighbours have nothing. This was due to a battling performance against Werder Bremen which has left the German club going to play Inter Milan knowing they need to make up for dropping two points at home.

Jose Mourinho’s men are not expected to roll over and let Werder make up for their disappointment but the German team may have watched interestingly at Ronaldinho’s header on Sunday night and devised plans to cause Inter some problems.

Shakhtar Look for Home Comforts
Barcelona make the trip to Donetsk to play Shakhtar with both teams sitting on three points so far and a strong game is expected. The home side started their campaign last season with two wins and it would be a surprise if they did the same this year but it is not entirely out of the question.

The other match sees Sporting Lisbon open up their home account for this season with a game against Basle which could be crucial in the battle for Uefa Cup qualification.

Madrid to March on Over Marseille?
Group D sees Athletico Madrid play host to Marseille with their thumping 3-0 win over PSV raising the confidence levels of the Spanish side even higher. A similar performance will brush the French club aside and put Athletico in a healthy position. Liverpool welcome the PSV side that were badly bruised in their last match and Rafa Benitez knows a home victory will go a long way to securing Liverpool’s place in the knock out round.

by Andrew Reilly

for The Silver Circle at www.footballtip.co.uk

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