UEFA Champions League Draw

The Champions League group stages draw has been released, and several story lines abound. Let's quickly run through each group and see what's what!



Group A: Chelsea (England), AS Roma (Italy), Bordeaux (France), Cluj (Romania)

The story of this group is the appearance of Champions League debutants Cluj. Who are they? Not very many people know, as Bucharest has won the Romanian top flight for the past 17 years.

Projected winners: Chelsea, AS Roma

Group B: Inter Milan (Italy), Werder Bremen (Germany), Panathinaikos (Greece), Anorthosis (Cypress)

This seems like an easy enough draw to predict, as Inter and Werder Bremen are the main clubs here, but don't overlook Panathinaikos. As Greece's successes in international football have proven, the Greeks know how to get a result. While Inter and Werder Bremen are the favorites, I have a gut feeling that Panathinaikos will pull off a stunning upset in this group.

Projected winners: Inter Milan, Panathinaikos

Group C: FC Barcelona (Spain), Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), FC Basel (Switzerland), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)

Barca is handed arguably the most straightforward group in the group stages.

Projected winners: Barca, Lisbon

Group D: Liverpool (England), Atletico Madrid (Spain), PSV Eindhoven (Holland), Marseille (France)

This is a very tricky group, as all 4 are strong clubs. The storyline however, is the return of golden boy Fernando Torres to his Atletico Madrid stomping grounds. What kind of a reception will Liverpool's frontman receive from the fans who adored him for so long? Atletico appeared at the top of their game in knocking last year's surprise quarterfinalists Schalke 04 out of the CL qualifying stages, and Liverpool are a team that has consistently performed well in the European competition.

Projected winners: Liverpool, Atletico

Group E: Manchester United (England), Celtic (Scotland), Villareal (Spain), Aalborg (Denmark)

One excellent team and two solid teams, we can expect Man U to take top spot in this group. However, the battle between Celtic and Villareal for the 2nd qualifying spot for the knockout rounds will be fun to watch.

Projected winners: Man U, Villareal

Group F: Lyon (France), Bayern Munich (Germany), Fiorentina (Italy), Steaua Bucharest (France)

Lyon once again enters the Champions League as champions of France. Despite their dominance of the French league, Lyon has failed to do anything of note in the CL. Perhaps this will be their year? Unfortunately, I think Fiorentina will be the surprise of this group.

Projected winners: Bayern Munich, Fiorentina

Group G: Arsenal (England), Fenerbahce (Turkey), Porto (Portugal), Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)

Ah, the group of death. Four powerful teams, travelling long distances to play against each other. This will be a difficult group to advance out of, and almost impossible to call. While it is difficult to go against the English dominance of last year, I think this year will see one of England's "big 4" crash out of the tournament with a poor showing in the group stages.

Projected winners: Porto, Fenerbahce

Group H: Real Madrid (Spain), Juventus (Italy), Zenit St Petersburg (Russia), Bate Borisov (Belarus)

The group of past giants. Real Madrid and Juventus have not performed admirably in the Champions League competition in several years. Being in the same group with each other likely ensures both of them advancing to the knockout rounds. Can Real and Juve recapture their former glory?

Projected winners: Juventus, Real Madrid