Football Dispatch

Weekend Football
29 August 2008
by Jerrad Peters

Manchester United will open their defense of the European Cup at home to Villarreal on September 17. The 2008-09 Champions’ League winners were drawn into Group E of the competition’s group stage alongside the Spanish runners-up, Scottish Premier League holders Celtic, and Danish champions Aalborg BK.

United last met the Yellow Submarine in the 2005-06 tournament, drawing 0-0 at El Madrigal and repeating the scoreline at Old Trafford before finishing dead last in the bracket. A year later, they were paired with Celtic in Group F and earned a thrilling, 3-2 victory in Manchester before dropping a 1-0 decision in Glasgow.

After losing the 2007-08 final on penalties to United in Moscow, Chelsea will begin its latest push for a first European Cup against Bordeaux on September 16. The match will represent Blues’ manager Luiz Felipe Scolari’s introduction to the Champions’ League. He twice won the South American version of the tournament, however, hoisting the Copa Libertadores with Gremio in 1995 and repeating the feat with Palmeiras in 1999. Italian runners-up AS Roma and Romanian champions CFR Cluj round out the competition’s Group A.

The other English participants, Liverpool and Arsenal, will compete in Groups D and G, respectively. After narrowly advancing past Belgium’s Standard Liege to qualify for the group stage, Liverpool have been clustered with Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, French runners-up Marseille, and La Liga’s Atletico Madrid. Arsenal, meanwhile, will have to overcome Portuguese champions Porto, Turkish runners-up Fenerbahce, and Ukraine’s Dinamo Kiev in order to advance into the knockout round.

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will make his Champions’ League debut with Inter Milan at third-place Greek side Panathinaikos on September 16. It will be win-or-bust for Mourinho, as Roberto Mancini was dismissed from the club after crashing out of the tournament at the hands of Liverpool in March. Bundesliga runners-up Werder Bremen and Cypriot champions Anorthosis Famagusta will also be vying to emerge from Group B.

Bayern Munich’s Champions’ League comeback will commence at Stade Gerland on September 17. Absent from the tournament in 2007-08 after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Bundesliga, the Bavarian side will be favored to come out of Group F alongside French champions Olympique Lyonnais. They will be joined in the bracket by Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest and Italy’s Fiorentina.

Juventus, the fourth Italian side in the competition, have been bunched with the champions of Spain, Russia, and Belarus in Group H. Nine-time winners Real Madrid will be expecting to win their first continental title since 2002 and will open their schedule at home to Belarusian champions BATE Borisov on September 17. UEFA Cup holders Zenit St. Petersburg round out the group.

Finally, 2005-06 Champions’ League winners Barcelona will open their continental campaign against Portuguese rivals Sporting Lisbon at the Camp Nou on September 16. Both sides will be anticipating a place in the round-of-16 by finishing atop Group C. Swiss Champions FC Basel and Ukrainian Premier League holders Shakhtar Donetsk will battle for the bracket’s UEFA Cup berth.

Weekend Picks

You may want to seek a second opinion before taking out your wallet this weekend. After all, my 1-4 record to start the season was anything but money in the bank. Having said that, three of the matches ended in draws – two of which (here’s looking at you, Rangers and Toronto FC) were rather unanticipated. Nevertheless, I pledge a better five-pack this time around.

Take Chelsea to win at home to Tottenham Hotspur; take Celtic to win at home to Rangers; take Bordeaux to win away at Lille; take Fiorentina to draw at home to Juventus; take Real Madrid to win away at Deportivo La Coruna.

Power Rankings

1. Chelsea
2. FK Rubin Kazan
3. TSG Hoffenheim
4. Lyon
5. Celtic

Have a question about football? Email your query to jerradpeters@gmail.com.

Jerrad Peters covers football for the Winnipeg Free Press, Soccer Three-Sixty magazine, ESPN Soccernet, and Soccer365.com. His work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.