The Champions League Group draw occurred early today, and we are here to deliver the results of the draw for you. Interestingly, Sevilla has managed to surpass Real Madrid in the top group, as they have won the UEFA cup twice while Madrid has struggled in the tournament since their last European Cup in 2003. Who will be the Group of Death this year? Which of the top teams will get paired up against Real Madrid and their new Gallacticos now that they aren't amongst the primary draw group? There are seven first-time draws in the fourth group, so who knows, maybe a shock is in store for the Champions League. All the drama unfolds below!

 

Group A:

1) Bayern Munich

2) Juventus

3) Bordeaux

4) Maccabi Haifa

Analysis: A solid Group A should see some quality matchups, with a good Continental spread across Germany, France, Italy and Israel. Bayern should be comfortable in this group, as Juventus are a great squad, but seem to only manage to score one or two a game, while Munich is always capable of a huge outcome. Bordeaux impressed me last year with the quick passing and speed of their squad, and Juventus are hoping the loss of Nedved will be made up for by some key aquisitions of Felipe Melo and Diego. The Israeli squad are on again off again members of the competition, but as far as I can remember have yet to really accomplish anything notable of late.

Prediction:

Bayern Munich - qualify

Juventus - qualify

Bordeaux

Maccabi Haifa

 

Group B:

1) Manchester United

2) CSKA Moscow

3) Besiktas

4) VfL Wolfsburg

Analysis: This is my shadow group. This group is worse than United fans will be thinking it is, due to factors many forget. Moscow and Besiktas aren't just over the pond, those are long journeys into cold Russia and hostile Turkey. On top of that, they drew the strongest final group team in the competition, and anyone that watched Wolfsburg know they are a force to be reckoned with (Grafite is incredible). Without Ronaldo United will find it hard to unlock these talented and rough teams (especially Besiktas and Wolfsburg who I guarantee will take advantage of the fact that the diving wonder is not on Man Utd.).

Prediction:

Manchester United - qualify

VfL Wolfsburg - qualify

Besiktas

CSKA Moscow

 

Group C:

1) AC Milan

2) Real Madrid

3) Olympique Marseille

4) FC Zurich

Analysis: The alphabetical first "Group of Death", AC Milan must hope that Madrid's egos clash, or that it takes them at least six months to gel, because after an atrocious preseason, the Rossoneri look in shambles. For Americans this is an exciting prospect, as their hero Onyewu will be playing not only against the big boys in Italy now, but the Galacticos of Madrid and the youthful masterclass of Marseille. Don't write off the Frenchmen, they are a quality squad, kind of the West Ham of France with how much talent they produce (and subsequently have to sell). Zurich might hold all the banks, but they stand no chance in this group, and would be better off bribing the referees.

Prediction:

Real Madrid - qualify

AC Milan - qualify

Olympique Marseille

FC Zurich

 

Group D:

1) Chelsea

2) Porto

3) Athletico Madrid

4) APOEL

Analysis: Chelsea pulled a good group to be in, though I would never go to say it is an easy group. Porto are impossible to play on their own pitch, and they know that. Athletico are a quality Spanish side that will be looking to overtake Porto on that second spot (I'm assuming Chelsea take the group) and I would go as far as to say I would rather see the Athletico v Porto matchup during the weeks Chelsea play APOEL. APOEL who many of you will wonder about, are from Cyprus, meaning the other three squads will have to go to completely unfamiliar territory, and while this plays to their favor, I doubt this will do enough to get them a huge amount of results (they still have to play at Porto and at the Bridge).

Prediction:

Chelsea - qualify

Athletico Madrid - qualify

Porto

APOEL

 

Group E:

1) Liverpool

2) Lyon

3) Fiorentina

4) Debreceni

Analysis: Liverpool certainly didn't get any favors, drawing the French Champions, as well as the Italian wonder-performers of last season. Many Liverpool fans will look at this group and say it could be worse, which is absolutely true, but with their early Premier League season struggles and their recent emphasis on winning the League over truly focusing on Europe might lead to some shock results in this group. Fiorentina are a good side, with tons of young talent, even after losign Felipe Melo. Lyon always under perform in this competition, but with Benzema gone and Lisandro Lopez already off to a flyer, maybe the new changes will bring them some luck. Lastly they managed to draw only the second Hungarian team to ever make it to the group stages of this European competition, and Debrenceni will struggle to get many, if any points against this group of European big boys.

Prediction:

Liverpool - qualify

Fiorentina - qualify

Lyon

Debreceni

 

Group F:

1) Barcelona

2) Inter Milan

3) Dynamo Kiev

4) FC Rubin Kazan

Analysis: Between Group F and Group C, I can't tell which is going to be more fun to watch. While the interesting matchup for Group C will see the old men of AC take on the new boys of Madrid, the Barcelona v Inter matchup will take the cake for me. Between the off-season dealings of Eto'o and Ibrahimovic and Mourinho's past ties to the Catalan side, this matchup has all the makings for a high scoring, intense set of games. Kiev will be cursing, getting the unfortunate draw into one of the two major "Groups of Death", but don't count out the Ukranian side, they have produced tons of talent over the years, and are always worth a scrappy positive result. The Russian side Rubin Kazan take the last slot in this frightening group and will have to look forward to the heated games between the Ukranian side, but other than that must be shaking in their boots at the prospect of playing the Italian and Spanish champions. Should give them great ticket revenue though.

Prediction:

Barcelona - qualify

Inter Milan - qualify

Dynamo Kiev

FC Rubin Kazan

 

Group G:

1) Sevilla

2) Rangers

3) VfB Stuttgart

4) Uniera Urziceni

Analysis: I hate to say any group in the Champions League is the weakest, but given the teams that are contained in all the other groups, this years Group G takes the cake. While I take nothing away from the talents of both Sevilla and Rangers, Sevilla must be considered the weakest of the Primary group, and Rangers is rated well behind the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus, and Inter Milan in the Second group. Stuttgart will be licking their lips, as they couldn't have managed a more fortunate draw, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the German side take this group, or at least qualify for the next round. The last team is one unheard of from Romania, but Uniera Urziceni will be hoping to create the atmosphere at home that Cluj did last season, making it incredibly hard for teams to play at Uniera's home. Still, with such a tight battle between the first three, I can't see the new boys doing too well.

Prediction:

VfB Stuttgart - qualify

Sevilla - qualify

Rangers

Uniera Urziceni

Group H:

1) Arsenal

2) AZ Alkmaar

3) Olympiakos

4) Standard Liege

Analysis: Arsenal got a bit lucky drawing who many consider to be the weakest addition to the Second Selection Group. AZ Alkmaar play some creative, and therefore very Dutch, football, but must now compete with the master class of English creative football. Olympiakos are a good squad, and must be happy they ended up in a group where they could potentially have been rated higher than the Second Tier team selected before them. Liege takes the last spot, and besides Arsenal, must be thinking their chances aren't all that bad, and they certainly could have been in a worse position. While I think the Belgians will still struggle, I can see them working out a shocker or two.

Predictions:

Aresenal - qualify

Olympiakos - qualify

AZ Alkmaar

Standard Liege

 

What do you think about the Champions League draw?