UEFA Champions League Wednesday, Preview and Predictions: Jose Mourinho Begins Quest For Third Title
Bayern Munich makes their 2010-11 UEFA Champions League debut on Wednesday, welcoming Roma to the Allianz in the day’s marqueé match. Also taking their bows, fellow mega clubs Chelsea, Real Madrid, Milan and Arsenal, with Groups E through H playing their first matches.
After Roma’s weekend collapse at Calgiari, Group E has the potential to be a walk for Bayern, giving today’s match in Munich a different dimension. Two weeks ago, most were looking at this match as one of the day’s most competitive, and it could certainly prove to be such. However, with Roma falling 5-0 this weekend and yet to score a goal in Serie A, the standards have lowered. Now, we’re looking for Roma to merely give a good account. Should they fail to do so, Group E suddenly looks like very easy for last year’s finalists. For the sake of an exciting group, let’s hope Claudio Ranieri get Roma on track.
Of help to Roma: Bayern will be without Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. Robben is far from returning from a torn thigh muscle suffered at the World Cup. He is not expected to play until after group stage. Ribery is still serving a suspension incurred in last tournament’s knock-out stage. While Roma's loss of Mirko Vucinic and John Arne Riise partially offsets those absences, today Roma faces a far weaker Bayern team than we saw in May.
Elsewhere in Group E, Swiss champions Basel go to Romania to face CFR Cluj. CFR is off to a surprisingly poor start in the Romanian Liga, having won only twice in seven matches. Basel has had a decent start to the Swiss season, winning four of eight, and are coming off a 2-2 draw at Young Boys on Sunday.
In Group F, Chelsea visits Slovakian champions Zilina, a relative unknown in this tournament. Most of the interest in this match concerns whether Chelsea can carry over their scorching English Premier League form. To do so, they will have to augment the losses of Didier Drogba (suspension), Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and José Bosingwa (all injured). Should the likes of Yossi Benayoun, Daniel Sturridge and Yuri Khirkov fail to adequately replace their injured teammates, we could see a surprise (if lackluster) result.
In the group’s other match, Spartak Moscow returns to Champions League after a brief hiatus, making their debut at the Stade Vélodrome against Marseille. Despite winning last year’s Ligue 1 title, l’OM have a number of new faces, particularly in attack, where Andre-Pierre Gignac and Loic Rémy join one of the few holdovers, Brandão. Remy is expected to miss this match with a groin strain.
Marseille’s changes explain why the team has only one win in five French league matches, though they’ll get no sympathy from Spartak, who sit a surprising sixth in the Russian Premier Liga, now two-thirds of the way through its season. Despite the team’s struggles, Brazilian striker Welliton continues to be a dangerman, posting 15 goals in 16 league appearances as whispers of Russian nationalization persist.
Group G sees Real Madrid and Milan bundled for the second straight year. Real Madrid opens their group campaign at home against Ajax, for whom Luis Suárez already has six goals in three league appearances. That’s five more than the entire Real Madrid team’s scored in the Primera, though Los Blancos have only played twice. Thankfully for Real Madrid but unfortunately for us watching on television, Suárez is suspended for this match.
As will be the case all season, the start surrounding Real Madrid is their coach, José Mourinho. Mourinho is coming off his second Champions League title, won last year with Internazionale. He was bought from Inter to restore Real’s place amongst Europe’s footballing aristocracy, the club having fallen into the nasty habit of losing at the Round of 16. Two years ago, that’s where Inter left the competition, but Mourinho engineered a turn-around last season that saw the Nerazzurri beat Chelsea and Barcelona on their way to winning the final over Bayern at the Santiago Bernabeu. Champions League is the main reason Mourinho was brought to Madrid, and while he tends to approach group play conservatively, Mourinho will be judged on how Real Madrid performs at the competition’s outset.
In the other Group G match, Milan hosts Auxerre, a team that could give the unsettled Rossoneri trouble. Milan was shut-out this weekend by Cesena, and against an Auxerre team known for their defending, the Italian club may find scoring even more difficult. Milanistas are just waiting for something to click, though this weekend’s attacking trio of Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexandre Pato embarrassingly failed to do so. Should Massimo Allegri’s team give a similar account, we could see a replication of last year’s visit from FC Zurich.
And Group H, Arsenal has been given another relatively easy group. They start their campaign at home to Champions League neophytes Sporting Braga. Arsenal has their typical, ridiculous list of injury absences: Abou Diaby (ankle), Thomas Vermaelen (achilles), Robin van Persie (ankle), Nicklas Bendtner (groin), and Aaron Ramsey (leg). Samir Nasri, however, is available, having recovered from knee surgery. His passing may be needed to pick through a tough Braga defense, though it's unclear if he'll play.
The group’s other match sees Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk hosting Partizan of Serbia. Shakhtar was dealt a huge blow last weekend with Fernandinho suffered a long-term leg injury in the club’s first lost of the season (at Obolon). Whether that keeps them from full points today is unlikely, but whereas they were expected to battle for Group H’s second knock-out round spot, Shakhtar may be looking at another Europa League appearance, should they be unable to account for the Brazilian’s absence.
Predictions
| Group | Home | Road | Visitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | Bayern Munich | Roma | 2-1, Bayern |
| E | CFR Cluj | Basel | 1-1 |
| F | Zilina | Chelsea | 1-0, Chelsea |
| F | Marseille | Spartak Moscow | 3-1, Marseille |
| G | Real Madrid | Ajax | 2-0, Real Madrid |
| G | Milan | Auxerre | 1-1 |
| H | Arsenal | Sporting Braga | 3-0, Arsenal |
| H | Shakhtar Donetsk | Partizan | 2-1, Shakhtar |
