Champions League Preview

With the Champions League back in town, CollinsBeans previews all the first leg action in Europe’s premier club competition

AS Roma 2 – 2 Shakhtar Donetsk

After a shaky start to the season when his back was against the wall and his neck on the line, Claudio Ranieri’s team regrouped; going on an impressive unbeaten run which took them close to the top of the table. Since then the wheels seem to have come off again with the club falling back into mid table. The issues at the club seem to focus on the fact that the years seem to be catching up with club talisman Francesco Totti. The debate is whether the side is better off with or without the club icon in the team. The fact he and Ranieri don’t get on doesn’t seem to help things.

Shakhtar are Eastern Europe’s last hope. The 2009 UEFA Cup winner’s squad is distinctly Brazilain in flavour and with wily old coach Mircea Lucescu they will be firm test. They’re a club that people have been waiting to break through into the elite for a while now, and this looks their best chance. Impressive in the group, where they won five of their 6 games and finished above Arsenal (despite taking a pasting at the Emirates) they look like being able to take advantage of Roma’s struggles and take favourable result back to the Ukraine with them. (Matthew Snelling)

AC Milan 3 – 1 Tottenham

I’ve never been a huge Tottenham fan, but they deserve a lot of credit this season. Generally, they’ve played some exciting football and after an iffy spell, have come back with some excellent results recently.

However, I still think they are a little weak defensively and AC Milan are having a very good season. I must confess that I haven’t seen much Serie A action this year (how I miss the glorious days of Channel 4 coverage) but all the reports suggest that Milan are firing, particularly in the form of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho up front. Those two look to be on top form and I think Milan, in the San Siro, will have too much for the Tottenham backline and may overrun them in centre midfield.

I expect Tottenham to score though, and still be very much in the tie for the second leg. (James Platt)

Valencia 2 – 0 Schalke

Quite how Schalke have got this far is a bit of a mystery. Mid-table in the Bundesliga after a dreadful start domestically they benefitted from a strangely disappointing Benfica side coming up short in their group (a Benfica side somewhat emabrrasingly tipped around this parish to be the dark horses for the tournament...). Felix Magath did wonders do get a 2nd place finish out of a rag tag and limited squad last season but then in the summer seemed to go slightly mad. His big money signings like Jurado and Klass Jan Huntelaar have not matched expectations although Raul has been far more successful an addition than I would’ve thought.

They face a Valencia side which lost its two biggest assets, David’s Villa and Silva in the summer but that under young and detailed obsessive coach Unai Emery seems to have recaptured its consistency. It’s a side which may no longer have many of the big names but one which has inherited the ability to grind out results that the club had under Rafa Benitez. Emery likes to rotate his squad gaols have been shared out evenly amongst the whole squad, although striker Aduriz is one to keep an eye on. It’s this all for one approach which should see the Spanish be too strong for the rather hit and miss Germans. (MS)

Inter Milan 2 – 1 Bayern Munich

Neither of these sides have been enjoying particularly successful domestic campaigns and will probably be looking to focus on this competition. Last season they were destroying everything in their respective paths.

It’s a pretty difficult one to call as well. That’s why I’m sticking with a safe 2-1, giving both sides a good chance in the second leg. Bayern have a habit of throwing away games this season, so don’t be surprised if they start well and then collapse. Top players, such as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Muller, have not been performing to their high standards by all accounts, so Louis van Gaal will no doubt be hoping they raise it for the big stage.

Inter, with Leonardo in charge, have being enjoying a resurgence recently and will probably fancy their chances of steaming past Bayern. Again, the performance of seasoned stars such as Samuel Eto’o will probably be key. (JP)

Lyon 1 – 1 Real Madrid

On paper this looked a decent draw for Madrid, but then Lyon have dumped out the 9 time Champions at this stage before. With Mourinho at the helm, surely this has to be the season that Real finally manage to get past the round of 16, a stage they have not got past in several seasons. Despite the 5-0 thumping at the hands of Barcelona, Real have encountered few problems, and with ‘The Special One’ tightening up the club’s notoriously porous backline they have only suffered the two defeats all season, racking up an impressive goals scored tally.

However the team still look a work in progress, and faults within the team were ruthlessly exposed in the hammering they took at the Camp Nou. Mourinho was very vocal in his desire to bring in a central striker but is Emmanuel Adebayor really the top class addition needed? New boys Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria have flickered at times and gone missing at others and it is hard to shake off the suspicion that the club are somewhat over reliant on the admittedly awesome powers of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lyon under Claude Puel are not the force that they once were. Despite being semi-finalists last season the club’s squad looks the weakest on paper that it’s been for a number of years. Big money signing Yoann Gourcuff is yet to really hit the ground running and talented young players such as Bosnian playmaker Miralem Pjanić seems to have gone backwards in their development. Puel likes to make his teams play tightly and compactly and they will make life difficult for Madrid, however the individual brilliance of Ronaldo will ensure that Real will go into the second leg with the advantage of an away goal. (MS)

Arsenal 1 – 1 Barcelona

Everyone is looking forward to this one. We all expect it to be fantastic. It will surely be a wonderful game… So often these ties don’t live up to the hype, but it’s hard to see how this one won’t, at the very least, be easy on the eye. The main question, I suppose, is that will Arsenal look to crowd midfield and place more focus on stopping Barcelona than creating chances themselves. I think they might.

Lionel Messi is undoubtedly the best player in the world, by some way in my opinion, but he seems to have struggled a bit with English sides in the past and it will be fascinating to see how he gets on. I can see this game being quite tight, with Barcelona dominating but Arsenal still in with a chance at the Nou Camp. (JP)

Olympique Marseille 1 – 2 Manchester United

The fact that it took so long for Manchester United to lose a game probably says more about the standards of the Premier League rather than telling us if this is one of Old Trafford’s finest vintages. Watching the team this season, they never seem to show the wow factor that United teams of the past have shown, and yet, despite all of that their results have been impressive even if the performances haven’t always.

With Wayne Rooney’s form what you could call ‘patchy’ at best it’s been left to the likes of Dimitar Berbatov and Nani to paper over any cracks. The Portuguese winger, now free from the shadow of his compatriot Ronaldo has been in scintillating form, at the heart of pretty much every goal the club has scored. Tight at the back, but now reliant on some aging limbs the club seem to be digging deep into the experience at the club and the knowledge of how to win games.

Their opponents have clambered back into contention in the French league after a slow start and possess arguably the strongest squad in France. New strikers Loic Remy and André-Pierre Gignac took a while to find their feet but with Argentinean schemer Lucho Gonzalex pulling the strings in midfield they make a formidable unit...when they’re in front of their home crowd at the passionate Velodrome. Home advantage will see a tight game but I see Manchester United being far too strong over the two legs. (MS)

FC Copenhagen 1 – 1 Chelsea

It’s not been a great few months for Chelsea and clearly the Champions League has, by default, become their number one priority. And there’s no doubt that this is a favourable tie.

I watched the Fulham game yesterday and I think the results are coming for Chelsea, but it’s just not quite happening at the moment. David Luiz looks a really, really class act (although he is ineligible for Champions League action) and the movement of Fernando Torres is excellent – he just needs that first goal. Once this happens, and the confidence returns, I think Chelsea may finish the season strongly. Ramires was excellent against Fulham and he’s such a clear example of a top player who has taken a while to settle.

Copenhagen are normally whipping boys in this competition but have done well this time and I’m sure they will make life difficult for Chelsea and press them all over the pitch. I can see a low scoring draw, with Chelsea powering through in the second leg. (JP)