UEFA Champions league preview day 2

The following is the preview article of Matchday 2 of UEFA Champions League.

Group E:

1. Manchester United Vs Villareal @ Old Trafford: The Red devils enter the competition with an eye to retain the trophy from Moscow early this year. Few teams have managed to lift the cup in successive editions with giants A.C Milan being the last team to achieve that feat in 1988 and 1989 respectively. Sir Alex would like to script history when his team enters the field in this year's edition. The Scotsman will look to recapture his most cherished trophy one more time before he can call it quits. The return of Ronaldo will be a big boost for the Red devils though it remains to be seen how big a part he can play in this particular clash keeping in mind an even more tougher opponent in Chelsea on a weekend at the bridge. With Tevez, Rooney and Berba in the fray, options to lead the attack are plenty but Sir Alex has problems in his midfield as seen from the Liverpool game where Liverpool were all over the park behind the ball. An injury to Carrick, a not so fully fit Hargreaves and the ageing duo of Scholes and Giggs means that Sir Alex will have to wear the thinking hat about choosing ball winners in the center of the park. As for the Yellow Submarines, the team has improved leaps and bounds after their semi final showing in 2005 edition and a runner up place in La liga last year. Coach Manuel Pelligrini will be without Star striker Nihat, but the presence of experienced mid fielders in Pires, Edmilson and Euro winner Marcos senna will form a reliable mid field combat for the " Submarine Amarillos". G.Rossi will face his old club and a surprise package in American teenager Jos Altidore can work either ways for the men in yellow. The past encounters between these teams have been more or less even and it remains to be seen, how much of character can the red devils show again in the midst of a bad patch. Finally being a home game for united with the crowd behind their backs, this could just be the booster that Sir Alex was looking for.

2. Celtic vs. Aalborg @ Celtic Park: The Scottish champs Celtics take on the Danish champions Aalborg at the Celtic Park where they boast of an impressive record defeating the likes of Man united and Milan. Coach Gordon Strachan will also have to find a method of creating away victories in the later stages of the competition. Much of their failure has been attributed to an inability to score away goals. There is no dearth of talent, yet the Celtics fail to make a mark at the big stage in Europe year after year. Samaras and Venegoor of Hesselink start the line up with Nakamura drilling in the passes from the midfield. Mcgeady is a talented winger and Goal keeper Artur Boruc is a top shot stopper at the back. For the Danish giants, they would be reliant on Danish top scorer last season Jeppe Curth to lead the attack. With no big names featuring here, Aalborg would like to play a disciplined game and should be looking forward in clinching a draw against their opponents to cause some trouble in the group

3. Steaua Bucuresti vs. Bayern Munich @ Stadionul Ghencea: The Los- Albastrii’s (Red – Blues) had their moments long back winning against Barca in 1986 and losing to Milan in the finals in 1989. Nothing much has happened to them after that though they have been regulars to feature in the group stages. The 2nd placed Romanian team coached by M.Lactus will look to line up a disciplined side in the field. With not many famous names in the line up except for their Star defender Dorian Goain who is pursued by many English and Spanish top teams. The defender is highly regarded for his aerial prowess in set pieces and disciplined tackles. A few Latin American players in the line up can cause troubles along the flanks and that will be it. On bayern's part, Coach Klinsmann will keep his fingers crossed about the return of creative nimble footed Ribery from his injury. The German champs are a different side altogether with ribery on song in addition to the likes of Toni, Podolski, Borowski and Van bommel in their camp, it looks like a TALL order for the Romanians with the Bavarian strikers well known for their cunning aerial strikers.
Goal keeper Micheal Rensing will fill the boots of legendry Kahn after being in his shadow for 4 years. After sitting out of this competition last year, Klinsmann will be looking forward to start fresh his European campaign in search of their glory. At Steuau's home, the Bavarians can be rest assured that it wont be any cake walk for them when they start their challenge.

4. Lyon Vs Fiorentina @ Stade de Gerland: The seven time successive French champions have never progressed beyond the quarter final stages in this competition. On paper they appear a formidable side except for their “waiting to crumble” defense, the French champs " Les Gones" can boast of a supreme strike force led by 20 year old teen Sensation Karim Benzema who opted to stay back in Lyon, the fast paced Sydney Govou in the flanks, Brazilian Fred, mid fielder Fredric Piquionne, the magic of dead ball specialist Juninho, mid fielder Toulalan, makoun, and Keita. A combination of such quality will pose a serious challenge for the Fiorentina lads. The Voila men are coming out slowly of a financial crisis and the Re- Pairing of Mutu and Gilardino under their gritty coach C. Prandelli would mean that they won’t be any push over in this challenge especially after a successful league campaign last year where they managed to climb over Milan in the standings. With Peruvian Vargas at the back and dribbler Jovetic in their ranks, Voila will find it hard against a seasoned campaigner in Lyon. All that remains to be seen is that whether Adrian Mutu can create some dazzling moments which he does time and again to help fashion an deserved victory if not an emphatic one. Meanwhile Lyon at home is a formidable opponent just to tell you that the match could also progress in one way traffic.

5.FC Porto Vs Fenerbahce @ Estadio de Dragao: The Dragoes won their last UEFA CL title in 2004 under the " Special One". After that they haven’t showed similar consistency and failed at crucial stages of the tournament. The reigning Portuguese champions have many a times caused an upset frequently against the biggest names across Europe. In Lucho Gonzales, they have a talisman midfielder to control the game alongside winger Cristian Rodriguez and Colombian international F.Guarin. Also do watch out for a Jersey named “Hulk” from Brazil expecting to show his antics at the European level. Coach Jesualdo is a master tactician and having been in this coaching field for quiet a long time, he will arrange a line up to tactically pull a 1st leg victory in the early stages. Their Turkish rivals Fenerbahce in their yellow black stripes also known as yellow canaries have made some star signings this summer after a quarter final showing last year where they lost to Chelsea. Euro winner Luis Aragones is on a sky high in terms of confidence bringing along former Mallorca marksman Danny guiza to turkey. Partnering him would be Semih senturk and Kazim-Kazim who had an outstanding euro tournament respectively. Emre belozoglu still remains doubtful in his fitness and form whereas Ugur boral is sure the take the starting line up. Fans can expect to see Roberto Carlos in action in the left wing and if all goes well, we expect him to unleash his power in free kicks against Porto. This should be a well contested and evenly poised match, considering that both teams are not superior in defense, it might turn out to be a high scoring encounter.

6. Dynamo Kiev Vs Arsenal @ Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium: The recent departure of the Brazilian trio has diminished the attacking resources of Dynamo Kiev and a lot of responsibility hangs around a much younger and in-experienced shoulders of Artem Milevsky to convert any half chances to make a match out of it. At the back of a miserable campaign last year where they faced 6 clean defeats, the number 2 Ukrainians will try to make a match out of this against a Wenger's side that is brimming with confidence. The skill set and the passing abilities in Wenger's BOY'S are a delight to watch when they play against some lesser known opponents. The gunners on their day could surpass any team in the world and with Fabregas and Nasri in the mid field, the Dynamo Goal keeper is bound to have a hard time against the likes of Adebayor and Walcott. Although not impossible, but keeping in mind the home advantage for dynamo, the Ukraine’s can tactically test the not so called unbreakable defense of arsenal to get their name in the score sheet. The gunners as they do would love to seal a win in their usual emphatic fashion and assert their supremacy of playing a beautiful and delightful game, which any football lover would watch. The Gunners will not settle for anything less than 3 points at the start of the tournament with minimum injury concerns.

7. Real Madrid vs. BATE Borisov @ Santiago Bernabau: It can't get any better for Los Merengues when they start their search for the elusive 10th CL title with a home match against a lesser known opponent. Coach Bernd Schuster would like to get his team selection and line up right keeping in mind the high pressure league games in the forthcoming week. With two top goal CL scorers in Raul and RVN, Madrid boasts of a poaching strike pair that can enter any team. Dutchmen Van der vaart and arjen robben are fit to play the clash, Borisov will have a hard time negating the power of Real Madrid in their backyard. The Spanish champions will take on Belarus champs BATE Borisov, who make history by being the first ever Belarusian team to enter CL after defeating Anderlecht and Levski sofia. Such a feat is an achievement in itself but taking on nine time champions and power house Real Madrid will prove more than a handful for this Belarusian side with no history or experience behind it. In the absence of any big names in their line up as compared to an all star team of Coach Schuster, BATE will play to avoid any embarrassment on their debut in this fiercely competitive tournament.

8. Juventus Vs Zenit St.Petersburg @ Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino: The Old lady is back at the top draw and the Bianconeri will look to assert their supremacy in a clash which can go any way. With living legend Del Peiro in their ranks, Juventus cannot complain of creativity in the park. Bolstering the mid field would be Pavel Nedved, Poulsen, Tiago and a never ending list of experience, this team has a bench as strong as its line up. New signing Amauri will pair up with Trezeguet or Laquinta with ADP playing behind them with a license to roam. The Old lady's defense is ageing but its experience will offset the lack of pace and sharp movements inside the box. On the other hand, the Russian champions Zenit defeated Man united in the super cup@ Monaco few weeks ago and play a silky smooth flowing football. Star player Arshavin showed his presence in the middle and the impact he made at the Euros. Fans will definitely hope for a repeat performance from their displeased mid fielder. Striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, Igor Denisov, Defensive mid fielder Tymoshchuk with Coach Dick Advocaat make a line up that will make life difficult for its opponents. If Zenit can play its free flowing crisp passing game, Juventus could well be in trouble trying to catch up for most part of the game. Call them Outsiders, on their day a disciplined side like Zenit might surprise the world too.