Champions League Draw 2010/11 - Group Stages

Group A:
Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Tottenham, FC Twente

Group B:
Lyon, Benfica, Schalke, Hapoel Tel-Aviv

Group C:
Manchester United, Valencia, Rangers, Bursaspor

Group D:
Barcelona, Panathinaikos, FC Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan

Group E:
Bayern Munich, AS Roma, Basel, CFR Cluj

Group F:
Chelsea, Marseille, Spartak Moscow, Zilina

Group G:
AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax, Auxerre

Group H:
Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Partizan Belgrade


Fixture Dates:

Matchday 1: 14th/15th September
Matchday 2: 28th/29th September
Matchday 3: 19th/20th October
Matchday 4: 2nd/3rd November
Matchday 5: 23rd/24th November
Matchday 6: 7th/8th December

The Physio Room - Injury Update

With between eight and nine Premier league fixtures remaining of the 2009/10 season, there are only a one or two things that can be said are concrete!

When you take a look at the league table, Pompey are down, but there are two relegation place remaining, and potentially seven clubs in danger of the drop.

At the other end of the table any of the current top three teams: Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal could win the title, and four teams are fighting it out for that 'exclusive' fourth place finish - and a glamorous, income fuelled participation in the Champions League next season.
Let's also not forget the UEFA Europa League 'consolation' prize, that is up for grabs for those sides finishing outside the top four.

That leaves just three or four Premier League teams in mid-table limbo, with little else to play for, other than pride. However the performances on the field of these sides, the likes of Birmingham, Everton, Fulham and Stoke could seriously effect the final outcome of those teams immediately above and below them - so they themselves still have an important part to play as the season reaches its climax.

For example, this weekend Fulham and Stoke play Manchester City and Tottenham respectively. Spurs and City are both vying for that final Champions league berth and will get no change from their mid-table opponents. Messieurs Hodgson and Pullis simply don't do favours!

Matches are coming thick and fast as we speak, more so for some than others. On Tuesday this week Chelsea played Inter Milan, whilst Villa and Wigan had a League fixture to fulfill. On Monday evening Liverpool entertained Portsmouth again in the League, and were back in action last night against Lille in the UEFA Europa League, whilst Fulham took on Juventus in the same competition.

To add into the mix there is a full programme of English Premier League fixtures this weekend, and the FA Cup semi-finals all involving Premier League sides are also on the horizon. Although these cup games are still some three weeks away, they may however be in the back of some players/managers minds.

What remains to be seen is how well the various managers and their coaching staff along with the healing hands of their respective physios can manage their squads, rotate them effectively and nurse their injured players through to the end of the season, whilst being able to juggle and prioritise their fixtures.

Obviously some Premier League teams have the budget to sustain sufficiently large enough squads to nullify this problem as best possible. It could be as much down to luck and good fortune on the injury front, as anything else, as to which teams succeed or fail come May.

Here is your chance to catch up on which players are currently out injured, who are close to a return to first-team action, and which players are really struggling to be fit to play any further part for their respective clubs, before the season ends.

Click on the 'link' to find out the latest on your Club's injury worries.

The Physio Room - Injury Update

As we approach the so called 'business' end of the season, the race for honours is hotting up, while the contenders for the dreaded drop out of the financially lucrative Premier League is still far from decided.

Two points separate Chelsea and Manchester United in the race for the Premier League title, with Arsenal lying third. On Sunday second play third as Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

The race for the fourth and final Champions League spot for next seasons competition looks like it will be between Tottenham, Liverpool, Man City and Aston Villa.

It's a particularly hectic time of year for some teams:

Man Utd and Aston Villa also have domestic cup silverwear on their minds, as they meet in the Carling Cup final at Wembley at the end of this month.

Chelsea, Man Utd, and Arsenal also have 1st leg Champions League fixtures coming up in ten days time, with the 2nd legs in early to mid March.
Meanwhile Everton, Liverpool and Fulham have two legged ties coming up this month in their last of 32 round of the UEFA Europa League.

At the other end of the Premier League table Portsmouth are being slowly cast adrift, and have well documented problems off the field as well as on it.
Current boss Avram Grant needs to provide some divine inspiration if he is to close the six point gap that separates them from safety.
This weekend struggling Pompey travel to Old Trafford to face Man Utd - a daunting task at the best of times!

Newly promoted Burnley along with Hull occupy the other two relegation positions at present, but only three points separate them and Wigan in 14th position, so it looks like it's going to be 'squeaky bum' time right down to the final games of the season for them, along with the likes of Wolves, Bolton and West Ham.

To add into the mix the fact that Chelsea, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Man City, Wigan, Bolton and Portsmouth are still in this seasons F.A Cup, and their 5th round ties are to be played next weekend simply means there is no let up for any team at present, whatever their league position!

What remains to be seen is how well the various managers and their coaching staff along with the healing hands of their respective physios can manage their squads, rotate them effectively and nurse their injuried players through to the end of the season, whilst being able to juggle and prioritise their fixtures, and in doing so succeed in reaching their individual goals!

Obviously some Premier League teams have the budget to sustain sufficiently large enough squads to nullify this problem as best possible. However with the transfer window now shut, and only loan deals possible it could be as much down to luck and good fortune on the injury front, as anything else, as to which teams succeed or fail come May.

Meanwhile there is a full programme of English Premier League fixtures this weekend, so here is your chance to catch up on which players are out injured and who will be fit to play for their clubs.

Click on the 'link' to find out the latest on your Club's injury worries, and how soon it will be before some of your teams players will be back in action.

Champions League Last 16 Draw

Inter Milan v CHELSEA

Lyon v Real Madrid

AC Milan v MANCHESTER UNITED

Olympiakos v Bordeaux

FC Porto v ARSENAL

CSKA Moscow v Sevilla

Stuttgart v Barcelona

Bayern Munich v Fiorentina


The first-leg ties will be played on the 16th, 17th, 23rd or 24th February 2010.
The return games will be played on either the 9th, 10th, 16th or 17th March 2010.

*It had to be, didn't it? David Beckham will return to Old Trafford with AC Milan. Jose Mourinho goes back to Chelsea with Inter.

Terrific Stuff!

'Brits All Ready To Hit The Ground Running' - Betting Tips with Betfair

In the last five years English teams have dominated Europe's premier competition and while that may not last forever, few would bet against a perfect start to this year's event, for all four Premier League sides.

Last night Chelsea and Manchester United both picked up three points, with victories against Porto and Besiktas respectively.

Tonight sees Liverpool and Arsenal enter the fray as they take on Standard Liege and Champions League newcomers Debrecen of Hungary.

There's very little value to be had backing a Liverpool victory, with the Reds as short as 1.11 in the match odds. However, there could be money to be made by predicting a high scoring affair. All three of Liverpool's wins this season have witnessed four goals or more and with Debrecen inexperienced at this level, there could be another goal fest at Anfield.

The Champions League betting odds currently stand at: over 3.5 goals in the match available at 2.08, with +4.5 goals a tempting 3.55.


Arsenal should face a tougher test as they travel to Belgium to play Standard Liege. The hosts came within two minutes of taking Liverpool to penalties in last season's Champions League third qualifying round and could provide tricky opposition for Arsene Wenger's team.

Unfortunately for Liege, they will face an Arsenal side with a real point to prove, after suffering successive league defeats. Arsenal can be backed to win both halves at 2.86 but if you fancy an upset, the Belgian champions look good value at 5.5 in the 'draw no bet' market.

Elsewhere, Rangers will be desperate to restore some pride in Scottish football after the national side's failure to qualify for the World Cup.

German side Stuttgart stand in their way, but could be prime candidates for an upset after picking up just five points from their opening five league matches in the Bundesliga.
Rangers are a massive 6.6 to win the game and complete a good opening week for Brits abroad.


By Josh Allen.
(Guest writer from Betfair on behalf of Beer Footy and Birds!)

The UEFA Champions League Group Draw, My Predictions & The Betting Odds.

An intriguing Champions League draw has paired Celtic & Man Utd together in Group E along with Danish champions Aalborg & the dangerous Spaniards’ Villarreal, runners up to Real Madrid in La Liga last season & finishing ten points clear of third placed Catalan giants Barcelona.
In fact if they had performed to the same degree during the first half of the 2007/08 La Liga season, as they did in the second half Villarreal would have been crowned Champions, conceding just one goal at home & losing only 3 of their last 19 domestic league fixtures. 'The Yellow Submarines' won 12 of all their 19 league games away from the El Madrigal Stadium, so they don’t suffer from travel sickness!
I believe Man Utd & Villarreal will both qualify for the first round knockout stage of the competition. The tournament second favourites Man Utd can be backed at a best priced 13/2 to win it outright while you can get 40/1 on 'The Yellow Submarines' shooting down all around come Rome next May.
The Bhoys are 8/1 to get through to the next stage but I would keep my money in my pocket & Aalborg managed by Scotsman Bruce Rioch, the former manager of Middlesbrough, Bolton & Arsenal to name but a few, make their first appearance in the competition for 13 years & I expect them to be the whipping boys of Group E.

The so called ‘Group of Death’ is probably a toss up between Group F & Group G.
Group F looks like a straight three way fight between Bayern Munich, Lyon & Fiorentina. The 1986 European Cup Winners Steaua Bucharest look unlikely to qualify from this group, but not I feel without putting a few noses out of joint along the way. It is worth bearing in mind that the Romanian domestic champions disposed of Turkish giants Galatasaray in the qualifying round, so any trip to their Stadionul Ghencea is fraught with a potential upset.

Group G hosts Arsenal, Porto, Fenerbahce & Dynamo Kiev. All of these teams are a shadow of their former selves. Kiev were Ukranian league runners-up last season & winners of this competition way back in 1999.
Porto are the current Portuguese Liga champions & were victorious in the Champions League back in 2004 whilst under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho, but have had to sell many of their best players of late.
Meanwhile Arsenal are without a trophy of any description since the 2003/04 season. Fererbahce, Turkish league runners-up last season & Champions league quarter-finalists last season (along with Arsenal) are probably on paper at least the best equipped team in the group along with Arsenal to reach the last sixteen. In addition they have a hugely partisan home crowd in Istanbul & the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, will be a daunting & unforgiving place to go for any visiting team.
My money is on The Gunners & the Turks to qualify for the next stage. Incidently Arsenal can be backed to lift the trophy at 12/1. A big price & a big gamble!

Group C should see Catalans Barcelona canter into the next stage of the competition but who will join them?
Shakhatar Donetsk & Basle are both winners of their own domestic leagues in the Ukraine & Switzerland respectively, & along with Sporting Lisbon, will fight it out for the one remaining place.
I feel Shakhatar are the best of the three. They have a touch more in their locker than Sporting & Basle, including six Brazilians in their squad & a 5-1 demolition of Dinamo Zagreb in qualifying.
Barcelona are joint third favourites to lift the trophy along with Inter Milan & can be backed at odds of 7/1 to do so.

Inter like Barcelona are the stand out team in their group, Group B with the German Bundesliga runners-up Werder Bremen the best of a meadioca bunch. Group B is the weakest on paper & with Jose Mourinho installed as boss & an array of talent on the pitch including Toldo, Figo, Ibrahimovic, Adriano & Cruz the current Serie A Champions should stroll into the last sixteen.
Anorthosis Famagusta the first Cypriot side to play in the Champions League, along with the Greek side Panathinaikos will certainly do well to take points off anyone, other than each other!
Inter & Werder Bremen to go through then, & Inter to win it the tournament at an over generous 7/1. Get on now!

Liverpool shouldn’t have any trouble qualifying for the first knockout round in Group D, but their uninspiring start to the Premier League season both on & off the field may require them to be slightly on their guard. PSV, Marseille & Athletic Madrid are all to be respected but of the three only PSV qualified automatically as Dutch champions, with Marseille & Athletico Madrid making it through via the qualifying stages.
Athletico finished fourth in La Liga but should & could have finished higher before they ran out of gas in the second half of the season. They lost 12 in total out of their 38 league games, but 8 of those 12 were in the second half of the season.
Liverpool to win the group with Athletico Madrid to also qualify.
Liverpool to win the competition are 12/1, a bit skinny but once out of the group stages I expect any off field business to have be resolved & the players to be firing on all cylinders.

The big guns of Real Madrid & Juventus – 11 times winners between them dominate Group H. The only question here is who will win the group? Juve are 2/1 to win it, with Real at 4/5. Zenit St.Petersburg the UEFA Cup holders & Bate Borisov of Belarus make up the rest of Group H.
Put Zenit in Groups B, C, F or G & I would fancy them to go through. They are going to have to cause an almighty shock here to make any progress & I personally don’t fancy their chances.
Madrid & Juventus to qualify comfortably. The Spaniards are 15/2 & Juve 20/1 to be victorious in Rome.

Finally Group A features favourites Chelsea, the dangerous AS Roma, Serie A runners-up to Inter, Bordeaux surprise league runners-up behind Lyon & the Romanian champions CFR Cluj.
CFR were the first Romanian team to win the title outside of Bucharest for 17 years.
Cluj more famous for Dracula & The Cheeky Girls are making their first ever appearance in the Champions league. Whether it lasts more than 6 games remains to be seen, so I have to stick with Chelsea & AS Roma to qualify from Group A.
Chelsea & John Terry are a best priced 5/1 to lift the trophy in May, whilst AS Roma are attractively priced at 28/1 to go all the way.
A bit of each way value beckons the Italians.( Each-way ½ 1,2 )


Group A

AS Roma 3/1 Q
Chelsea 4/11 Q
CFR Cluj 50/1
Bordeaux 15/2

Group B

Werder Bremen 5/2 Q
Inter Milan 4/11 Q
Panathanaikos 10/1
Anorthosis Famagusta 50/1

Group C

Sporting Lisbon 6/1
Barcelona 1/4 Q
Basle 22/1
Shakhtar Donetsk 6/1 Q

Group D

PSV Eindhoven 13/2
Liverpool 4/5 Q
Athletico Madrid 3/1 Q
Marseille 9/2

Group E

Villarreal 100/30 Q
Man Utd 3/10 Q
Aalborg 66/1
Celtic 8/1

Group F

Lyon 7/4 Q
Fiorentina 11/4
Bayern Munich 11/8 Q
Steaua Bucharest 14/1

Group G

Porto 100/30
Arsenal 8/13 Q
Dynamo Kiev 8/1
Fernerbahce 5/1 Q

Group H

Real Madrid 4/5 Q
Zenit St Petersburg 7/2
Juventus 2/1 Q
Bate Borislov 66/1


# Group stages to be played: Sept 16-17, Sept 30-Oct 1, Oct 21-22, Nov 4-5,
Nov 25-26 & Dec 9-10.

Q = My prediction to qualify for the next stage.

* Odds supplied courtesy of Coral bookmakers & are for teams to qualify through to the first knockout round only.