One Fool's Preview of the Champions League Group Stage (Pt 3 of 4)

by Foolsgold

Group E - FC Barcelona, Olympique Lyonnais, Rangers FC, & VfB Stuttgart

Winner - Once again I've heard this group referred to as 'the Group of Death', but I have little doubts that Barça will come out on top. Wouldn't it be great if every club had a Thierry Henry to step in if your Samuel Eto'o gets injured? Well, that's what has happened at Barça. They've also revamped their defense, which was a bit porous at times last season, with the additions of Éric Abidal, Gabriel Milito, and defensive midfielder Yaya Touré. Not even Chelsea has their kind of depth and I suspect this year they'll be better mentally prepared for opponents like Liverpool.

2nd - Stuttgart seems to be the sexy choice here, but I just don't see it. In my mind, I don't see anyone underestimating the defending Bundesliga champs and as far as I'm concerned, they'll find themselves at the bottom of this group when all is said and done. As for the Rangers, they are on about the same level as Stuttgart, plus I think they really want to take the SPL title back from Celtic. That leaves Lyon, and if their current injuries woes continue, I can definitely see one of the other two sneaking in past them, but if they are even at somewhat full strength, they should advance. They may lose key players every year, but somehow they always manage to replace them.

Most intriguing match(es) - the Barça-Lyon ties As part of Éric Abidal's transfer from Lyon, Barça will have to pay the French side an extra €500,000 if they win the Champions League any time over the next four years. Can you say 'conflict of interest'? Just kidding, but I don't see how the matches between these two powerhouses can't be interesting.

(Once again, none of these are minnows by any means.)

Group F - Manchester United, AS Roma, Dynamo Kiev, Sporting CP

Winner - AS Roma The only club who should give the revamped i Giallorossi any problems are Man U. Duh. But I have a feeling they'll try extra hard this time to take care of the Mancs, especially at Old Trafford. Sure, they lost Chivu and Christian Wilhelmsson, but they also added Cicinho and Ludovic Giuly, both more experienced players. Totti isn't getting any younger and I'm not sure they'll have a more opportune time to make their mark in Europe.

2nd - Manchester United Dynamo Kiev & Sporting CP are far from pushovers, but even a wounded Man U should be able to do enough to advance.

Player to watch for Dynamo Kyiv - Ismaël Bangoura The transfer from Le Mans has made an immediate impact for his new club scoring 5 goals in 7 matches. The 22-year-old Guinea international was second in scoring in Ligue 1 in the 2006-07 season with 11 goals in 28 matches.

Player to watch for Sporting - João Moutinho The 20-year-old newly promoted captain and Portuguese international will really need to step up if the Leões have any chance of advancing.

Originally posted here