In Group C, Real Madrid take on Werder Bremen, Lazio and Olympiakos in a very competitive and open group. While Real Madrid will be expected to qualify as group winners, any of the 3 remaining teams could end up as #2, even Olympiakos (although that’s an outside shout).
The big tussle will be between Lazio and Bremen and both clubs are capable of beating Real Madrid at home.
Let’s look at the fixtures list before going team by team and analysing past matchups between these four teams.
Teams
Real Madrid (Spain)
Werder Bremen (Germany)
Lazio (Italy)
Olympiakos (Greece)
Fixtures
Matchday One – Tuesday – 18 Sep 2007
Real Madrid vs Werder Bremen
Olympiakos vs Lazio
Matchday Two – Wednesday – 3 Oct 2007
Lazio vs Madrid
Werder Bremen vs Olympiakos
Matchday Three – Wednesday – 24 Oct 2007
Werder Bremen vs Lazio
Real Madrid vs Olympiakos
Matchday Four – Tuesday – 6 Nov 2007
Lazio vs Werder Bremen
Olympiakos vs Real Madrid
Matchday Five – Wednesday – 28 Nov 2007
Werder Bremen vs Real Madrid
Lazio vs Olympiakos
Matchday Six – Tuesday – 11 Dec 2007
Real Madrid vs Lazio
Olympiakos vs Werder Bremen
Team by Team
Real Madrid
Real Madrid are a team reformed this season, itching to rebuild what they have squandered in the past few years. Real have bought well and now have a squad that should, on paper, brush aside all 3 teams with ease.
In reality though, Real will suffer in their away games and it will take the talents of the Dutch trio Robben, Sneijder and Nistelrooy to help them win those ties. Real Madrid have enough depth and quality in their squad to balance the league and Europe, and with 3 consecutive losses at the 2nd round in past seasons, this team will not be content with just winning the group – they’ll want to conquer it.
Sneijder and Nistelrooy are my picks to be Real Madrid stars this season, although Raul is hitting form again and Guti and Ramos looks to be growing as a player with every game. If Cannavaro can play for Real as he does for Italy, Real can easily be one of the favourites to win the Champions League this season.
Werder Bremen
Bremen lost Klose over the summer to Bayern Munich and as a result it’s hard to see where they’d look for goals beyond Klasnic and Diego. For Werder Bremen to stand a realistic chance of qualifying from this group they need to be able to beat Lazio and Olympiakos away from home and while the current squad is solid, it’s not exactly breathtaking.
A lot of responsibility will fall on the German midfield duo Frings and Borowski, although at the end of the day it will be Schaaf’s tactical nous and Diego’s brilliance that stands any chance of leading Bremen to the 2nd round.
Lazio
Lazio are in the Champions League thanks to Juventus being dumped out of the Serie A, and while few in Italy would let them live that down they now have a real chance of making this opportunity count. On paper Lazio are definitely 3rd in the group and could even fall at the hands of Olympiakos but as they say, the game is not played on paper.
Lazio will have a lot to play for – there’s every chance that Werder Bremen could wobble or that Real Madrid could stumble and Lazio will be there to take advantage of any slipups.
Olympiakos
Olympiakos have consistently reached the Champions League in recent seasons and have been eliminated each time at the group stages, with things taking a turn for the worse last season as they lost 3 games and drew 3. This season Olympiakos will be hoping to cause a few upsets, especially at home where they would fancy beating the likes of Lazio and Werder Bremen.
With all 3 expected to drop points, Olympiakos will be aiming for 2nd spot but realistically speaking their target will be 3rd place and Uefa Cup football.
Previous Matchups
Real Madrid vs Werder Bremen
No previous encounters.
Real Madrid vs Lazio
Champions League 2000/2001 – Playing in the round of 16, Real Madrid won the home tie 3-2 before drawing the away leg 2-2.
Real Madrid vs Olympiakos
Champions League 1997/1998 – Real Madrid won the home tie 5-1, drew away 0-0.
Champions League 1999/2000 – Olympiakos held Real to a 3-3 draw at home but Real blew them away with a 3-0 win at home.
Champions League 2005/2006 – Both sides recorded 2-1 wins at home.
Werder Bremen vs Lazio
No previous encounters.
Werder Bremen vs Olympiakos
No previous encounters.
Lazio vs Olympiakos
No previous encounters.
Predictions
1. Real Madrid
2. Werder Bremen
3. Lazio
4. Olympiakos
Comments and predictions are welcome.
You can read the full 07/08 Champions League preview here.
Also Read: 07/08 Champions League Group Stage Draw and 07/08 Champions League Fixtures List.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
