Champions League Matchday 2: Predictions

Matchday 2 of the 08/09 UEFA Champions League will be played out on 30 Sep / 1 Oct – we have the head-to-head records for the clubs involved, a look at the predictions for each group and the highlights going into this round of the Champions League group stages.

Did you know?

• Celtic have failed to win in the last 17 games away from home in Europe (1 draw, 16 losses).
• Ryan Giggs made his Champions League debut on 14 September 1994 and scored twice in his first CL appearance for Manchester United against IFK Göteborg (4-2).
• Bayern Munich have not beaten Lyon in their previous 3 encounters, and lost their last home game to the French champions.

Head-to-heads in major European Cup competitions (exc. European Super Cup)

Group A                    CFR 1907 Cluj – Chelsea
No previous encounters

Group A                    Girondins Bordeaux – AS Roma

 
Group B                     Anorthosis Famagusta – Panathinaikos
No previous encounters
 
Group B                     Internazionale – Werder Bremen

 
Group C                     Sporting CP – FC Basel

 
Group C                     Shakhtar Donetsk – FC Barcelona

 
Group D                    Liverpool – PSV

 
Group D                     Atlético Madrid – Olympique Marseille
No previous encounters
 
Group E                     AaB – Manchester United
No previous encounters
 
Group E                     Villarreal CF – Celtic

 
Group F                     Bayern München – Olympique Lyon

 
Group F                     Fiorentina – Steaua Bucuresti
No previous encounters
 
Group G                     Arsenal – FC Porto

 
Group G                     Fenerbahçe – Dynamo Kyiv

 
Group H                    BATE Borisov – Juventus
No previous encounters
 
Group H                    Zenit St. Petersburg – Real Madrid
No previous encounters

Predictions

Group A – CFR 1907 Cluj v Chelsea

Chelsea – Cluj may have surprised Roma on Matchday 1 but Chelsea are a different animal altogether.

Group A – Girondins Bordeaux v AS Roma

Bordeaux – this is going to be a tough game for Roma and I don’t think they have the mental strength to win away from home in Europe at this point.

Group B – Anorthosis Famagusta – Panathinaikos

Draw. Famagusta drew away from home and Panathinaikos lost at home. This one has a draw written over it unless Famagusta can grab a memorable win.

Group B – Internazionale – Werder Bremen

Inter – no way past them in this group, although the game itself should be a good one if Werder show up for it.

Group C – Sporting CP – FC Basel

Sporting – at home the Portuguese club will be too strong for the Swiss.

Group C – Shakhtar Donetsk – FC Barcelona

Draw. Don’t expect Barcelona’s swagger to help them through this fixture – a couple of scrappy goals from both sides should make this an even contest.

Group D – Liverpool – PSV

Liverpool. Problems and all, Torres, Gerrard and Keane should be too good for PSV.

Group D – Atlético Madrid – Olympique Marseille

Atletico Madrid. Atleti put 3 past PSV in the previous game, I’d expect this one to be another affair going their way.

Group E – AaB – Manchester United

Manchester United. Potential banana-skin (remember Copenhagen?) but United should get a goal in by half-time.

Group E – Villarreal CF – Celtic

Villareal. Celtic haven’t won away from home in Europe in ages (they have the second-longest streak of not winning away from home in Europe) and Villarreal were solid against United – at home, they should easily take care of the Bhoys.

Group F – Bayern München – Olympique Lyon

Bayern Munich. Lyon aren’t the same side of 3-4 years ago – they have Benzema but little else to suggest that they can do more than hold the opposition at bay.

Group F – Fiorentina – Steaua Bucuresti

Fiorentina – not easy for the Viola but a win here is a must for them if they want to progress out of the group stages.

Group G – Arsenal – FC Porto

Arsenal. This is the type of game you could bet your mortgage on Arsenal winning. The only question is by how many goals.

Group G – Fenerbahçe – Dynamo Kyiv

Fenerbahce – they got stuffed by Porto last time out but are good enough to beat Kyiv and revive their hopes for progressing to the next round.

Group H – BATE Borisov – Juventus

Juventus, but they’ll need to be sharp and take their chances – BATE will be looking for 3 points here and a chance to upset one of the giants of Europe.

Group H – Zenit St. Petersburg – Real Madrid

Draw. Zenit are quite capable of stuffing a team like Madrid and Madrid are, well, quite capable of messing things up. Madrid to save a point here, but they’ll need to score.

Also See:

Champions League Fixtures
Champions League Results