Two Plus Two Newer Archives - **** OFFICIAL Champions League 2007-08 Thread!*****

Oh, what the hell...

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Group A
LIVERPOOL
Porto
Marseille
Besiktas

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The two top seeded teams should be able to progress from this group fairly easily I think. Porto, while they've lost their super talented attacking midfielder Anderson to United, is still the best team in Portugal, while Marseille is currently struggling in the French League with nothing much going for them. Besiktas is always tough to meet in Turkey and will probably capture some points there but they'll be virtually without chance to progress to the knockout stage.

Group difficulty: C+

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Group B
CHELSEA
Valencia
Schalke 04
Rosenborg

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Chelsea is a no-brainer. I think it's going to be close between Valencia and Schalke. The Bundesliga is underrated and Schalke has been one of the most consistently good teams there the last few years. Valencia is obviously a very good team too, but they had a bunch of trouble at the end of last season, and they started this year's season with an abysmal 0-3 defeat at home against Villareal. Schalke for the upset. Rosenborg, as much as I'd like it, stand no chance in this group but might be able to score some points on Lerkendal if the Norwegian winter comes early...

Group difficulty: B-

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Group C
REAL MADRID
Werder Bremen
Lazio
Olympiakos

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Real Madrid will most likely top it, but both Werder Bremen and Lazio are going to be dangerous. Lazio managed 3rd in Serie A despite having points deducted on account of the match fixing scandal and all the turmoil that caused. Werder Bremen put on a strong performance last year and almost made it through to the knockout stage, but they "only" made 3rd in the Bundesliga, so I'll give the nod to Lazio. Olympiakos is one of the stronger 4th tier teams, and could perhaps have done some damage in a weaker group, but not this one.

Group difficulty: B+

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Group D
AC MILAN
Benfica
Celtic
Shakhtar Donetsk

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Nothing much going on here. One can usually count on Celtic to put on a good show in Champions League, but not too sure this year. They struggled to progress to the group play against Spartak Moscow (penalty shootouts), and I just don't think they're strong enough to take on Milan and Benfica. Shakhtar Donetsk, uh, no.

Group difficulty: C+

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Group E
BARCELONA
Lyon
Stuttgart
Rangers

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Barcelona will progress from this group with ease. What's really interesting imo is how Lyon will fare here. They've been kind of struggling lately, and both Stuttgart and Rangers should be capable to take points off them. Stuttgart is the reining German champions and they came pretty close to winning the German cup as well. As far as I know their squad has remained fairly intact, while Lyon on the other hand seems to have traded down. I also have a suspicion that Lyon enjoyed the benefits of positive variance last year, so we're going for another German upset here: Barca and Stuttgart to the knockout stage.

Group difficulty: B+

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Group F
MANCHESTER UNITED
Roma
Sporting Lisbon
Dynamo Kiev

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Toughish group. Dynamo Kiev might be able to do some mischief in their home games, and both Sporting Lisbon, and especially Roma who had a good season last year, can take points against anyone. Favorite Man U will probably progress, and I think the 3rd best Portuguese team will struggle against one of the top 2-3 Italian teams. No upsets here.

Group difficulty: B

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Group G
INTER MILAN
PSV Eindhoven
CSKA Moscow
Fenerbahce

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Inter Milan was beastly last year in Serie A and should manage to take down the group win. CSKA might be able to score some points at home, but Koman's PSV Eindhoven will take the 2nd spot due to experience and what seems to be good team building the last few years.

Group difficulty: B-

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Group H
ARSENAL
Sevilla/AEK Athens
Steau Bucharest
Slavia Prague

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The weakest group? Arsenal clear favorites to go through, and Sevilla will probably qualify and take the 2nd spot. Gotta admit I don't know too much about the current incarnations of Steau and Slavia Prague though.

Group difficulty: C-

DISCLAIMER: These are just my personal predictions. I'm not the most educated football fan out there, so there is a good chance one or more of my picks might be slightly retarded, so don't get yer panties in a bunch, son!