Champions League Draw and Dates: MY THOUGHTS
25 Aug
So there we have it. The Champions League adventure began with the draw for the group stage and we now know that we must overcome Bayern Munich, Villareal and Napoli to progress. It’s not the easiest group by any means, but it could have been a lot worse. We’ve managed to avoid the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, and although it would have been nice to test ourselves against those giants of the modern game, this group allows us a greater chance of advancing.
Importantly, the distances to travel aren’t too great, with trips to Spain, Germany and Italy not overly demanding. Considering we face an away match in the Premier League after every Champions League group game, it is pleasing that we don’t have any lengthy trips.
Here are some views on the teams we’ll face:
Bayern Munich: The toughest side we will face in the group. A host of fantastic players, including Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phillip Lahm and Mario Gomez. They also have two former Blues – Daniel Van Buyten and Jerome ‘J-Bo’ Boateng. I expect them to finish top of the group.
Villareal: Spanish side who finished 4th in La Liga last season. They have only lost five of their 26 Champions League games. Top players include Nilmar, Marcos Senna, Borja Valero and former Manchester United striker Guiseppe Rossi.
Napoli: Diego Maradona, Sergio Aguero’s father-in-law, is a Napoli legend having scored 81 goals in 188 for them. Their current squad includes Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi, former Liverpool left-back Andrea Dossena, and Edinson Cavani, who was heavily linked with City this summer.
Here are the dates of the games:
Wednesday 14th September: MAN CITY v Napoli
Tuesday 27th September: Bayern Munich v MAN CITY
Tuesday 18th October: MAN CITY v Villareal
Wednesday 2nd November: Villareal v MAN CITY
Tuesday 22nd November: Napoli v MAN CITY
Wednesday 7th December: MAN CITY v Bayern Munich
What are your thoughts on the draw? Where do you think City will finish?
It’s a really tough test that will show us just how good our squad is. We’ve drawn teams which I think most others would not have enjoyed coming up against but it says a lot for City that we know we can go into games with a good chance of getting a result.
I couldnt care less who we draw, so long as we avioded Barca and Real because those are the only two teams we cannot match man for man..
Bayern is (apart porto) the easiest pot one team.
Villareal is difficult but we can beat them
Napoli along with Borrusia were the two teams the aviod, but having said that at least we are not travelling to Ukraine or Poland etc.
Hahahaha! funny man… im sure u dont watch bayern’s games dude..bayern are a lot more dangerous than real madrid trust me, definitely better than man united and chelsea, look at their stats the past 2 seasons, just have a look at their possession and attempts on goal in european football, their only weakness was defence, a prob which is solved now with neur, boaten, rafinha and heynkes! bayern are the second best team in pot 1 trust me! theyre just underrated by the media…ull be shocked! man theyre the germany team ( with robben instead of ozil and ribery instead of podolski and gustavo instead of khedira!) do u realize that!? theyre second best after barca ( SPAIN )
Well played Tottenham. Not a win but good to give the youngsters a run out,very impressed with Tom carroll.
And who gives a rat’s behind !
Maybe I am naive but i don’t know why so many are being so negative. Sure its a tough group but you would have to back us to get out of the group and I would say we might be able to match Bayern. Anyways they are going to be great games.
Apart from Byern’s history in UEFA, our squad is as good as any of those teams and I do not see a reason why we can not finish in top of our group. The only position that may cost us at this moment is our Center back as Lescott is our weak link and I do not see Kolo toure as an upgrade in that position as well. With all said, I am going to enjoy every minute of it