Adam Dennehey WAFU manager
In less than a couple of hours time, the draw for the group stages of this season’s Champions League will be done in Monaco.
Manchester United are of course in Pot 1 of the draw, which means that they are in effect one of 8 teams who are ‘top seeds’ in the draw.
However that does not necessarily mean that we will get an easy group as in this year’s competition there are a few teams in pots 2, 3 and 4 who certainly fans would like to see us avoid. Then again in order to win the competition you have to beat the best teams, so what’s the harm in having more of a challenge.
Here are the teams that are going into the draw tomorrow in pot 2, in which one will be paired in United’s group:
AC Milan: Knocked out last year in Champions League (CL) Last 16 by Spurs
Lyon: Knocked out in CL Last 16 by Real Madrid
Shakhtar Donetsk: Knocked out in CL Quarters by Barcelona
Valencia: Knocked out in CL Last 16 by Schalke
Benfica: Knocked out at CL Group Stage
Villarreal: Losing CL Europa League Semi-finalists to Porto
CSKA Moscow: Knocked out in EL Last 16 by Porto
Marseille: Knocked out in CL Last 16 by Manchester United
Now it goes without saying here that the team that most teams and managers would want to avoid here is Milan who have won the competition 7 times. Coached by Massimiliano Allegri, Milan romped to the Italian championship last season and have added a good blend of experienced talented young players to their team. They could be the dark-horses in the competition this year and could very easily top whatever group they are put in.
Behind them probably the strongest team in Pot 2 are Lyon who have traditionally done well in the Champions League. They reached the Semi-finals two seasons ago losing to Bayern Munich (who had beaten us in the Quarters) and with star players like Hugo Lloris, Cris, Kim Kallstrom and Bafetimbi Gomis in their squad should easily advance out of the groups.
The Iberian trio of Benfica, Valenica and Villareal should all have enough about them to go through despite losing several talented players over the last couple of months. As for the other teams well there’s not really anything United should be worrying about there.
Here are the teams that are going into the draw tomorrow in pot 2, in which one will be paired in United’s group:
Zenit: Knocked out last year in EL Last 16 by FC Twente
Ajax: Knocked out in EL Last 16 of by Spartak Moscow
Bayer Leverkusen: Knocked out in EL Last 16 by Villarreal
Olympiacos: Knocked out in 3rd Qualifying Round of EL by Maccabi Tel Aviv
Lille: Knocked out in EL Last 32 by PSV Eindhoven
Basel: Knocked out of CL Group Stage
BATE Borisov: Knocked out in EL Last 32 by PSG
Despite the fact United should be able to beat all of these teams in pot 3, there are a couple of teams who stand out as ones to avoid. Firstly Ajax under Frank De Boer appear to be moving in the right direction again and with Johan Cruyff working hard as an advisor for the Dutch Champions, the good times could be about to return to Holland’s most historic club.
The other team that stands out for me is Zenit, last year’s Russian Champions who under Luciano Spalleti have a good look about them. The trip to St Petersburg will not be an easy one for any team from Western Europe who goes there.
Both Lille and Bayer Leverkusen should fancy themselves of getting out of the group. United of course have had ties with both clubs in the last 10 years with mixed results and our fans would certainly enjoy having another chance to beat them and enjoy the trips away from home. The other teams in the group should be disposed of easily.
Finally here are the teams that are going into the draw tomorrow in pot 4:
Borussia Dortmund: Knocked out in last year’s EL Group Stage
Napoli: Knocked out of EL Last 32 by Bayer Leverkusen
Dinamo Zagreb: Knocked out of EL Group Stage
APOEL Nicosia: Knocked out of EL Play-off Round by Getafe
Trabzonspor: Knocked out of EL Play-off Round by Liverpool
Genk: Knocked out of EL Play-off Round by FC Porto
Viktoria Plzen: Knocked out in 3rd Qualifying Round of EL by Besiktas
Otelul Galati: Not in European football last year
Without a shadow of a doubt the two teams to avoid in this pot are last year’s Bundesliga champions Dortmund and Napoli who finished 3rdi n Serie A last season. Both teams have enough quality to reach the knockout stages but it remains to be seen how they will cope with the added pressure in the competition.
The other teams in the group should be beaten comfortably but you can never really be sure how the two unknowns in the Czech champions Viktoria Plzen and Romanian champions Otelul Galatji will play at home and if teams go there thinking they will beat them by 4-5 goals, sometimes it can play into the minnow’s hands and they will grow in confidence the longer they can stay level.
The Nightmare Scenario
Clearly looking at all of the teams United could face, it’s highly likely that there will be possibly one or two ‘groups of death’ in this season’s competition. Whilst I do not believe that United will struggle to get out of the group stages, clearly if United were to be grouped with Milan, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund, it would mean that (aside from there being exciting matches) there might be an unsteady path or two in our journey to reach the Knockout stages – something we’ve only failed to do once since 1996.
By Adam Dennehey @ADennehey87
