Lenny Boyle
Champions League Week Two Preview
01/10/2012
Week two of the Champions League is already upon us. And unlike some previous years of the competition, the group stages offer much to be excited about.
Celtic will be reunited with the man who must share at least some of the credit for last year’s championship, and this year’s Champions League berth; Aidan McGeady. McGeady was the last man to score away from home for Celtic in the Champions League. But it is rather his financial contribution that has been so important to the Hoops. Spartak Moscow paid £10million for the player, and with that outlay manager Neil Lennon was able to completely rebuild his squad. Perhaps during the pre-match hand shake the players should all offer a, ”Cheers, Aidan.”
Meanwhile, Man United travel to Cluj amid a defensive injury crisis. Nemanja Vidic, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are all sidelined. But the little known Romanian outfit shouldn’t offer too many problems for a United side still smarting from their first home defeat toTottenham in 23 years.
Man City will face German champions Borussia Dortmund, who travel to Manchester in confident mood after a 5-0 league win over Gladbach. City are slightly less enthused after a weekend league match that saw them barely recover from a 1-0 deficit to Fulham. They won 2-1 but the performance hardly inspired confidence.
The champions, Chelsea, travel to Denmark to face competition new boys Nordsjaelland. Their defensive frailties were highlighted in their last Champions League match against Juventus, drawing the game after leading 2-0 at home. More discipline at the back will be essential for Roberto Di Matteo’s men.
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Spartak Moscow v Celtic, 17:00
BATE Borisov v Bayern Munich, 19:45
Benfica v Barcelona, 19:45
CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca v Man Utd, 19:45(ITV game)
FC Nordsjaelland v Chelsea, 19:45
Galatasaray v Braga, 19:45
Juventus v Shakhtar Donetsk, 19:45
Valencia v Lille, 19:45
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Zenit St Petersburg v AC Milan, 17:00
Ajax v Real Madrid, 19:45
Anderlecht v Malaga, 19:45
Arsenal v Olympiakos, 19:45
Dynamo Kiev v Dinamo Zagreb, 19:45
FC Porto v Paris SG, 19:45
Man City v Borussia Dortmund, 19:45
Schalke 04 v Montpellier, 19:45
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