Champions League Preview Group B
Chelsea
Chelsea had a disappointing season in 2006-7. And you know your standards are high when winning the domestic cup double, finishing 2nd in the League, and making it to the semi-finals of the Champions’ League is a disappointment. Chelsea currently sit tied for 1st in the Premier League with 10 pts from 5 games, but both Liverpool and Arsenal have a game in hand. Recent poor showings against Portsmouth and Liverpool, as well as internal strife with Mourinho, Abramovich, and some of the players, have left an aura of uncertainty around the club. That said, they have too much quality in their squad to not go through to the knockout stages.
Valencia
Last season was a bit of a frustrating one for Los Che. They had expected to contend for the title in Spain, but performed poorly early in the season when they were addled with injuries. However, they did pick up steam in the 2nd half of the season. They scrambled back up to fourth in the table to earn a Champions’ League place, and made the second round of the knockout stages before falling 3-2 on aggregate to Chelsea. They were smacked 3-0 by Villarreal to open the season, but recovered against weaker Almeria for a 2-1 win. Despite the rumored moves to Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Barcelona, superstar striker David Villa remains at the club, and that should be enough to push them through to the next round.
Schalke 04
Schalke looked in command for much of the season last year, before being pipped by Stuttgart by two points for the title. It was their third runner-up finish in the last seven seasons. Though undefeated in the Bundesliga so far, they have drawn 3/4 against some weak opposition like Wolfsburg and sit 7th in the table. They do have an exciting striker with Kevin Kuranyi, but they don’t look like the same team they were last sesaon.
Rosenborg
The Norwegian club won their fourteenth Tippeligaen title in fifteen seasons in 2006 after an exhilarating comeback against rival Brann held a commanding 10 pt lead halfway through the season. They are dominant in Norway, but that is only the 18th highest rated league in Europe. They shouldn’t put up much of a battle.
Tags: Champions League, Chelsea, Rosenborg, Schalke 04, Valencia
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6 September 2007 at 11:30 pm
i think chelsea and valencia will both go through … but i think chelsea has to look out for teh other two teams, as they may drop points if not playing hard enough
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8 September 2007 at 8:16 am
I think you might be writing off Schalke too easily. While they have started slowly, they haven’t looked poor in the least. They are trying to reshape their midfield without Hamit Altintop and Lincoln. Given that Rakitic is 19 but progressing well and Slomka has finally started to trusted the youngster Ozil on the left, I think they are going to begin to gel. meanwhile, they have a good backline, with Bordon able to carry the ball out, and Krjstajic as the last man back. Krystajic on his day, can easily handle David Villa and Didier Drogba. The key to the Chelsea game will be spreading the field to give room to Kuranyi and Rakitic, while the key to Valencia, will be to play a 5 man mid, to clog Valencia’s impressive mid while forcing the new pairing or Moretti and Albiol to adjust to this.
Also, Schalke has one of the hardest places to go to. It’s better than Anfield, and we’ve seen how good teams, even Chelsea have melted there.
8 September 2007 at 9:35 am
Schalke can go through with a great performance, but from what I have seen this season and from Bundesliga clubs generally, I don’t see it happening.