All 32 teams will be looking to
get off to a good start this week
as they play what is for many
their first Champions League
game of the year.
We’ve broken down all the
action scheduled for this
weekend in our complete guide
to the opening week of the
Champions League – complete
with all the need-to-know
details, viewing information,
team news and predictions.
Read on to see how the first
week of the UEFA Champions
League could unfold.
•
[¤]
Manchester United vs
Bayer Leverkusen

Venue: Old Trafford,
On paper, Manchester United
appeared to have been drawn
into another easy Champions
League group.
However, the reality is that the
teams around them are much
tougher than it appears.
Bayer Leverkusen were one of
the breakout teams in the
Bundesliga last season and with attacking stars such as Stefan Kießling, Heung-Min Son and Robbie Kruse all lining up for this one, the German club are certainly capable of causing the
Red Devils some issues.
David Moyes will have been
glad to see the return of both
Wayne Rooney and Robin van
Persie to the goal-scorers sheet
in their recent 2-0 win over
Crystal Palace, and will be
looking to carry that
momentum into this match
here.
And while Bayer Leverkusen are definitely an upset to watch for throughout the tournament, I just can’t see them getting the job done at Old Trafford.
Manchester United are simply
too strong and too disciplined
for that to happen.
•###Prediction: Manchester
United 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen
[¤]


Real Sociedad vs Shakhtar
Donetsk
•###Prediction R Sociedad 1 1 Shakhtar Donetek

[¤]
Galatasaray vs Real Madrid
Date: Wednesday, September

This fixture last year was one
that saw Real Madrid progress
through the round of 16, but not before the likes of Didier
Drogba and Wesley Sneijder
gave the Spanish heavyweights
some serious cause for concern
in the second leg.
The Turk Telecom Arena is a
very difficult place to travel to
(just ask Manchester United
fans), and Los Blancos will have a tough time on their hands as a result.
However, this is why Florentino Perez added so heavily over the summer transfer window – to win the UEFA Champions League – and Madrid should have enough talent to get the job done here.
Between Cristiano Ronaldo,
Gareth Bale, Isco, Angel Di
Maria and Karim Benzema, look for the away side to plug away in attack against the home team, and break through in the second half for a victory.
•###Prediction: Galatasaray 1-2
Real Madrid
[¤]
•###Prediction
FC Copenhagen 0 2 Juventus

[¤]
•###Prediction
Benfica 1 0 Anderlecht
[¤]

Olympiacos vs Paris St-Germian
•###Prediction: Olympiacos 0-2
Paris Saint-Germain
[¤]
Bayern Munich vs CSKA
Moscow

Bayern Munich won the treble
last season. CSKA Moscow won the Russian Premier League by two points.
That’s the difference in class
between these two sides here,
and you’d expect it to show
again in this one.
Bayern have an abundance of
talent on hand, and are the
early favourites to make it back-to-back Champions League titles.
With Pep Guardiola running the show now, there’s no reason why they can’t do just that, and they should start that campaign with an early win against CSKA Moscow.
The Russian club might be
undefeated in the RPL this
season, but the Champions
League is a different story
altogether.
And in the packed Allianz
Arena, they’ll likely feel a long,
long, long way away from home indeed.
•###Prediction: Bayern Munich
3-0 CSKA Moscow
[¤]
Viktoria Plzen vs
Manchester City

After a horror Champions
League campaign last season
that saw them eliminated from
the ‘Group of Death’ without a
victory, Manchester City will be looking for a much-improved campaign this year.
They added heavily in the
transfer window – bringing in
Stevan Jovetic, Alvaro Negredo, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas and Martin Demichelis – and new manager Manuel Pellegrini will be desperate to ensure that he gets another European season off to a good start.
Viktoria Plzen will benefit from
being at home (where they are
undefeated in domestic
competition this season), but
Manchester City are simply too
talented.
Inspirational leader Vincent
Kompany’s probable return will sure up some of the defensive lapses that have claimed the club in recent weeks, and their star-studded attack will do the rest for the 2012 English champions.
•###Prediction: Viktoria Plzen 0-3
Manchester City
[¤]
Schalke vs Steaua
Bucharest

•###Prediction: Schalke 1-0
Steaua Bucharest
[¤]
Chelsea vs FC Basel
With Jose Mourinho now
running the show, Chelsea were supposed to be an all-
conquering force.
That hasn’t quite been the case
in the Premier League this year, but they’ll be a very strong force in the European competition once more.
Knowing the disappointment of elimination last year as the
defending champions, Chelsea
will attack the competition with renewed vigour and passion.
The Champions League will be
their focus this season, and
Mourinho will ensure that the
Blues don’t slip up in games
they should win – like this one.
•###Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Basel
[¤]
Olympique Marseille vs
Arsenal
A huge game for the Gunners
here. Marseille are a very strong team and will certainly fancy their chances at progressing through to the knockout rounds.
But if Arsenal are to book their
spot in the final 16 and emerge
from a very tough group this
year, these are the type of
games they need to take points
away from.
Mesut Ozil’s debut was a
roaring success for Arsenal, and with Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey both in career-best form, the North London club will back themselves, despite playing away in France.
However, those question marks around their defensive solidity still remain, and as long as they’re there, I can’t see any club with a strong attack failing to cause the Gunners some grief.
I think shared points on the
night, which is a probably not a bad result for either side.
•###Prediction: Olympique
Marseille 1-1 Arsenal
[¤]
Napoli vs Borussia
Dortmund
The best game this week comes
from Naples, where Napoli will
be looking to try and hold off
German giants Borussia
Dortmund.
Jurgen Klopp’s team have been
one of the best teams in world
football over the past 18
months, and will no doubt
fancy their chances at getting a
result in this one.
The biggest question mark here
is as to whose summer signings
will step up the most.
Napoli brought in a new
manager in Rafa Benitez, and
then proceeded to sign the likes of Pepe Reina, Dries Mertens, Raul Albiol, Jose Maria Callejon
and most importantly, Gonzalo
Higuain.
Even without Cavani in their
line-up, they’re still a very
strong team capable of causing
some serious damage.
But so are Dortmund – even
without Mario Gotze. The
Germans have Mkhitaryan and
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in
their line-up now, and with the
experience of success away from home in the Champions League, will prevail in this one.
•###Prediction: Napoli 2-4
Borussia Dortmund
[•]
Austria Wien vs FC Porto
•###Prediction: Austria Wien 1-2
FC Porto

[•]
Atletico Madrid vs Zenit St
Petersburg

Atletico Madrid proved a lot to
themselves in the past six
months.
Their victory over Real Madrid
in the Copa del Rey and their
strong showing against
Barcelona across two legs of the Supercopa proved that Atletico have the attacking and
defensive tenacity to withstand
even the best attacks in the
league, and they’ll likely do that again against Zenit St
Petersburg this week.
Zenit struggled in the
Champions League last season
(particularly away from home)
and it’s hard to see that
changing here.
Atletico are strong, and this
result could be their signal to
the rest of the competition that
they are, indeed, the real deal.
•###Prediction: Atletico Madrid
2-0 Zenit St. Petersburg

[•]
AC Milan vs Celtic

Celtic are a confidence team,
and right now – having
somehow made it through to
the round of 32 – their
confidence is pretty high.
They’ll no doubt still remember
their successes last year against Barcelona and co. to make it through to the knockout rounds, and will no doubt want to do that again this year.
However, having sold the likes
of Gary Hopper and Victor
Wanyama over the summer
window, one wonders where the Scottish club have the talent required to beat Europe’s elite.
Milan have an abundance of
attacking options at their
disposal, and with Mario
Balotelli and Stephan El
Shaarawy running the show,
will most likely be too strong for the Scottish club.
A packed San Siro also helps
with the intimidation factor.
•###Prediction: AC Milan 2-1
Celtic
[•]
Barcelona vs Ajax

Ajax will struggle without
Christian Eriksen, there’s no
doubt about that.
However, with Viktor Fischer
likely to take over in the middle, Ajax are certainly capable of causing havoc in the
Champions League once more
this year, and will certainly
fancy their chances at
progressing through to the
round of 16.
Yet it doesn’t appear that they’ll get any help this week.
Barcelona are obviously one of
the heavyweights in the
competition this year, and with
Neymar now added to a side
that made it to the semifinals in the past two seasons, it’s hard to see them dropping any points here.
The Nou Camp will be in full
voice, and Ajax will likely feel
like they’re a long way away
from home – unable to stop the dominance of tiki-taka that
they’re likely to experience on
the night.
•###Prediction: Barcelona 3-0
Ajax

gratiaeo: All 32 teams will be looking to
get off to a good start this week
as they play what is for many
their first Champions League
game of the year.
We’ve broken down all the
action scheduled for this
weekend in our complete guide
to the opening week of the
Champions League – complete
with all the need-to-know
details, viewing information,
team news and predictions.
Read on to see how the first
week of the UEFA Champions
League could unfold.
Manchester United vs
Bayer Leverkusen

Venue: Old Trafford,
On paper, Manchester United
appeared to have been drawn
into another easy Champions
League group.
However, the reality is that the
teams around them are much
tougher than it appears.
Bayer Leverkusen were one of
the breakout teams in the
Bundesliga last season and with attacking stars such as Stefan Kießling, Heung-Min Son and Robbie Kruse all lining up for this one, the German club are certainly capable of causing the
Red Devils some issues.
David Moyes will have been
glad to see the return of both
Wayne Rooney and Robin van
Persie to the goal-scorers sheet
in their recent 2-0 win over
Crystal Palace, and will be
looking to carry that
momentum into this match
here.
And while Bayer Leverkusen are definitely an upset to watch for throughout the tournament, I just can’t see them getting the job done at Old Trafford.
Manchester United are simply
too strong and too disciplined
for that to happen.
•Prediction: Manchester
United 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen
¤

•Prediction
Real Sociedad 1 1 Shakhtar
Donetsk

¤
Galatasaray vs Real Madrid
Date: Wednesday, September

This fixture last year was one
that saw Real Madrid progress
through the round of 16, but not before the likes of Didier
Drogba and Wesley Sneijder
gave the Spanish heavyweights
some serious cause for concern
in the second leg.
The Turk Telecom Arena is a
very difficult place to travel to
(just ask Manchester United
fans), and Los Blancos will have a tough time on their hands as a result.
However, this is why Florentino Perez added so heavily over the summer transfer window – to win the UEFA Champions League – and Madrid should have enough talent to get the job done here.
Between Cristiano Ronaldo,
Gareth Bale, Isco, Angel Di
Maria and Karim Benzema, look for the away side to plug away in attack against the home team, and break through in the second half for a victory.
•Prediction: Galatasaray 1-2
Real Madrid
¤
•Prediction
FC Copenhagen 0 2 Juventus

¤
•Prediction
Benfica 1 0 Anderlecht
¤

Olympiacos vs Paris St-Germian
Prediction: Olympiacos 0-2
Paris Saint-Germain
¤
Bayern Munich vs CSKA
Moscow

Bayern Munich won the treble
last season. CSKA Moscow won the Russian Premier League by two points.
That’s the difference in class
between these two sides here,
and you’d expect it to show
again in this one.
Bayern have an abundance of
talent on hand, and are the
early favourites to make it back-to-back Champions League titles.
With Pep Guardiola running the show now, there’s no reason why they can’t do just that, and they should start that campaign with an early win against CSKA Moscow.
The Russian club might be
undefeated in the RPL this
season, but the Champions
League is a different story
altogether.
And in the packed Allianz
Arena, they’ll likely feel a long,
long, long way away from home indeed.
•Prediction: Bayern Munich
3-0 CSKA Moscow
¤
Viktoria Plzen vs
Manchester City

After a horror Champions
League campaign last season
that saw them eliminated from
the ‘Group of Death’ without a
victory, Manchester City will be looking for a much-improved campaign this year.
They added heavily in the
transfer window – bringing in
Stevan Jovetic, Alvaro Negredo, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas and Martin Demichelis – and new manager Manuel Pellegrini will be desperate to ensure that he gets another European season off to a good start.
Viktoria Plzen will benefit from
being at home (where they are
undefeated in domestic
competition this season), but
Manchester City are simply too
talented.
Inspirational leader Vincent
Kompany’s probable return will sure up some of the defensive lapses that have claimed the club in recent weeks, and their star-studded attack will do the rest for the 2012 English champions.
•Prediction: Viktoria Plzen 0-3
Manchester City
¤
Schalke vs Steaua
Bucharest

•Prediction: Schalke 1-0
Steaua Bucharest
¤
Chelsea vs FC Basel
With Jose Mourinho now
running the show, Chelsea were supposed to be an all-
conquering force.
That hasn’t quite been the case
in the Premier League this year, but they’ll be a very strong force in the European competition once more.
Knowing the disappointment of elimination last year as the
defending champions, Chelsea
will attack the competition with renewed vigour and passion.
The Champions League will be
their focus this season, and
Mourinho will ensure that the
Blues don’t slip up in games
they should win – like this one.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Basel
¤
Olympique Marseille vs
Arsenal
A huge game for the Gunners
here. Marseille are a very strong team and will certainly fancy their chances at progressing through to the knockout rounds.
But if Arsenal are to book their
spot in the final 16 and emerge
from a very tough group this
year, these are the type of
games they need to take points
away from.
Mesut Ozil’s debut was a
roaring success for Arsenal, and with Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey both in career-best form, the North London club will back themselves, despite playing away in France.
However, those question marks around their defensive solidity still remain, and as long as they’re there, I can’t see any club with a strong attack failing to cause the Gunners some grief.
I think shared points on the
night, which is a probably not a bad result for either side.
•Prediction: Olympique
Marseille 1-1 Arsenal
¤
Napoli vs Borussia
Dortmund
The best game this week comes
from Naples, where Napoli will
be looking to try and hold off
German giants Borussia
Dortmund.
Jurgen Klopp’s team have been
one of the best teams in world
football over the past 18
months, and will no doubt
fancy their chances at getting a
result in this one.
The biggest question mark here
is as to whose summer signings
will step up the most.
Napoli brought in a new
manager in Rafa Benitez, and
then proceeded to sign the likes of Pepe Reina, Dries Mertens, Raul Albiol, Jose Maria Callejon
and most importantly, Gonzalo
Higuain.
Even without Cavani in their
line-up, they’re still a very
strong team capable of causing
some serious damage.
But so are Dortmund – even
without Mario Gotze. The
Germans have Mkhitaryan and
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in
their line-up now, and with the
experience of success away from home in the Champions League, will prevail in this one.
•Prediction: Napoli 2-4
Borussia Dortmund
¤
Austria Wien vs FC Porto
•Prediction: Austria Wien 1-2
FC Porto
¤
Atletico Madrid vs Zenit St
Petersburg

Atletico Madrid proved a lot to
themselves in the past six
months.
Their victory over Real Madrid
in the Copa del Rey and their
strong showing against
Barcelona across two legs of the Supercopa proved that Atletico have the attacking and
defensive tenacity to withstand
even the best attacks in the
league, and they’ll likely do that again against Zenit St
Petersburg this week.
Zenit struggled in the
Champions League last season
(particularly away from home)
and it’s hard to see that
changing here.
Atletico are strong, and this
result could be their signal to
the rest of the competition that
they are, indeed, the real deal.
•Prediction: Atletico Madrid
2-0 Zenit St. Petersburg
¤
AC Milan vs Celtic

Celtic are a confidence team,
and right now – having
somehow made it through to
the round of 32 – their
confidence is pretty high.
They’ll no doubt still remember
their successes last year against Barcelona and co. to make it through to the knockout rounds, and will no doubt want to do that again this year.
However, having sold the likes
of Gary Hopper and Victor
Wanyama over the summer
window, one wonders where the Scottish club have the talent required to beat Europe’s elite.
Milan have an abundance of
attacking options at their
disposal, and with Mario
Balotelli and Stephan El
Shaarawy running the show,
will most likely be too strong for the Scottish club.
A packed San Siro also helps
with the intimidation factor.
•Prediction: AC Milan 2-1
Celtic
¤
Barcelona vs Ajax

Ajax will struggle without
Christian Eriksen, there’s no
doubt about that.
However, with Viktor Fischer
likely to take over in the middle, Ajax are certainly capable of causing havoc in the
Champions League once more
this year, and will certainly
fancy their chances at
progressing through to the
round of 16.
Yet it doesn’t appear that they’ll get any help this week.
Barcelona are obviously one of
the heavyweights in the
competition this year, and with
Neymar now added to a side
that made it to the semifinals in the past two seasons, it’s hard to see them dropping any points here.
The Nou Camp will be in full
voice, and Ajax will likely feel
like they’re a long way away
from home – unable to stop the dominance of tiki-taka that
they’re likely to experience on
the night.
•Prediction: Barcelona 3-0
Ajax

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