2007/08 UEFA Champions League
Group stage draw - 18.00CET, Thursday
POT 1
Team Pairing
AC Milan (ITA, holders) A
FC Barcelona (ESP) B
Liverpool FC (ENG) C
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) A
Arsenal FC (ENG) D
Real Madrid CF (ESP) B
Chelsea FC (ENG) D
Manchester United FC (ENG) C
POT 2
Team Pairing
Valencia CF (ESP) E
Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) F
FC Porto (POR)
Sevilla FC (ESP) / AEK Athens FC (GRE) E/M
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
AS Roma (ITA) G
SL Benfica (POR) H
Werder Bremen (GER) I
POT 3
Team Pairing
Celtic FC (SCO) J
FC Schalke 04 (GER)
VfB Stuttgart (GER) I
FC Steaua BucureÅŸti (ROU)
PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)
Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR) H
S.S. Lazio (ITA) G
Olympique de Marseille (FRA) F
POT 4
Team Pairing
Rangers FC (SCO) J
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) K
BeÅŸiktaÅŸ JK (TUR) L
Olympiacos CFP (GRE) M
FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) K
Fenerbahe SK (TUR) L
SK Slavia Praha (CZE)
Rosenborg BK (NOR)
The draw is due to take place at 5pm but I know that they have like awards before it for goalie of the champions league etc so it will probbably be nearer half 5. Celtic winning relegated Rangers to pot 4 from what I heard. Ideal draw for United would be Porto, Steaua and Rosenborg. Worst case Valencia, Stuttgart and Fenerbache.
Yeah the huns will have been gutted at the Celtic win because it cost them 5m in tv revenue and a place in Pot 3.
Some very decent teams all the way through there - looks tougher than most years. Not many easy teams in Pot 4 really other than Slavia and Rosenborg who should be beatable.
Don’t think I’ll be able to go to any of the away trips with work commitments and financial issues but if I was travelling I’d like a Real Madrid, Roma and Olympiakos group for the cities, stadiums, teams and the fact we haven’t played any of them recently.
It promises to be a tough draw but it’s sure as hell great to be in it.
If it’s alright with our other 160 members I won’t be providing live draw updates as I’m hungry and I’m going down to the pub to get some grub and I’ll watch the draw there. I’m sure rocko will step into the breach though.
Id also prefer a team from continental europe rather than engerland- although our record versus anglo saxons is very good its not a great trip & manchester Liverpool & chelsea all have fans with a history of causing violence in europe
Yeah the huns will have been gutted at the Celtic win because it cost them 5m in tv revenue and a place in Pot 3.
Some very decent teams all the way through there - looks tougher than most years. Not many easy teams in Pot 4 really other than Slavia and Rosenborg who should be beatable.
Good draw for Liverpool thus far. Porto or PSV were the best to get from Pot 2 imo and Marseille were best to get from Pot 3. Looks tough enough for Celtic.
Not a particularly good draw for Celtic in terms of interesting teams (we’ve played them all in the CL before) and Donetsk are the toughest of the fourth seeds I reckon.
That said the reversal of Celtic and Benfica in the pecking order from last year means we didn’t get any tougher a draw from dropping down a seeding.
Early thoughts:
Milan - we can’t rely on winning all our home games again especially with Milan coming to Celtic Park so it’s vital we defend on the road and pick up points in Dontesk and Lisbon. 3 points from Milan games would be excellent, 2 would be good, 1 would be below par and 0 would cause us problems.
Benfica - think we’re the better side. Our performances away to Benfica and Copenhagen last year should hopefully be ironed out by now. Not sure they’ve improved since then whereas I think we have. 6 points would be excellent, 4 would be very good, 3 would be par (better than par if we shade them on the head to head but disappointing if we lost the head to head), 2 would be poor (though it would leave us level with them head to head), 1 would be worrying for our qualification hopes, 0 would have us in huge trouble for a UEFA Cup spot
Shakhtar - haven’t seen them since we last played them but they’ve spent again this summer. They lost Tymoschuck and Matuzalem but brought in Lucarelli and Castillo. I don’t think they’ll be significantly easier or more difficult than Benfica so same thoughts as above on the various scenarios.
I’m not displeased with the draw either but like I said earlier I had hoped for teams we hadn’t met previously or recently and we’ve played all these sides in the last few years.
Is Castillo for Donetsk the guy that got all the goals for Mexico in the Copa America? If so he’s a real handful. I’m not so sure whether they’re as strong as they were when we played them a while back and they had Tymoschuk, Agahowa and Metuzalem in their side. It’s probably a lazy comparison but they’ll possibly be a similar test to Spartak.
We can definitely get the better of Benfica over 2 games and the away performances in Milan and Moscow would suggest we’re capable of finally picking up points away from home. 7 home points and then two away results, even if both are draws, should be enough to go through. I think we can do it.
Quite pleased with the order of Celtic’s fixtures. As rocko said better to be playing Shahktar in September rather than Nov/Dec. Playing Milan away last could possibly be beneficial if they’re already through and field a weakened side, though I expect Celtic to probably be already through also. The only negative is that I’d like to play Befica home first in the double header with them in game weeks 3 and 4 - just to get the win on the board.
