Champions League Wrap

The 2009 Champions League has certainly been entertain so far minus one or two groups. There has been plenty of see-sawing games, see-sawing tables and a good splash of refereeing controversy.

With two rounds left in the group stage the final 16 is looking a bit clearer, with a few teams qualified, a few teams out and a few teams locked in a tense battle to the last.

Group A

Group A probably should have been closer than it is, but Bordeaux have been great and Bayern have been terrible. Bordeaux lead the group on 10 points, Juve are 2nd on 8, Bayern third on 4 and Maccabi Haifa last on 0 points.

Bordeaux have qualified because Bayern can only level Bordeaux's 10 points and Bordeaux have the head to head advantage. So it is a battle between Juve and Bayern for 2nd spot. The intersting twist will be whether Bordeaux play for first or rest their players and give their bench a bit of experience.

The next round is Bordeaux V Juventus and Bayern V Maccabi Haifa and the final round is Maccabi Haifa V Bordeaux and Juve V Bayern. Bayern should beat Maccabi in Munich, so if Juve don't beat Bordeaux, Bayern will have the chance to qualify by beating Juve in Turin on the last day, which would be quite a feat.

Prediction: Bordeaux-Juve-Bayern-Maccabi

Group B

In Group B, United have qualified with 10 points, Wolfsburg are second on 7, CSKA Moscow are third on 4 and Besiktas are last with 1 point. Besiktas kept the group alive by drawing against Wolfsburg in the third round and could have more to say in the final order of the group, even if they can't qualify for the knockout stages.

Wolfsburg travel to CSKA next round and a draw will see them through on head to head, if CSKA win (depending on the size of the victory) they would have a pretty simple task of facing Besiktas in the last round while Wolfsburg take on United.

Prediction: United-Wolfsburg-CSKA-Besiktas

Group C

Group C will be one of the most tightly contested. AC Milan currently lead on 7 by virtue of head-to-head against Real Madrid also on 7. Marseille are third on 6 and Zurich are last on 7. Milan and Madrid both still get to face Zurich and I don't think either will slip up (despite Milan's shock loss to Zurich at the San Siro). That would mean Bordeaux would need to beat Milan and Madrid to qualify.

Marseille travel to Milan first. They were undone at home in the first round by two SuperPippo goals despite having legitimate claims to having been the better team on the day. Milan have come a long way in the last few months though and are a completely different side in terms of formation and form. I don't think either side will want a draw that would leave them in must-win situations going into the last day, but i think they might just end up with a high scoring draw.

Assuming Madrid dispense of Zurich, that would mean Marseille would have to beat Madrid on the last day and hope Milan didn't beat Zurich.

Prediction: Madrid-Milan-Marseille-Zurich

Group D

Group D is a bit more boring. It's a battle between Chelsea (10 points) and Porto (9) for 1st and 2nd and Atletico and Apoel for qualification to the Europa League.

The next round will probably be decisive as Apoel host Atletico and Porto host Chelsea. I have a feeling Chelsea won't care whether they come first or second and will probably just rest players for the rest of the group stage. I think Apoel might have enough to beat Atletico and then hold on to 3rd.

Prediction: Porto-Chelsea-Apoel-Madrid

Group E

Group E is interesting. Liverpool is 3rd (3 points) and needs to win its last two games (away to Debrecen and home against Fiorentina) to pip Fiorentia and qualify. Oh, and Fio need to draw or lose against Lyon for Liverpool to qualify.

If Fio lose to Lyon, Liverpool just need to win both their games, but if Fiorentina draw with Lyon, Liverpool have to beat Fio by 3 or more goals.

I don't think Lyon will care so much about coming 1st or 2nd as much as they want to regain the French first division so they might rest players for the last 2 rounds. I think Fio will get at least a draw against Lyon in Florence and head to Anfield with 10 defenders and a goalkeeper.

Prediction: Lyon-Fiorentina-Liverpool-Debrecen

Group F

Group F is perhaps the most exciting, but could potentially be over before the last round. Currently, Inter lead on 6 points, followed by Rubin Kazan and Barcelona on 5 and Dynamo Kyiv.

Kazan have the better head-to-head against Barca, so if they beat Kyiv and Inter defeat Barca in the next round, Kazan and Inter qualify. The last round would see Inter and Kazan battle for first and Kyiv host Barca for a Europa League spot.

I'm not sure Inter will beat Barca though and if Kyiv can get something out of Kazan this group will go into the final round with everyone still able to qualify, which I hope is the case.

Prediction: Barca-Inter-Kazan-Kyiv

Group G

Despite Sevilla (10 points) being run away leaders of this group, the bottom is close with Unirea Urziceni on 5 points, Stuttgart 3 points and Rangers on 2 points.

Stuttgart don't have to face Sevilla again. So their remaining games are both against their direct rivals. Unirea face Sevilla in the next round, while Rangers will face them last.

Rangers next match against Stuttgart is must win in my opinion. If they go into the last round needing a win against Sevilla they'll be out because that would mean they could only qualify if Unirea and Stuttgart drew on the last day and I think they'll be going all out.

Prediction: Sevilla-Stuttgart-Unirea-Rangers

Group H

You would think Arsenal (10 points) would come first in this group. I think Olympiakos (6 points) might struggle to travel to AZ then host Arsenal.

AZ seem to have the easiest run home of the teams under Arsenal, but its really close and the slightest mistake could cost a team qualification.

Prediction: Arsenal-AZ-Olympiakos-Standard Liege

So my Group winners would be Arsenal, Sevilla, Barca, Lyon, Porto, Madrid, United and Bordeaux.

My Group runners-up would be AZ, Stuttgart, Inter, Fiorentina, Chelsea, Milan, Wolfsburg and Juve.

So i think my dream draw for the round of 16 would be:

Arsenal V Juve
Sevilla V AZ
Barca V Chelsea
Lyon V Milan
Porto V Stuttgart
Madrid V Inter
United V Fiorentina
Bordeaux V Wolfsburg