Champions League preview

15 September 2009 12:56
The group phase of the UEFA Champions League kicks off on Tuesday and Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid are among those hoping to make winning starts. Click here to check out the various ways you can watch the best of the Champions League on Sky Sports this season. Remember you can watch games on your PC. Barcelona lifted the trophy last season after producing an awesome exhibition of attacking football in the final against Manchester United, and more excitement is guaranteed as the 2009/10 competition gets underway. The qualifying rounds actually began in early July, less than six weeks after Barca's night of celebration, with a tie between the champions of Andorra and San Marino. A new system was introduced to ensure more of the smaller countries would be represented in the final 32 but it is the usual suspects who can be expected to light up the European stage over the next eight months on the long road to Madrid. Manchester United will be desperate to avenge last season's final defeat and, despite the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, they remain a force to be reckoned with. Sir Alex Ferguson's men begin their Group B campaign with an away game against Besiktas, where they are likely to encounter an incredibly hostile atmosphere, and the clash can be seen live on Sky Sports 2 and HD2. The other two teams in a difficult group are Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg and Russian outfit CSKA Moscow, who do battle in Germany. Chelsea are always among the favourites for the Champions League and, having appointed a manager in Carlo Ancelotti who has impeccable European credentials, they will be determined to finally claim glory after so many agonising near-misses. The Blues have been impressive in the Premier League so far and are at home for their opening game against a Porto side that has failed to win in England in 12 previous attempts. The match can be seen live on Sky Sports Xtra and HD3. Also in Group D, Atletico Madrid of Spain will be looking to put a slow start to their domestic season aside and come out on top against Cypriot newcomers APOEL Nicosia. Swiss side FC Zurich are also making their debut in the group phase but they could hardly have been given a more daunting challenge as they face Real Madrid. Real bowed out of last season's tournament with a whimper following a 5-0 aggregate defeat to Liverpool in the last 16 but an extraordinary summer in the transfer market makes them a much more formidable proposition, with the likes of Kaka, Ronaldo and Karim Benzema arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu. Marseille and AC Milan make up Group C and they face each other for the first time since the 1993 final in what promises to be a keenly-contested match at Stade Velodrome. Juventus will be hoping to maintain their fine early-season form against French champions Bordeaux in an intriguing Group A. Bayern Munich, with Franck Ribery still in their ranks despite months of speculation, travel to Israel to meet Maccabi Haifa in the second match in Group A.

Source: SKY_Sports