FC Bayern Munchen was paired with Villarreal, Napoli and Manchester City in Group A in Monte Carlo today at the Champions League Draw.
Recently, Ivica Olic sustained an injury which will keep him out for two months. The Bayern board had varying opinions on whether to spend more cash on a striker. While Jupp Heynckes ruled out any further spending, he must have been relieved to see Mario Gomez return to form.
Following today’s draw, Bayern will feel that they need to be at their best to finish at the top of Group A. Manchester City, their English opponents will not be too happy to be paired against four time champions Bayern, 2006 semi-finalists and stylish Villarreal as well as the dangerous Italians, Napoli.
Villarreal beat Napoli en-route to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League last year. This must give them some confidence. Manchester City, with no Champions League experience whatsoever, has been placed in the toughest group imaginable.
Munich’s Allianz Arena which happens to be FC Bayern’s home ground will host the final on the 19th of May in 2012. The players of Bayern obviously want to attend their own party. Bayern, following an easy win over FC Zurich in the qualifiers, will have their task cut out for them. They are the best team in this group looking at the current squads and history.
Bayern usually gets quite lucky in the group stage draw. However, this year, they know that their will be no easy games for them. They will take confidence from their recent performances in all competitions with five wins and just one loss. Also, their defence is seemingly one of the meanest in the world considering they have conceded just once in six matches.
Jerome Boateng will return to his old stomping ground sooner than he expected to. Roberto Mancini will have to be very careful and get the balance of attack and defence just right. City did open their Premier League campaign with a 4-0 victory over Swansea. However, their backline was exposed against Bolton as they won a tricky match 2-3.
Napoli is yet to start playing in the Serie A. The Italians suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat at the hands of Barcelona recently. However, they did have a very good Serie A campaign last season as they finished third with 70 points behind the Milan clubs. They conceded 39 times in 38 games. They won 21 games during the season.
Villarreal meanwhile came through the play-off draw just like Bayern. They lost to Odense in the first leg but won 3-0 in Spain to see themselves through to the group stages. Villarreal sold one of their best players, Santi Cazorla, to Malaga this summer. This sale might come back to haunt them. They are a very talented side with the likes of Borja Valero, Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi to name a few.
So, this group should provide us with plenty of entertainment come September. FC Bayern, Villarreal, Napoli and Manchester City should provide us with six fantastic matches to watch in the Champions League.
Following today’s draw, Bayern will feel that they need to be at their best to finish at the top of Group A. Manchester City, their English opponents will not be too happy to be paired against four time champions Bayern, 2006 semi-finalists and stylish Villarreal as well as the dangerous Italians, Napoli.
Villarreal beat Napoli en-route to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League last year. This must give them some confidence. Manchester City, with no Champions League experience whatsoever, has been placed in the toughest group imaginable.
Munich’s Allianz Arena which happens to be FC Bayern’s home ground will host the final on the 19th of May in 2012. The players of Bayern obviously want to attend their own party. Bayern, following an easy win over FC Zurich in the qualifiers, will have their task cut out for them. They are the best team in this group looking at the current squads and history.
Bayern usually gets quite lucky in the group stage draw. However, this year, they know that their will be no easy games for them. They will take confidence from their recent performances in all competitions with five wins and just one loss. Also, their defence is seemingly one of the meanest in the world considering they have conceded just once in six matches.
Jerome Boateng will return to his old stomping ground sooner than he expected to. Roberto Mancini will have to be very careful and get the balance of attack and defence just right. City did open their Premier League campaign with a 4-0 victory over Swansea. However, their backline was exposed against Bolton as they won a tricky match 2-3.
Napoli is yet to start playing in the Serie A. The Italians suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat at the hands of Barcelona recently. However, they did have a very good Serie A campaign last season as they finished third with 70 points behind the Milan clubs. They conceded 39 times in 38 games. They won 21 games during the season.
Villarreal meanwhile came through the play-off draw just like Bayern. They lost to Odense in the first leg but won 3-0 in Spain to see themselves through to the group stages. Villarreal sold one of their best players, Santi Cazorla, to Malaga this summer. This sale might come back to haunt them. They are a very talented side with the likes of Borja Valero, Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi to name a few.
So, this group should provide us with plenty of entertainment come September. FC Bayern, Villarreal, Napoli and Manchester City should provide us with six fantastic matches to watch in the Champions League.
