Chelsea To Finally Win The Champions League?

Sunday, 22 November 09, 02:36 PM · Comments (0)

We are now halfway through the group stage in the Champions League and for a change, there are potentially quite a number of shock exits that could occur. I’ll confess to being a little bored of the Champions League setup for a couple of years now, in that it appears to be the same teams who qualify every year and you could almost predict the Quarter Finalists before the groups are drawn in September.Let’s have a look at a few of the teams who I would have considered certainties to qualify, but are in a precarious position at the moment. In Group A, I would say it’s extremely surprising that Bordeaux are top of the group and it looks as though it could be Bayern and Juventus who are fighting it out for 2nd spot. Atletico Madrid have had a dreadful start to the season and with only having one point from three games, you would have to say that they are already out. Liverpool, who are so consistent in the Champions League are in serious trouble and a loss to Lyon this week would pretty much see them out of the competition and it would put the final nail in the coffin of Benitez’s reign in charge. Finally, Group F is extremely tight, but Inter Milan are at the bottom of the table and still have to play Barcelona at the Nou Camp, so they have a lot of work to do to secure qualification. Barcelona are not exactly through either.So, who do I think will win the Champions League this season? Barcelona are still regarded as favourites and are obviously a fantastic team, but I have a feeling they will not repeat the success of last season. Real Madrid started the season off very well, but as soon as Ronaldo became injured, they haven’t looked anywhere near the same and although they have spent a fortune on players in the summer, I don’t think they’ll manage it either. Arsenal look much stronger than last season, but I think they need more time before they compete with the top teams on a big Champions League night, which really only leaves Manchester United and Chelsea.I have already said in another article that I believe Chelsea are stronger than Manchester United this season and both will do well in the competition as they do most seasons, but I finally see those in Chelsea shirts taking the one trophy that has eluded them since Abramovich came into power.

Written by Stephen Whiteford, a sports writer who blogs about football kits.

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