The Champions League draw takes place tomorrow morning at 11am. Who could we face?
Bayern Munich
Currently: 3rd in the league, 2 points off the top.
Top scorer: Club record signing, Mario Gómez, who joined the club for £30m in the summer.
Dangerous players: Franck Ribéry, Arjen Robben, Luca Toni
Last season in CL: Beat Sporting Lisbon 12-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16, before getting thrashed 5-1 on aggregate by eventual winners, Barcelona.
FC Porto
Currently: 3rd in the league, 1 point off the top.
Top scorer: Falcao
Dangerous players: Raul Meireles, Falcao, Farías Varela
Last season in the CL: Beat Atlético in the round of 16 before getting knocked out by United in the quarters.
Lyon
Currently: 4th in the league, 8 points off the top.
Top scorer: Lisandro López
Dangerous players: Lisandro López, Ederson, Sidney Govou
Last season in the CL: Thashed by eventual winners, Barcelona, in the round of 16.
Inter Milan
Currently: Top of the league, five points clear.
Top scorer: Diego Milito.
Dangerous players: Samuel Eto’o, Wesley Sneijder, Ricardo Quaresma, Diego Milito
Last season in the CL: Knocked out by United in the round of 16.
Stuttgart
Currently: One place above the relegation zone, thanks to goal difference.
Top scorer: Pavel Pogrebnyak/Julian Schieber
Dangerous players: Thomas Hitzlsperger, Elson, Pavel Pogrebnyak, Julian Schieber
Last season in the CL: Didn’t qualify.
Olympiakos
Currently: Top of the league, one point clear.
Top scorer: Kostas Mitroglou
Dangerous players: Antonios Nikopolidis, Dudu Cearense, Kostas Mitroglou
Last season in the CL: Knocked out in qualifying for the group stages
AC Milan
Currently: 2nd in the league, 5 points off the top.
Top scorer: Alexandre Pato
Dangerous players: Ronaldinho, David Beckham, Alexandre Pato.
Last season in the CL: Didn’t qualify.
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I don’t see us losing to any of those teams, but I’d still like to avoid Inter and Porto.
In the order that i would like us to face
1.Olympiacos
2.stuttgart
3.Porto
4.AC Milan
5.Lyon
6.Inter Milan and Bayern Munich. Both are equally dangerous
cav
porto?.they are shit mate.sold their 2 most important players of last season in Lucho and lisandro.their striker radamel falcao with whom we were linked once is dangerous but we should overcome them easily especially with Bruno Alves always their to help us with his brilliant backpasses.
Hope we get Olympiakos, but I got a feeling where going to get AC Milan or Bayern Munich.
If we get Milan we can finally get some REVENGE for THAT game a couple of seasons ago.
United and Barcelona rematch in the Bernabeu…..FACT!
I am glad we will not face Fiorentina or Bordeaux..
hehe
Great work Scott. When it comes to Olympiacos, i will just add that Olaf Mellbeg is their rock at the back. But we haven’t had a problem with him while he was at Villa, so here’s hoping.
Gutted that i will be out on business and won’t hear about the draw! I hope we get some good pairings(Real-Inter or Chelsea-Inter for example) and that United get the bestcpossible draw.
olympiakos. im worried about our recent form. we need to change something quickly otherwise we’ll have a lot of problem to get any silverware in may
we’d beat any of the above teams. So not too worried but i wouldn’t mind us staying away from inter,bayern or milan.
aaig- I’m not saying we can’t beat them, but last year, when we were stronger, it took a lucky shot from crispi to get to the next round. Why deal with that when there’s several teams in there that we could just tear to shreds?
With fit squad + Hargreaves coming back we should not really fear any of these teams.
Stuttgart, Lyon, Porto and AC Milan please.
Seedorf is going to be dangerous for Milan than Beckham
Quaresma a threat? not even playing for Inter!
United can beat anyone but I would like to see AC milan at OT to get our revenge
Dinho too for Milan. Most of their attacks seemed to go through him nowadays. He was good against Palermo. Put in a few killer crosses. Shame their forward can’t finish for shit or they would’ve won the game.
Wouldn’t consider Toni as a “dangerous player” seeing as he rarely plays for the club and is unhappy with his situation and the manager. Should be back in Italy soon.
i want to avoid Milan.. Ronaldinho is there…
i want Inter.. cos Mourinho is there..
Bayern would be interesting..
others, i dun mind at all
I really dont think we shall be to cocky……these are all okey teams
if they weren’t okey…..then they wouldn’t have come this far……im hoping we avoid Bayern M…..Inter and milan :p But I most say…..would love to see Beckham playing at old trafford again…..see what reception he would get……hope he would get a good one 
But all in all…..I hope we get stuttgart (because they are at the bottom of the table……and maybe olympiakos 
There are some other dangerous players scott hasnt mentioned.thomas muller for bayern munich.20 year old brilliant box to box midfielder.toni looks to be on his way out in jan.iva olic is a much more dangerous player for munich. For inter mario balotelli has been brilliant this season.just 19 but has been good this season.anyone seen his 30 yard freekick against rubin kazan?. For lyon theres aly cissokho who is a left back and gave us a torrid time at ot when we played porto last season.seedorf has bee excellent along with pato and ronaldihno for milan
Olympiakos, for sure. I love it when we humiliate Greek teams. BTW, I’m Greek.
Dudu Cearense! I used to buy him on the old old CM, before it became FM, Klberson was class on that one and when he left on a free to Inter (CUNT) I signed him! He was class! Think i’ll wiki him now!
Praying for Stutgart or Olympiakos. However, traveling to Athens is a good 3 hours each way so it would be preferable to stay closer to home for travel timing.
Any word on how close Hargo is to returning? We could really use him soon.
@AIG: Spot on about Thomkas Muller. He has been a revelation this year. I don’t even follow the German league, but i have noticed his progress.
@james f: It is fun isn’t it? Especially against Olympiacos!
Speaking of Olympiacos, i think we should point out that in their last game they beat a second string Arsenal side and advanced ahead of Stadar Liege who played Arsenal at full strength twice. The reason i say that is because Wenger complained about the team Wolves put out and how unfair it was. I guess what he did wasn’t unfair to Standar…
anybody watch ac milan this year? i know they have big names, but are they living up to their reputation. ronaldinho is confusing. when these brazilian players lose it, they really lose it quickly don’t they?
he was such a dominant force for a few years and deserved all his plaudits, but then he got injured, lazy, and fat almost overnight. anyway, was wondering if he is anywhere near his top form these days.
interesting about stuttgart, one place above relegation but also made it to the champions league knockout stage.
Stuttgart please, or if we can’t get them, Olympiakos.
In all honesty though I’m not too bothered who we get, I still feel that being at OT in the second leg is a far better advantage than a perceived draw against a weak team.
Dinnwe rime and I’m hungry
fancy abit of Greek
Dinner time and I’m hungry
I could do with a bit of Greek
@Costas: It’s great fun because it’s the only time that all these deluded people here in Greece catch a glimpse of real football and of the enormous gap between their ‘great’ teams and the greatest team of them all.
Bring on AC Milan.
@rooninho
He probably won’t be back to his glorious Barca days form but he does a great job on the left for Milan. He held possession well, dribbles the opposition well and put in great crosses constantly. From the few matches I’ve watched, almost all Milan’s attacks goes through him and he was a constant threat throughout the games. I’d even dare say he’s better than any left wingers we have currently.
hurr – Giggs?
@costas and james f
how you doing mates? is olympiakos really not that good? surely they most pose a decent threat to make it to the next round? i reckon most would fancy them or stuttgart but i’d hate to see the supporters take any team for granted if we draw them next.
what prem team do you think they resemble the most? i’ve heard the argument that celtic or rangers would only be a 7th-8th place club in england. just wondering if you guys can make the same type of comparison.
@King Eric
Arguable perhaps but IMO he was more of a threat than Sir Giggsy and besides, Giggs doesn’t play every other matches these days.
cheers hurr, thanks for the info!
not watched a lot of serie a this season, but i’m hoping someone knocks mourinho off his fucking perch. it would be nice if his crosstown rivals did it. i’ve always had much respect for gennaro gattuso, and i’m glad he won’t be going to citeh in january.
biggest “what if” as a united supporter for me was ronaldinho, and how close he was to joining united. it would have been great to have him at his peak, as his former brilliance was tailor made for manchester united. probably wouldn’t have signed ronaldo though.
Nice post Scott. Even an Arsenal supporter can find this interesting.
I’d back you guys to beat every one of those teams, although Bayern Munich are in the process of finding some form and look much trickier than they did a month ago.
I’m hoping we get Stuttgart and you guys get one of the Milan’s.
i’m hoping we get olympiakos or stuttgart and arsenal get the swine flu!
@rooninho: To tell you the truth, I don’t follow Greek football at all. When you are accustomed to watching United week in week out, it’s impossible to watch Greek football. It’s ultra-slow, boring and pathetic.
@james f
fair enough mate! pretty harsh assessment i must say, but i have no reference either.
@rooninho:
I think james f hit the nail on the head. Olympiacos are a good technical side(players like Galleti, Derbyshire, Enzo Maresca and Dudu for example), but they are slow and they can’t compete from a fitness stand point with English teams. They got to the last 16, but they have had one of the easiest groups i can ever recall a Greek team having. They could have qualified with just 7 points! Anyway, i prefer them because i know that our pace will definitely be too much for them. Among other things. Stuttgart are a German side and these sides can have tricks up their sleeve. With Olympiacos, things are a bit more straight forward.
Speaking of Greek teams, i just saw Benfica vs AEK and i was very impressed with a lad called Di Maria. He is a winger and he had very good pace and knew a trick or two. Here’s an example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMfbwx8uz5w
I think United should keep a close eye on him.
I think its gonna be AC MILAN. Fear No One. ONE UNITED
I don’t think we really need to fear anything from Lyon, the two games they won against the scousers were just gifts, I’m not concerned. I’m praying for Stuttgart, and for Rio to get his form back. Those are my Christmas wishes.
I think AIG Alex is God list is just about right except I’d have Lyon before AC Milan who I think on the night can be just as dangerous as Inter or Bayern.
Players like Seedorf, Pato, Inzaghi, Borriello, Huntelaar, Inesta, Beckham are certainly capable of turning it on over a couple of games. I’m pretty confident that we can beat any of them but they might be the ones to avoid most. ( Though I’d love to see Becks back at OT!!)
Costas – Angel di Maria the Argentine? United have been linked with him a few weeks back. He was even quoted as saying he would love to play for United.
Stuttgart please!
…have a weird feeling it’s going to be AC Milan though.
not as confident as some of you lot in Europe. Especially without Ron. If we fall behind against the likes of Bayern or Inter I don’t see us coming back into it, hope i’m wrong like, anyway we might get Olympiakos or Stuttgart!
Inter.
Nailed on.
YHIHF.
I hope we will avoid Inter and Porto. Because of Ronaldo`s wonder strike on we managed to overcome that hurdle. We dont have Ronaldo and I dont see anyone who is capable of doing some thine like that. Anyway they also missing their best 2 player. So dont cant see big trouble for United. If it is Stuttgart or Olymiacos, then it would be Christmas gift.
It doesnt matter who we get – we’ll go through.
Please welcome AC Milan to OT. Have few scores to settle..
bring on david beckham
bring on anyone… we ll b still thru…
i would like if we draw either stuttgart or olympiacos.but a tough draw would also be ok.i think if we ge a bayern or inter fergie would think about signing someone in this winter transfer.anyways i think whomever we draw it is going to be bye bye for them.
UNITED # THE CHAMPS
@King Eric:
Yes, that’s him. It was the first time i saw him and i was impressed. Granted, AEK weren’t a formidable opposition for him, but i think he does have a lot of individual qualities. I like the variety in his game. Now whether he could perform at United is another issue…
@ rooninho – if we hadn’t signed ronaldo, he’d have become a quaresma. With our current play i see us beating any of the teams away and at worst drawing at home. We’ll go through, but honestly will love olympiacos or stuttgart. I don’t trust uefa draws though, feel they are in control…
Barca have to be avoided till the final . I want Milan at this stage , we can whoop their asses and send them out of the CL .
Good Morning everyone
everyone is saying we can beat any of these teams. fair enough but we arent exactly in top form so we cant take anything for granted.its obvious that with Ronaldo’s departure we have weakened a bit and lost someone who conjure that one moment of magic.also the other thing is Inter and Bayern Munich have strengthened. Etoo,Milito and sneijder are good players. Motta is better than vieira and lucio adds stability at the back.they are good all over the park. Bayern can be terrifying on the wings with Ribery and robben and have klose who is still a very clinical striker.those are the 2 teams that must be avoided.
i consider Lyon to be more dangerous than Milan simply becasue Lyon have bought some quality players.Lisandro is a good striker,cissokho will become the future evra(just 21years old).pjanic is a good dead ball specialist.michael bastos plays regularly for Brazil(can play in defence or midfield) and Touluan is a regular for France.
Milan have a very weak defence with zambarotta past his best,nesta is good but has lost pace, kaladze, jankuloski,oddo and ambrosini are 30 plus and it is showing in their game.gatusso is not even a regular starter and finally Dida is a rubbish goalkeeper
the thing that makes me confident is we have the 2nd leg at Home. We can always turn it around if it dosent go according to plan away in the 1st leg
Milan are terrible on paper but unlike their neighbours they always step up massively on European nights. Having said that, i’d still be wary of Inter. They’re a different team with Sneijder.
Costas
he is a lefty ? we do need lefty wingers.
no mention of gomis from lyon? hmmm
@supey
i know bafetbimi gomis is a great talent but he is not their first choice .they play only with one up front and thats Lisandro
Bloke goes into brothel and says, “I’m a bit kinky, how much for total Humilation?”. The Madam tells him £37.50. “WOW! What do I get for that?” he asks. She replies, “A fucking Liverpool FC shirt”.
Does not matter who we get we will go through.
AC Milan. Time for revenge sweet revenge for 2007.
Will Becks get a good reception ?
It had to be AC didn’t it? Well it could be worse – the pace of our team versus the ageing Milan team? Bring it on
Fuck Becks. How many goals are we going to score that’s what I care about.
ahaha.. my gut feeling told me it would be AC Milan.. i was right.!
Milan was probably the best ‘decent’ draw. Porto and Olympiakos would’ve no doubt provided less threat, but also less enjoyment value, anticipation and general excitement! This is the ONE!
Forget Becks: revenge, revenge, revenge for the WORST performance/thrashing I have ever witnessed is all that matters. Never have I seen us so intimidated and humiliated than that night at the San Siro in ’07. Now we’re better equipped and more experienced in Europe, we’ll see how well Gatusso and co. slot us in their pockets this time.
I made a post yesterday putting Milan with Inter and Bayern as the ones I wanted us to avoid. No sooner had I sent it than I thought “how excited will I be walking down Busby Way about to watch us take on say Stuggart rather than say AC Milan”? Now I know it’s a brillant draw. Can’t wait to see Becks return along with Seedorf, Pato, Inzaaghi, Borriello, Huntelaar etc etc and us send them packing!
Just think how much the dippers would love to be in our position. This is what the CL is all about and if we can’t beat AC Milan over two legs we’d be better to be knocked out and focus on getting thinks right for the League.
@Corea: Di Maria is a lefty, but he was playing on the right and cutting in all the time. I suspect that he can play on the left. I think the boy is very talented.Look how quickly he switches feet when he scores that goal.
O lordy, this is just set up for 90th min becks free kick knocking us out…
@hurr:
Becks will probably get a good reception in the second leg, but that hopefully will be the last memorable thing for him on that day. Hopefully it’s a set up for us to actually knock them out for once. They have been one of the biggest thorns on our side in Europe.
I damn hoped we avenged last time’s roasting. Real better not get knocked out by Lyon too. I want us to face them. It’s been what, 6,7 years we haven’t face them?
@hurr:
Yeah. Last time we faced them was 2003. I would also like to knock them out, because they have got the better of us on the last two occasions. Lyon have caused them quite a few problems in the past, but at this point, Real got a big favor by avoiding teams like Inter and Bayern.
We should beat them. They are not the team they were in 07′, primarily due to Kaka leaving but also core players within the team getting even older. Should be a good game but I expect a win!
A lot of people seem to forget that, like Wolves on Tuesday, in ’07 Milan rested 10 players in their Serie A match before the return leg, whilst we were struggling to put together a decent team due to injuries and fatigue …
This time we’ll be playing on more than level ground, so revenge will be so, so sweet, with Giggsy & Scholsey showing them the difference between age & class.
guys let’s not think as if this is a done deal. AC Milan is very good in Europe most of the time in spite of their league form. We should be up for this fight and approach the game with the right mentality.But now is the time we need the service of Hargo. What is the news regarding his fitness?
im feelin pretty good about the draw, AC are a shadow of the team that put us out them years back. only REAL threat is young pato……sure dazza would keep dinho quiet to be frank.
one fear i have though is our strikeforce…wazza and berbs aint looking good at all. watching berbattov is making me feel dsick theses dats with his inability to shoot. he harbours no ambition at all to score goals. its infuriating.
i think fergie fucked up….we needed a striker with electric pace ala torres, pato etc
we got AC milan!… god tie in my opinion, fergie is gonna want to kill david beckam and AC after the semi final defeat 3 years ago