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Champions League Gets Interesting

Published by Ian John on October 20, 2009

The third week of action in the Champions League and already there are some hugely interesting stories developing as some of the top sides in European football face a stern test of their credentials and some testing encounters as they seek to earn their place in the knockout phase of the competition.

Tonight sees Liverpool taking on an impressive Lyon at Anfield, fresh on the back of three consecutive defeats, anything less than a win for Liverpool tonight would be a disaster. Lyon will be no pushovers however and they will come to Anfield brimming with confidence after an impressive start in Ligue 1 and a fantastic result away to Debrecen in the last round of the competition. This game looks too close to call, especially with Liverpool’s talismanic striker Fernando Torres ruled out with a groin injury.

Another huge game sees German side Stuttgart take on Sevilla in Germany. Sevilla produced arguably the performance of the last round of matches with a fantastic 4-1 success over Rangers in Glasgow and a win here tonight would all but assure the Spaniards of qualifying.

Barcelona will take on Rubin Kazan in what looks a home banker, but be wary of the Russians who are a far better side than many people give them credit for. Inter should complete a home win double for Group F against Dynamo Kyiv in games that both teams will have down as being must win games.

Wednesday see’s some huge clashes, none more so than Real Madrid taking on AC Milan at the Bernebeu in a game that would grace the final. The two English sides face tough games, Manchester United travel to Moscow to take on CSKA, while Chelsea face a tricky home tie against Atletico Madrid. Another prestige tie sees Bordeaux hosting German aces Bayern Munich, while German champions Wolfsburg will hope Edin Dzeko and Grafite can fire the goals they need to defeat Besiktas.

While the next two weeks will go a long way towards deciding final qualification in all eight groups, the next game will be crucial, especially in group E where 2005 Champions Liverpool could fall at the first hurdle if they fail to get something from tonights game and Fiorentina triumph in Hungary against Debreceni. Along with Manchester United’s group, this could well be a tough one for the English team and it is going to take a radical improvement in form if they are to progress much further than the league stages.

Whatever happens, it promises to be an interesting couple of nights that will play a big part in determining who reaches the knockout stages.

Image Courtesy of ***cleverswhite *** at Flickr.com

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