Schalke 04 - Real Madrid (PREVIEW)

Schalke 04 - Real Madrid (26/02/2014)

The biggest news for Schalke is the return of their star striker Jan Klaas Huntelaar. He has fantastic support by attacking midfielders Julian Draxler, Kevin Prince Boateng and Jefferson Farfan. Schalke also have a solid defence, with Felipe Santana, Benedikt Howedes, Joel Matip and Atsuto Uchida. Nevertheless, they will be huge underdogs in this matchup and have almost no chance of overcoming Real Madrid.

Carlo Ancelotti seems to have found his strongest 11. Real Madrid switched the formation to 4-3-3, with Pepe and Sergio Ramos commanding the defence which is yet to concede in 2014. Marcelo is attacking from the left-back position and Daniel Carvajal and Alvaro Arbeloa rotate on the right. The central midfield consists of Xabi Alonso, Luka Modric and Angel Di Maria who had to switch from his preferred right-wing position to accommodate Gareth Bale. Cristiano Ronaldo is on fire after his Balon d'Or award and Karim Benzema also got his confidence back and is scoring regularly.

Key Fantasy Players:

Schalke: Huntelaar, Draxler, Boateng

Real Madrid: Ronaldo, Bale, Marcelo

Prediction: Real Madrid will simply prove to be too strong to beat for Schalke, also at their home stadium. Result: 0:3

Klaas Jan Huntelaar vs. Cristiano Ronaldo (Photo: tsmplug.com)

Galatasaray - Chelsea (PREVIEW)

Galatasaray - Chelsea (26/02/2014)

Galatasaray surprised everybody when they knocked out Juventus on Matchday 6. They are a dangerous team and can cause trouble for any opponent. Coach Roberto Mancini is not known for his success in the Champions League, but has managed to rally his troops and proceed to the knockout stage after a big home defeat against Real Madrid on Matchday 1.  Their attack is lead by the legendary Didier Drogba, who will surely enjoy this encounter with his old club Chelsea. He is partnered by Burak Yilmaz and supported by the experienced attacking midfielder Wesley Sneijder. Felipe Melo and Selcuk Inan provide stability in central midfield, however, their defence is not one of the strongest. The most notable defender is Emmanuel Eboue, mostly for his attacking abilities.

Chelsea are doing quite well this season after last year's disappointment in the Champions League when they got stuck in the Group Stage. Jose Mourinho has rejuvenated captain John Terry who is having a fantastic season. He is partnered by either Gary Cahil or David Luiz in the central defence, Branislav Ivanovic has made the right-back position his own and on the other side Cesar Azpilicueta has taken the left-back position from Ashley Cole, who was not having his best season. Ramires and Frank Lampard are running the midfield, behind Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian. The only weak point is the striker position as Samuel Eto'o and Fernando Torres are not scoring as many goals as they would like.

Key Fantasy Players:

Galatasaray: Drogba, Sneijder, Eboue

Chelsea: Hazard, Oscar, Terry

Prediction: Galatasaray will enjoy great home support, but Chelsea have an excellent defence. Chelsea will come to play cautiously and will not allow the hosts many chances. Result: 0:1

Didier Drogba vs. Eden Hazard & Fernando Torres (Photo: tsmplug.com)

Zenit St. Petersburg - Borussia Dortmund (PREVIEW)

Zenit St. Petersburg - Borussia Dortmund (25/02/2014)

You never know what to expect from Zenit. On a good day they can cause trouble for any opponent and on a bad day they can be really terrible, as seen against Austria Vienna on Matchday 6, when they lost 4:1. Furthermore, they will be lacking match practice, because the Russian League does not restart until March due to winter conditions. However, their team has some strong players like wingers Hulk and Danny, a good finisher in Kerzhakov and a solid midfield in Alex Witsel and Roman Shirokov. If they wish to keep a realistic chance to progress, they will need to be at their best on home turf, which could cause trouble for the Champions League Vice-Champions from last Season.

Borussia Dortmund also has trouble of their own. They have been extremely unlucky with injuries to their key players like Ilkay Gundogan, Neven Subotic, Mats Hummels and Jakub Blaszcykowski. They still posses one of the best scorers in the Champions League - Robert Lewandowski, supported by the brilliant Marco Reus on one wing, super-fast Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the other wing and Henrik Mkhitaryan in the nr.10 position. Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender are doing well in the center of the field, Mats Hummels just joined the team from injury to help Sokratis at CB and if they manage to get Lukas Piszczek and Marcel Schmelzer to the level at which they performed last year, they could again go far in the knockout games.

Key Fantasy Players:

Zenit: Hulk, Danny, Shirokov

Borussia Dortmund: Lewandowski, Reus, Hummels

Prediction: This one should be pretty one-sided, BVB have the quality and will be desperate to show last Season was not a wonder. Result: 1:3

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Robert Lewandowski celebrating a goal. (Photo: mirror.co.uk)

Olimpiakos - Manchester United (PREVIEW)

Olympiakos - Manchester United (25/02/2014)

The Greek side is in excellent form this Season. They have a great defence which kept a clean-sheet in the last 7 matches. Goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez is in great shape and is protected by centre-backs Konstantinos Manolas and Giannis Maniatis. Their topscorer Konstantionos Mitroglu is currently injured, but veteran Javier Saviola and Joel Campbell are doing good in his absence. They were happy to draw Manchester United, who were in a little bit of a crisis, but seem to be getting better and better. Excpect a full stadium of loud Greek fans and huge motivation from the home side.

Manchester United have been underperforming in the Premier League, the main reason injuries to Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney and a week midfield. They signed Juan Mata from Chelsea, but he will not be able to help in the Champions League. Wingers Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young have been overshadowed by sensation Adnan Januzaj, but they will most likely get the nod in the Champions League due to their experience. New signing Marouane Fellaini has not justified his transfer fee yet, but that could be due to his injury problems - he could prove to be a good buy when he returns in the next weeks. Goalkeeper David De Gea is doing well and Man Utd have also managed to sort out their defence after Nemanja Vidic's return. Wing backs Patrice Evra and Rafael also provide threat when going forward and cover the defence sufficiently.

Key Fantasy Players:

Olympiakos: Mitroglu, Weiss, Maniatis

Manchester United: Van Persie, Rooney, Evra

Prediction: Olympiakos will put up a fight, but Man Utd are getting into better form and should be able to use their experience to beat the Greek side. Result: 1:2

Konstantinos Mitroglu vs. Wayne Rooney (photo: olahraga.plasa.msn.com)

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Arsenal - FC Bayern München (PREVIEW)

Arsenal - FC Bayern München (19/02/2014)

Arsene Wenger has finally spent some money in the summer when he signed Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid and it paid off. Arsenal is having a great Season and are strong contenders to win the Premier League Trophy for the first time in recent years. They have fixed their defence operated by Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny and their goalkeeper Wojciech Sczeczny looks to have improved too. In midfield they now have the German wizard Mesut Ozil, partnered by the rejuvenated Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla. Theo Walcott is out until the end of the Season, but Arsenal seem to work equally as good without him. Their only true center forward Olivier Giroud is in top form as well, scoring goals and providing opportunities for the midfielders to score.

FC Bayern have changed their style of play a little under Pep Guardiola, but are equally as dominant as last Season. Their lead in the Bundesliga is huge, so they can concentrate on retaining the Champions League Trophy for another year. Dante and Jerome Boateng fit perfectly into the CB positions, David Alaba and Franck Ribery rule on the left flank, on the right Arjen Robben will probably be joined by Phillip Lahm once Bastian Schweinsteiger returns from injury. New signing Mario Gotze did not need much time to fit in and playmaker Toni Kroos is also having a solid season in his new role. Up front, Mario Mandzukic looks to have lost his place as Guardiola prefers Thomas Muller or even Mario Gotze in the Nr. 9 position.

Key Fantasy Players:

Arsenal: Giroud, Ozil, Mertesacker

Bayern München: Muller, Robben, Alaba

Prediction: It was a tight affair last season and will be tight this year too. Expect an entertaining encounter, but there can only be one winner - Bayern München. Result: 1:2

Thomas Muller scoring vs. Arsenal (Photo: asportnews.com)

AC Milan - Atletico Madrid (PREVIEW)

AC Milan - Atletico Madrid (19/02/2014)

The Italians are having a terrible Season, but are still quite successful in the Champions League. They have recently fired their coach Massimiliano Allegri and put Clarence Seedorf in charge. Bad boy Mario Balotelli is the focal point of their attack, supported by Kaka and Robinho, new signing Keisuke Honda will not be allowed to play in the Champions League as he already played in the competition for CSKA Moscow this Season. Becouse of the suspensions of Ricardo Montolivo (red card) and Sulley Muntari (yellow cards), they have signed Mikael Essien from Chelsea to add some experience and stability to their midfield. Defensively they do not look too solid, but if one of Cristian Zapata and Philippe Mexes can form a good partnership together with new signing Adil Rami, they could improve a lot. They also have good support from their goalkeeper Christian Abbiati, so they could be hard to beat if Seedorf manages to find the right defensive formula.

Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, are having a fantastic Season. Coach Diego Simeone has built a balanced team, with a strong defence and great attack lead by in-form Diego Costa partnered by David Villa. The midfielders Gabi and Tiago Mendes, together with wingers Koke and Arda Turan provide attacking threat and can keep the ball from the opposition to prevent conceding goals. Miranda and Diego Godin form a solid CB pairing and Juanfran and especially Filipe Luis provide support in attack. They also have an extremely talented goalkeeper Thibuat Courtois who does not let in many goals.

Key Fantasy Players:

AC Milan: Balotelli, Kaka, Abbiati

Atletico Madrid: Diego Costa, Arda Turan, Filipe Luis

Prediction: Do not expect Atletico Madrid to beat AC Milan easily, Milan is a regular team in the knockout stages and know how to get the right result. The Italians will put up a fight, but over the two legs Atletico Madrid will still probably go through to the Quarter Finals. Result: 1:1

Mario Balotelli vs. Diego Costa (sports.xin.msn.com)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen - PSG (PREVIEW)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen - PSG (18/02/2014)

Leverkusen have done great in the Group Stage to finish second, above Shaktar Doneck and Real Sociedad. However, it is very unlikely for them to beat the French Champions. Leverkusen's main threat is their forward Stefan Kiessling and wingers Heung Min Son and Sidney Sam, who is injured at the moment. In defence Omer Toprak has done really well this season, scoring 2 goals in the Champions League already.

PSG are even stronger as last Season where they got knocked out by Barcelona on away goals. Their attack is still commanded by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but this year Edinson Cavani is there too and together they form one of the strongest attacking forces in Europe. The experienced Thiago Motta is running the midfield together with Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti. Add newcomer Yohan Cabaye, who just joined PSG from Newcastle United and you have a midfield who can match any of the biggest teams. Captain Thiago Silva has returned after a spell on the sidelines due to injury and joined fellow brazilians Alex or Marquinhos in the central defence. The two wing-backs, Gregory Van der Wiel and Maxwell, provide attacking threat as well as defensive cover and the goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu is also in top form. They will surely be hard to beat.

Key Fantasy Players:

Bayer Leverkusen: Kiessling, Rolfes, Omer Toprak

PSG: Ibrahimovic, Motta, T.Silva

Prediction: There will not be a surprise in this matchup, PSG should beat Leverkusen quite comfortably. Result: 0:2

Stefan Kiessling vs. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Photo: tsmplug.com)

Manchester City - Barcelona (PREVIEW)

Manchester City FC vs. FC Barcelona (18/02/2014)

Manchester City have reached the Last 16 in the Champions League for the first time and will meet FC Barcelona. The first leg will be played in Manchester where Man City rarely lose. They are currently in fantastic form, especially in attack, where Negredo, Dzeko and the back-from-injury Aguero are scoring for fun. Their midfield is also very strong, Yaya Toure & Fernandinho provide defensive stability and David Silva & Jesus Navas are the creative force on the wings. The only injury concern is Samir Nasri, who is out until the end of February. Their defense was not in the best form in the early stages of the season, the main reason for that was the injury of captain Vincent Kompany, but he is back commanding the defense with his experienced CB partner Martin Demichelis. Both wing backs, Pablo Zabaleta on the right and Aleksander Kolarov or Gael Clichy on the left, have freedom to help in attack and provide assists for the strikers.

FC Barcelona are regulars in the Last 16 and are always among the favorites to lift the trophy at the end of the season. This year they face a big team in the first knockout stage and will have to be at their best to qualify for the Quarter Finals. Valdes is back to his usual form, Dani Alves and Jordi Alba are attacking from their wing back positions, Pique and Javier Mascherano are in good form, the former (Pique) also in great scoring form from set pieces. The midfield maestros Xavi and Iniesta are pulling the strings and Busquets is protecting the defense. Pedro and Alexis Sanchez are surprisingly the top goalscorers in La Liga, as Neymar is injured and Messi missed 2 months of action due to injury as well. He is back now though and will be eager to prove he is still in top form.

Key Fantasy Players:

Barcelona: Messi, Xavi, Pique

Manchester City: Aguero, Yaya Toure, Kompany

Prediction: Expect this to be a really exciting match, but Man City are ready to upset Barcelona, at least at their home stadium. Result: 3:1

Sergio Aguero vs. Lionel Messi (Photo: tsmplug.com)

Group Stage Dream Team

The Dream Team after the Group Stage. Who will stay there until the end of the Season?

Group Stage - Dream Team

Top 10 of our League after Group Stage

Here are the Top 10 Managers of our League after the Group Stage. Well done!

Welcome!

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