Champions League Draw Some Exciting Matches

The big football news this week is the Champions League Draw, which sees some interesting ties and will without doubt throw some much needed excitement into this magnificent football melting pot. The final Champions League Draw sees Chelsea v Juventus with Claudio Ranieri returning with his team to play the club that was home until 2004, no doubt with the intention of rubbing salt in the wound left after Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich forced him out. Juventus are a strong team and Chelsea Manager Scolari will be hoping that some of the problems that have beset the team in the form of injuries will be resolved by the time the kick off finally takes place. Another match that is bound to bring some anticipation is the exciting prospect of the meeting between Inter Milan and Manchester United, this contest will allow the old rivalry between the two managers, Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson to be rekindled, as well as the mutual respect the two undoubtedly have for each other. As the previous manager of Chelsea, Mourinho has much experience of football encounters with Ferguson’s Manchester United Team and this experience is likely to stand him in good stead for the Champions League clash.

Other draws in the final 16 are:
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma

Barcelona is the overall favourite to win the Champions League with most bookies offering odds of 7/2 and should they be successful as is predicted, will be in line to pocket an amazing £100m payout for winning. Lyon are more than likely a little concerned that they have drawn the match favourites and with the bookies only giving odds of 40/1 for Lyon to win, it doesn’t seem as if they have much faith in this particular pairing either. It may be worth a punt on an outsider as anything is likely to happen in this exciting tournament.