UEFA - Champions League Qual.

Group stage places up for grabs

Group stage places up for grabs

All the hard work during pre season can pay off after Wednesday if the teams reach the group stage of the Champions League. The teams that go through will receive big financial boost, which can mean a lot in the big run. Therefore we should expect some nervy affairs and very interesting games.

Most results from the first leg were expected, but we saw some surprises as well, and some smaller clubs are knocking at the door of the Champions league. Barcelona and Juventus both recorded big wins at home, while Arsenal and Marseille won away, and these four teams should have an easy job qualifying for the next stage. Fiorentina defeated Slavia Prague 2:0, and they are very close to progressing, as are Aab and Shakhtar, who managed the same result against Kaunas and Dinamo Zagreb. Dynamo Kyiv easily defeated Spartak away, in what should have been a big derby, and now has an easy job of keeping the advantage. Schalke beat Atletico Madrid 1:0, and this clash is still open. Panathinaikos won in Prague, while Liverpool managed a goalless draw against Standard, though they were outplayed by the hosts. Both Turkish clubs recorded the same results, 2:2, Galatasaray at home with Steaua, and Fener away to Partizan. Guimaraes and Basel played a goalless draw in Portugal. BATE Borisov created another surprise as they beat Levski away, while the other unexpected result saw Anorthosis of Cyprus defeat Olympiakos 3:0.

Can Anorthosis and BATE Borisov hold on?


Barcelona and Juventus are both in action on Tuesday, and should have no problems defending their advantage from the first leg against Wisla and Artmedia respectively. In the third game on Tuesday, Panathinaikos is expected to defend a 2:1 advantage to Sparta. Liverpool will be looking to improve from the first game when they host Standard, while Galatasaray will travel to Romania to play Steaua after a 2:2 draw in Istanbul. The other club from Turkey, Fenerbahce, will host Partizan after the same result in Belgrade. Schalke takes a one goal lead to Madrid when they face Atletico, in what should be a pick of the round. Dynamo Kyiv and Arsenal both won away from home, and should have an easy task against Spartak and Twente respectively. Belarus and Cyprus hope to have their first representatives in the group stage as BATE won away to Levski, and Anorthosis thrashed Olympiakos at home. Kaunas faces a difficult task of overturning two goal deficit against Aab Alborg. Fiorentina and Shakhtar take two goal leads to Prague and Zagreb, respectively, while Basel plays Vitoria, after a goalless draw in the first leg.

While several clubs have already created big advantage, other duels are still undecided and still a lot of teams hope to qualify for the group stages. BATE Borisov and Anorthosis are very close to reaching the group stages, and these two can be the biggest surprise packages in recent years.