So, the long awaited Uefa Champions League draw has been made. Arsenal are in group H and it looks like this:
Group H
Arsenal(ENG)
Shakhtar Donetsk(UKR)
FC Braga(POR)
Arsenal(ENG)
Shakhtar Donetsk(UKR)
FC Braga(POR)
Partizan Belgrade(SER)
It looks a relatively easy group on paper, but then we must not get too overconfident. Braga have come through by knocking out Celtic and Seville in the qualifying rounds and shouldn't be underestimated. Donetsk are Ukranian champions and a reunion with Eduardo awaits. I wish him all the best and as long as we top the group, I don't mind him scoring against us.
Of course the main talking point is the fixtures and how it fits in with the Premier League schedule. Since the Champions League matches are sandwiched between two league matches, its important to rest and rotate key players for important matches. We knew from before that we have 5 away games in the league after the European games, which can prove very demanding for our players, and as previous seasons suggest, very tough. So lets breakdown the fixtures and see how they look:
11 Sat Barclays Premier League H Bolton Wanderers
15 Wed UEFA Champions League H Braga
18 Sat Barclays Premier League A Sunderland
...
25 Sat Barclays Premier League H W.B.A.
28 Tue UEFA Champions League A Partizan Belgrade
October:
03 Sun Barclays Premier League A Chelsea
16 Sat Barclays Premier League H Birmingham City
19 Tue UEFA Champions League H Shakhtar Donetsk
24 Sun Barclays Premier League A Manchester City
...
30 Sat Barclays Premier League H West Ham United
November:
03 Wed UEFA Champions League A Shakhtar Donetsk
07 Sun Barclays Premier League H Newcastle United
...
20 Sat Barclays Premier League H Tottenham Hotspur
23 Tue UEFA Champions League A Braga
27 Sat Barclays Premier League A Aston Villa
...
December:
04 Sat Barclays Premier League H Fulham
08 Wed UEFA Champions League H Partizan Belgrade
11 Sat Barclays Premier League A Manchester United
Match-by-match fixture analysis:
1. Braga (home)
We have a home match against Bolton before this match. So far so good, but then we have an away match against Sunderland afterward. We didn't do well against them last year but if we have a fit enough squad, there is no reason we shouldn't come back with 3 points.
Expectation: Win, Win, Win(am I too greedy?)
2. Partizan Belgrade(away)
We have a home match against West Brom before this one. Then we travel to Serbia and then there is the little matter of a London derby to take care of, which by the way, is again an away match. I hope we can give it our all after all the travelling.
Expectation: Thrashing Win, Win/Draw, Draw(at least - a win would be nice and good for us)
3. Shakhtar Donetsk(home)
We face Birmingham at home before we welcome Eduardo at the Emirates. Then we're off to face Man City away.
Expectation: Win, Win, Win(show them who's boss)
4. Shakhtar Donetsk(away)
We welcome West Ham before we travel far away to Ukraine. Then we have our lone home game after our ECC league match against Newcastle.
Expectation: Win, Win/Draw, Win
5. Braga(away)
We face Champions League debutants and fellow Londoners(I am being too nice!) Sp*rs at home before we travel to Serbia. Hope we rotate our key players a bit against Braga. Then we travel to Villa Park afterward.
Expectation: Win(what else?), Win/Draw, Win
6. Partizan Belgrade(home)
We entertain Fulham at home before we welcome Partizan. I hope we've already qualified by this stage and we rest most of our players for the ECC match since we're facing old enemy Man Utd away later.
Expectation: Win, Win/Draw, WIN(I won't take anything else).
We're lucky in one way that the draw could have been much harder. As it stands, I'm optimistic about our chances this season and hope we have a fit and an in-form squad to negotiate these tricky set of matches.
Catch you with my Blackburn preview.
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