UEFA Champions League

The much anticipated UEFA Champions League is under a week away for another action packed tournament of Europe's best club teams. The reigning champions Chelsea look to put on another great campaign in hopes to retain the prestigious honor of league champions.With their latest addition of Eden Hazard and his spectacular debut in the Barclay's Premier League it is all possible for another great run.Chelsea recently suffered a disappointing 4-1 loss to Atletico Madrid for the UEFA Super Copa but are currently first place in the Premier league. Their hopes to impress are very much still alive but they will have to play at a higher level. With the departure of Barcelona's Pep Guardiola the team chemistry has never looked so vague. They will have to really rebuild their ball possession style of play to have success in the tournament. The highly hyped Manchester City has gathered a team of stars that in less than a season managed to win the coveted BPL championship. Now their eyes are set on the Champions league, with plyers like Samir Nasri, Carlos Tevez, and Sergio Aguero driving the offense their odds seem very likely. It is going to be very interseting to see how this plays out with such a difficult group stage for them. With the way the group stages were formed it is safe to say that group D will be the most compelling. With the La Liga champions Real Madrid, BPL champions Manchester City, Bundesliga champions Dortmund, and the Dutch league Ajax that never fails to perform. This group will be very critical from the first match. Other high caliber teams such as Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea are seemingly less difficult fixtures that should set their pass to the following round. Key players to watch in this tournament are Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Xherdan Shaqiri (Bayern Munich), Marco Reus (Dortmund), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United), and of course the always entertaining Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. With the world's eyes set on the big teams and big names here are my top 3 little teams that can shock the world. 3.) Olympiacos- Champions in Greece and beating Arsenal in last year's Champions League, I would not be surprised if they can manage to shock them once again and take the group. 2.) Galatasaray- Turkish champions and coming strong to face Manchester United. Their odds to advance are questionable but are a true underdog. 1.) Dinamo Zagreb- Drawn into a group with an equal playing field they have the opprtunity to be a team to look out for and certainly make their mark.The final is set for May 25, 2013 and with 32 teams this sets for an exciting 7+ months of the world's most popular sport.

With the stage set and kickoff less than one week away, who are your favirites to win? And who are you mos excited to see? Will Chelsea once again take it all? Or will we see a new champion? Get ready for the UEFA Champions League 2012-2013!!!