Inter & Bayern the teams to avoid in today’s draw
11 comments December 18th, 2009
In just a few minutes time, we’ll have the draw for the final sixteen of the of the Champions League. As Group Winners, Arsenal will face one of AC Milan, Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, FC Porto, Lyon, Inter Milan, or Stuttgart.
Ahead of the draw Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has named Bayern and Inter as the trickiest draws in the Runners-up pot, and it’s hard to disagree. That said, I wouldn’t fancy a tie against either Lyon or CSKA. If Fortune is smiling on us, we’ll end up with FC Porto or Christian Gross’s Stuttgart.
Obviously, as our injury record this season shows, Fate hates us. Expect a reunion with our friend Jose.
We’re all waiting nervously for news that could arguably be more significant in our season than the outcome of today’s draw: the result of Cesc’s scans. Fortunately, the early signs are good:
“Cesc had a scan (on Thursday). We have not had the result yet. The only thing that is sure is that he will not play on Saturday. Beyond that, it all depends on the scan. Is it a tightness that just presents a small risk on Saturday or is it a slight strain – grade one or two? We’ll know that later. If it is a tear it is a small one and the maximum would be 10 days. So it is not long term.”
Fab news. Literally. Hopefully we’ll get confirmation that Cesc is going to be back harder faster better sooner in Arsene’s press conference this afternoon.
Join me on twitter for coverage of the draw.
