Group D of the 2011/12 Uefa Champions League starts on Wednesday 14 September 2011 with Real Madrid, Olympique Lyonnais, Ajax Amsterdam and Dinamo Zagreb battling out for a place in the knockout stages and, hopefully, a place in the final in May 2012.
Though Real Madrid and Lyon are expected to qualify, Ajax must not be written off and are well capable of causing an upset. Dinamo Zagreb though are unlikely to progress any further and the group may be decided by who scores the most goals against them.
Two teams from each group of four will go though the knockout stages. The third place in each group will go into the Europa League with the team that finishes fourth being eliminated.
Ajax Amsterdam
From 1971 to 1973, Ajax won this tournament three times in a row and added a fourth victory in 1995. Their opening match against Lyon is a repeat of 2002 when Ajax came out victors home and away. Ranked 36th by Uefa, the Dutch team is coached by Frank de Boer.
Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb have had to work hard to reach the group stages, beating Neftci in the second qualifying round and HJK in the third before facing Malmo in the playoffs. They looked safe after a 4-1 home win but Malmo scored twice in the second leg to create a nervous last few minutes. The Croation team last competed in the group stages in 1999 and are ranked 69th by Uefa.
Olympique Lyonnais
Lyon beat Rubin 4-2 on aggregate in the playoffs to reach the group stages. The French team’s record in the group stages is impressive having made it to the knockout stage in each of the last eight seasons. Their coach is Remi Garde and they are ranked tenth by Uefa.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid have won this competition nine times, their first victory being in 1956 and their most recent being in 2002. Now, under coach José Mourrhino, they are hoping to pose more of a challenge to their fierce Spanish rivals Barcelona (who beat them in last season’s semi-finals) and improve on their seventh place Uefa ranking.
Champions League Group D Fixtures
Dinamo Zagreb v Real Madrid, Ajax v Lyon (14 September 2011); Lyon v Dinamo Zagreb, Real Madrid v Ajax (27 September 2011); Real Madrid v Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb v Ajax (18 October 2011); Lyon v Real Madrid, Ajax v Dinamo Zagreb (2 November 2011); Real Madrid v Dinamo Zagreb, Lyon v Ajax (22 November 2011); Dinamo Zagreb v Lyon, Ajax v Real Madrid (7 December 2011).
Football Betting Odds for Champions League Group D
Football betting tips: Real Madrid are odds-on favourites to win the group with odds from 1/5 to 1/3. Lyon are expected to join them in the knockouts with odds for a group win around the 11/2 mark. For those wanting a risky bet, Ajax don’t look a bad choice with odds from 8/1 to 23/2. The bookmakers have Dynamo Zagreb as outsiders with odds from 25/1 to 50/1.
Other Champions League Group Previews
Group A: Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City and Napoli.
Group B: Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow, Lille Metropole and Trabzonspor.
Group C: Manchester United, Benfica, Basel and Otelul Galati.
Group E: Chelsea, Valencia, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Genk.
Group F: Arsenal, Olympique de Marseille, Olympiacos and Borussia Dortmund.
Group G: Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit St Petersburg and Apoel.
Group H: Barcelona, AC Milan, Bate Borisov and Viktoria Plzen.
Steve Rogerson - Steve Rogerson is a UK-based writer specialising in television, technology, sports and beer.
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