Victory!, and CL predictions.

Yes, as if he doesn't have everything in the world, Leo Messi has an invisible bike, and he rides it during league games. (also, even though it's super easy, i just learned how to put in pictures. chances are I will abuse this feature.)

I was on holiday this weekend, so I missed out on the Valencia match, but from all reports, and having watched Adriano's super strike, it was a deserved win for Barca. These 1-0 wins always make me nervous, more so when team strikes woodwork 2 or 3 times, and finds a counterattack leaves them with a single point. This was the same Los Che who gave Madrid fits, holding them to a draw, and they surely deserve better than their current 17th place standing, only 3 game into the season.

The 2012-2013 UEFA CL Draw has came and went. I wanted to wait until after the weekend, for the last deadline transfers to come through and then address the draw, rather than speculate on who might go where, case in point, Hulk, whom everyone believed was going to Chelsea, ends up in Zenit, who then stops their pursuit of MUFCs Nani, whom everyone assumed was headed to Zenit himself. So, onwards, to the draw and predictions.

Group A: Porto, Dynamo Kiev, Paris St Germain, Dinamo Zagreb.

Speaking of the Brazilian attacker, his shipping off to Zenit will most likely affect Porto's ability to get out of the group stage. Portuguese teams are very difficult at home, but you need points on the road to advance. PSG would be a massive disappointment if they did not go through, but in a fairly weak group I do not expect them to finish anywhere other than first. PSG and Kiev to advance.

Group B: Arsenal, Schalke, Olympiakos, Montpellier.

Arsenal through, provided they can find the net, but even then they shouldn't have too difficult a time. I don't know if Schalke has the manpower for Europe anymore, and the Greeks can be tough to crack at home. Frogs are frogs. Arsenal and the Greeks to advance.

Group C: AC Milan, Zenit St Petersburg, Anderlecht, Malaga.

Deceptive group. With Zenit getting crazy on the last day of the transfer window, they sealed a place in the knock out rounds. Anderlecht will hopefully enjoy their short stay in the Champions League, leaving the top two places to be hotly contested. Milan seem to have gotten off to a fine start in Serie A, with a significant shake up in the starting XI, seeing Ibra leave, and bringing in the likes of Cassano, Bojan, and De Jong. It's crazy to pick against AC Milan, as they always over perform in the CL, so I will take them and Zenit, leaving big spending Malaga out.

Group D: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund.

I guess this is the 'group of death', although i don't see anyone but Madrid and City going through. Dortmund offloaded Kagawa, and Ajax is a good club, but the Dutch domestic league is quite a ways away from Liga and the EPL.

Group E: Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, FC Nordsjaelland.

This could be an interesting group, for whatever reason, nobody I know is high on Juve, despite their incredible year in Serie A last season. Di Matteo is off to a good start domestically, but this will be his first time managing a group stage along with the regular EPL schedule. Juve get stuck traveling to Donesk in December for their last group stage game. If they don't have their spot tied up by then, they could be in big trouble. Chelsea and Juve to advance.

Group F: Bayern Munich, Valencia, Lille, BATE Borisov.

Poor suffering Valencia will be the story in this group. Early in La Liga they held Madrid to a draw and Barcelona to a single goal, but find themselves 17th in the table early on. Soldado is a fantastic striker, and I expect him to be near the top in group stage goals. Valencia should make up for their terrible group stage showing last year by making it to the knock out rounds. Should be Bayern and Valencia, no problem.

Group G: Barcelona, Benfica, Spartak Moscow, Celtic.

Poor Celtic. They finally make it to the group stage and draw Barcelona. The two clubs share some history, mostly Catholicism and the hatred of Protestants. Expect the crowds to be electric for these two games. Barcelona face another trip to Russia, although in early November, hopefully the temps won't be so cold as to affect the play. Barcelona clearly goes through, but the other three are a crapshoot. With the Russian domestic schedule, it will probably hurt Moscow more than help. As much as I want Celtic to advance, i see the sneaky shitbag cunt Portuguese getting through.

Group H: Manchester United, Braga, Galatasaray, CFR Cluj.

Oh look, Manchester United draws another group of death! For whatever reason, I like Cluj to nip a spot out of this group. United and the Romanians.

Barcelona are on international break, but are back against Getafe next weekend, before starting the CL campaign against Spartak Moscow. The Burger Kings beat Madrid early in the Liga season and may be solely responsible for Christina current bout of depression.