Champions League Group G prospects

A look at the prospects for Anderlecht, Inter Milan, Valencia and Werder Bremen in Group G of the Champions League this season:

ANDERLECHT (BELGIUM)

The Belgian champions achieved a major objective by reaching the group stages at the expense of Benfica, but the Champions League are not only a question of prize money but also of prestige for Anderlecht -- a club constantly chasing their past.

European Cup Winners Cup winners in 1976 and 1978 and the UEFA Cup winners in 1983, those triumphs are likely to haunt Anderlecht for years as they now operate on a relatively small budget of just 25 million euros a year.

But Anderlecht believe they can still emerge from the group stage as they did in 2001. They have a young team with talents like Ivorian centre forward Aruna Dindane (23), Swedish international midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson (24) and Belgian international defender Vincent Kompany (18) pointing the way forward. Serbian striker Nenad Jestrovic is fit again and the only major departures have been Mbo Mpenza and French midfielder Fabrice Ehret.

COMMENT: Director Herman Van Holsbeeck: "Facing Werder Bremen makes this group a really tough one and I would have loved not to have played them. On the other hand, Valencia -- where we begin our campaign, are very technical but also physical and well organized. It is an advantage for us to have our first game away and then to face our two other opponents at home.

"Inter cannot be underestimated either, even if they are not quite the force they once were and one of the very top quality of European sides."

INTER MILAN (ITALY)

Inter badly need a major trophy. In the last 15 years, with no domestic league title, they have only tasted success in the UEFA Cup but the arrival of Roberto Mancini as coach and a series of impressive new signings suggests a more sustained challenge this time.

New faces Juan Veron and Edgar Davids in midfield with the rock steady Argentine skipper Javier Zanetti and Colombian Ivan Cordoba at the back, should provide the steel and aggression that have been missing in recent campaigns.

Serbia and Montenegro midfielder Dejan Stankovic has yet to make his mark outside of Italy but he has matured into a top class player and will be charged with providing the service for an attack that includes the prolific but injury-prone Christian Vieri and the exciting Brazilian striker Adriano.

The major question mark over Inter regards their priorities -- the fans are so desperate for a 'scudetto' triumph that Mancini might be tempted to focus his attention more on the domestic campaign.

COMMENT: Coach Roberto Mancini: "It's a tough group but I wasn't expecting it to be otherwise. As always, I'm optimistic. Inter have the desire and the potential to make themselves respected wherever they play and there is no reason we cannot make a major impact on the tournament."

VALENCIA (SPAIN)

Although coach Rafa Benitez jumped ship to Liverpool after bringing two league titles and the UEFA Cup to the Mestalla, expect little change under the new management of former boss Claudio Ranieri.

The Italian has brought with him four of his compatriots, including striker Marco Di Vaio and midfielder Stefano Fiore, to add more depth to the squad, but the same ingredients of ferocious defending and quick-breaking counter-attacks that served his predecessor so well remain in place.

The chances of repeating their success of 2000 and 2001, when they reached successive Champions League finals, are likely to hinge on the fitness of their two Argentine internationals Roberto Ayala and Pablo Aimar.

Ayala, who has been the linchpin of the miserly Valencia defence for the last four years, will miss the first two months of the season after undergoing knee surgery and the team have yet to prove they can manage without him.

Fellow countryman Aimar is capable of providing the sort of match-winning brilliance that the team otherwise lack, but is still suffering the after-effects of a troublesome groin injury that hit him midway through last season.

COMMENT: Coach Claudio Ranieri: "The draw means that we cannot afford to let up in any of the matches. We were unlucky in the sense that the so-called fourth team in the group which should be one of the weaker teams turned out to be Werder Bremen who are a side that have the ability to win the whole competition."

WERDER BREMEN (GERMANY)

German champions Werder Bremen took the title, their first since 1993, with ease, but they enter the new season without their danger man, last season's top scorer Ailton. The Brazilian moved to rivals Schalke 04, who also took established Serbian defender Mladen Krstajic.

The club have reinforced with Germany striker Miroslav Klose, Danish midfielder Daniel Jensen and defender Frank Fahrenhorst among others, and have not appeared to struggle to score goals.

However, they are a largely untested unit in Europe, their only Champions League group experience coming in 1993-94, which included a 5-0 home loss to Porto. Last season they failed to negotiate the Intertoto competition, having lost in the second round a year before.

COMMENT: Coach Thomas Schaaf: "We are happy with the draw and are looking forward to it. The champions of Spain and Belgium and the number four from Serie A is a good draw but its a hard group to figure out.

"Valencia and Inter have both been busy in the transfer market. We'll have to wait and see how they begin. But we'll get stuck into the challenge. We will have a lot of self-confidence. If you look at the other groups, you have to say no German team will have it easy getting into the last 16."