英超曼城队被来自阿联酋的阿布扎比发展集团收购，引发了人们对阿拉伯势力是否会大举进军五大联赛的大讨论，但在法甲，暂时未有俱乐部被阿拉伯人所控制，两家有外资背景的俱乐部均与阿拉伯世界无关：与美国资本关系密切的巴黎圣日尔曼和日资球队格勒诺布尔。

阿拉伯势力对法国足球的影响，除了购买胸前广告之外（如巴黎圣日尔曼的球衣胸前广告被阿联酋航空公司买下），更多的来自球员层面。如齐达内，纳斯里，里贝里等知名的法国国家队员的父辈均来自阿拉伯世界，当然，上述三人都是在法国出生和长大，他们是北非移民的后代，与葡萄牙的德科，意大利的卡莫拉内西等纯粹的移民球员有所不同，尽管如齐达内等人均对父辈的祖国怀有深厚感情，在阿尔及利亚，齐达内也被视作是国家的骄傲，然而很难说这位旷世奇才与阿拉伯足球有什么直接的关系。

由于地域和历史上的原因，更由于法国文化的多样性和包容性，法国足球赛场长期以来都是北非球员向往的沃土，几乎所有的法国职业队都有过雇佣来自北非阿拉伯国家的球员的经历，这些球员在实现着自己的足球梦想的同时，既为法国足球的繁荣做出了重要贡献，反过来也促进了本国足球水平尤其是国家队水平的提升。本赛季，法甲各队中有22名球员来自摩洛哥，突尼斯和阿尔及利亚等三个北非阿拉伯国家，他们几乎全都是国脚球员。

现代足球人才淘汰速度极快，能够在五大联赛中站稳脚跟的外籍球员，大都较为出色，法甲22位北非的阿拉伯球员中，不乏成名球星。波尔多前锋沙马克近两个赛季异军突起，已经成为了布兰克手下不可或缺的一员大将；洛里昂的萨伊菲上赛季在法甲中攻入13球，是洛里昂的第一射手，为布列塔尼球队取得队史上最好成绩立下大功；阿尔及利亚中场齐亚尼效力索肖期间是该队的中场核心，去夏以马赛年度标王的身价转投维罗德洛姆球场，虽然上赛季表现不够尽如人意，但在新赛季重返巅峰，目前牢牢占据了首发位置，值得一提的是，齐亚尼还是2007年阿尔及利亚足球先生；阿拉伯球员力量最大的球队要数南锡，克雷蒂安，泽尔卡，哈吉和瓦杜均来自摩洛哥，他们都是摩洛哥国脚，前三人尤其是哈吉可谓是上赛季南锡获得法甲殿军的首功之臣，而今夏新加盟的瓦杜此前是瓦朗谢讷队长；索肖前锋桑托斯来自突尼斯，虽然前三个赛季在图卢兹一度低迷，但他在上一次效力索肖时曾经有过单赛季攻入14球的辉煌战绩，是一位赫赫有名的锋线杀手；升班马格勒诺布尔前锋阿克鲁尔本赛季第一次征战法甲，但这位阿尔及利亚球员在新赛季利用两个关键入球为格勒诺布尔拿到了6分。本赛季法甲资历最老的阿拉伯球员要数格勒诺布尔后卫耶马里，他自1994年起便征战法甲联赛，曾在戛纳效力3个赛季，随后身披波尔多战袍长达11年之久，至今已经在法甲中出场298次。

某些拥有阿拉伯血统的优秀球员，成名之后既受到了法国国家队的邀请，也接到了其出生国或其父辈出生国国家队的邀请，这是一个非常有趣的现象。近年来，一些有关“法国掠夺非洲足球人才”的非议甚嚣尘上，事实上这些非议既无聊也有失偏颇，比如，出生在巴黎郊区的马赛球员本阿尔法拥有突尼斯血统，然而他在法国出生，在法国成长，并在克莱枫丹接受足球训练，毕业后在法国俱乐部（先里昂后马赛）踢球，2006年德国世界杯之前，突尼斯足协邀请本阿尔法代表该国参加世界杯，遭到了本阿尔法的拒绝，一年之后，本阿尔法进入了法国国家队，一些媒体以本阿尔法为例抨击法国足协挖突尼斯墙角，但除了祖籍之外，本阿尔法与突尼斯之间并无瓜葛，况且为法国还是为突尼斯效力，是本阿尔法自己的选择。事实上，法国足球在为许多包括阿拉伯国家在内的外国球员提供工作机会的同时，也为该国足球做出了贡献，比如，有摩洛哥血统的欧塞尔球员沙夫尼出生在波尔多，在法国长大和接受足球训练，先后效力于利博尼，贝桑松，沙特鲁，阿雅克肖和欧塞尔等五家法国俱乐部，拥有法国和摩洛哥双重国籍的他目前是欧塞尔的主力球员，但水准够不上法国国家队，于是他接受了其父辈的祖国摩洛哥的邀请，成为了一位摩洛哥国脚。

附：法甲中阿拉伯球员一览表

俱乐部 球员名称（国籍）
欧塞尔 沙夫尼（摩）
波尔多 沙马克（摩）
格勒诺布尔 耶马里（突），雷格拉吉（摩），阿克鲁尔（阿）
勒阿弗尔 阿拉（摩），费图伊（摩），
勒芒 本弗雷（突），埃尔-巴里（摩），
洛里昂 曼苏里（阿），萨伊菲（阿），纳穆齐（突）
马赛 齐亚尼（阿），埃尔巴特（摩洛哥）
南锡 克雷蒂安（摩），瓦杜（摩），哈吉（摩），泽尔卡（摩）
尼斯 本萨阿达（突）
索肖 桑托斯（突尼斯）
瓦朗谢讷 贝尔玛迪（阿），贝萨兹（阿）

注：上表括号中“阿”代表阿尔及利亚，“摩”代表摩洛哥，“突”代表突尼斯。

英特杜古 VS 古比斯
迈柏 VS 赫尔辛基
汉卡 VS 古迪比
谭柏利 VS VPS华沙
马利汉姆 VS TPS杜古
路云尼米 VS 夏卡
查路 VS 拉迪

安拿吉耶 VS 莫斯科火车头
其姆奇 VS 土星
阿马卡 VS 苏维杜夫
莫斯科戴拿模 VS 辛历克
汤姆斯基 VS 塔利克
圣彼德斯堡 VS 莫斯科中央陆军
莫斯科斯巴达 VS 卡山鲁宾
FC莫斯科 VS 纳尔奇克斯巴达

Having already talked up the prospects of the English quartet in our outright Champions League preview, we'll now take the opportunity to asses specific group betting.

Zenit St Petersburg won many admirers for the manner of their maiden European success back in May and they've already followed that up by stunning Manchester United 2-1 in the recent Super Cup in Monaco.

The talented Russian outfit managed to retain all of their high-profile stars during the transfer window - most notably Andrei Arshavin, Anatoliy Tymoschuk and Pavel Pogrebnyak - and the fact they'd rather stay than chase the spotlight in England, Spain or Italy is a sign of how tight their squad is.

Indeed, it was their team spirit, together with their dazzling technical ability, which saw them knock out Villarreal, Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich en route to brushing aside Rangers 2-0 in the UEFA Cup final at Eastlands and they're certainly ready for a crack at Europe's elite.

It's important to mention, in particular, how they ousted several of these teams. Against Marseille they were 3-0 down at one stage in the first leg but their heads didn't drop. They snatched an away goal before winning at home 2-0 to progress on away goals.

They blitzed Leverkusen, a strong German side with Champions League pedigree, 4-1 away from home but the best was yet to come against Bayern Munich.

Zenit earned an impressive 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena before thumping the German champions 4-0 to march into the final. And we all know how they outclassed Rangers at Eastlands despite virtually all the blue half of Glasgow making the trip to Manchester.

One of their main heroes throughout the campaign was Pogrebnyak, who netted 10 goals in Europe to be the competition's joint-top scorer alongside Luca Toni of Bayern Munich.

The Russia international, who missed Euro 2008 through injury, also scored in their Super Cup win over Manchester United so we're expecting him to provide the firepower in their Champions League campaign.

They've been dumped in what on paper looks one of the hardest groups alongside Real Madrid and Juventus, who are widely expected by the bookies to progress to the knockout stage.

However we strongly fancy the defending Russian champions to upset the applecart to finish in the top two - most probably ahead of Juventus and BATE - and the 13/10 with Boylesorts is certainly a good price.

We're not that taken with Juventus at all. Claudio Ranieri's side finished third in a very average Serie A last season and the club haven't even featured in the previous two Champions League group stages so Zenit have little reason to fear them.

As for Real Madrid, they haven't got it right in Europe for quite some time having been knocked out in the second round in reach of the last four seasons. They always manage to survive the groups but not always in top spot.

Last season they just about edged out Olympiakos despite having the same number of points but in the three years before that they were runners-up in their group.

Therefore even taking Zenit at a general price of 4/1 to top Group H shouldn't be dismissed whatsoever.

Moving into Group E, Celtic look a decent bet at 13/8 with Coral to progress to the knockout phase.

The Scottish champions have a formidable home record in the competition - especially in the group stages - and we feel they've got enough in their locker to edge out Villarreal for second spot behind Manchester United.

Last season they qualified for the last 16 having won all three games at Parkhead - including a fine triumph over AC Milan - and got away with losing every one of their away ties.

It was exactly the same story in the campaign before that, where even Manchester United fell victim to the passionate Parkhead atmosphere.

As is the case with Liverpool at Anfield, top clubs from abroad always seem to have a problem with coping with big European nights on Celtic's patch and they must not be underestimated.

Sure, it could well be just a mental thing, but whatever the case it works in the Hoops' favour and it's a huge factor when betting on their games.

You can't even rule out another famous win over the defending European champions although we probably can assume their away record will be poor again. For that reason alone we won't back them to top the group at 12/1.

Realistically it's fair to say the Red Devils have got it easy in this group and it's no surprise to see them as short as 3/10 to finish top while Villarreal are a best of 7/2 in the same market.

'The Yellow Submarine', available at 1/2 to qualify, are regarded as a tough Spanish outfit but they hardly took the UEFA Cup by storm last year despite being heavily tipped to go the distance so Gordon Strachan's outfit shouldn't really be overly concerned about them.

Aalborg from Denmark make up the group having defeated Kaunas 4-0 on aggregate in their qualifier. Celtic will arguably need six points against the Danes to progress this time and therefore break their travelling curse, but we're more than confident they can do it.

Added to this, even Man Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes Celtic's home record gives them a "terrific chance" of progression and who can possibly argue with him?

He said: "Anyone going to Celtic Park now is saying 'you've got to beat that atmosphere and the energy they spend in their games'. So there are a lot of plus points for them in that way."

Meanwhile Bayern Munich return to the Champions League having missed out last season and they've been installed as the 11/8 favourites to top Group F.

Their main challengers for this honour will be Lyon and Fiorentina, with Steaua Bucharest understandably the rank outsiders.

It's the same old story for French champions Lyon, who have a habit of impressing us throughout the group stages but then stumble in disappointing fashion when it really matters and you have to wonder if they'll ever lift European football's biggest prize.

Several of their prominent players over the years including Juninho are now perhaps slightly past their best but the quality is still there to do some damage. And in striker Karim Benzema they have a star of the present and future.

In four of the last five seasons they have topped their group, even when up against the likes of Real Madrid, so we feel the 2/1 with Pagebet is a cracking price for Claude Puel's men to do this again.

Last time out Les Gones denied Rangers on the final matchday at Ibrox to sneak through behind Barcelona - who they beat - but that will only have taught them not to be so complacent following years of comfortable progression.

Since then they clinched their seventh straight French crown and are predictably going strong once again this season. They are a club determined to finally last the pace in Europe while we feel Bayern are easy to overestimate.

The German champions have stuttered in the opening weeks of their domestic season and having seen them capitulate against Zenit in the UEFA Cup last season, they don't have the air of superiority they once possessed.

Our final bet comes in Group D where we're surprised to see Marseille as big as 2/1 to qualify with Bet Fred.

Liverpool, based on their recent track record in Europe, are understandably clear favourites to progress but we all know how they can often make such hard work at of some of the easiest tasks. Just take their qualifier against Standard Liege as a prime example.

In last season's competition, Marseille grabbed a dramatic triumph at Anfield before throwing all their hard work out of the window when being gunned down 4-0 by the Reds in the final group match, meaning they agonisingly dropped into the UEFA Cup.

This time, in what is seemingly a pretty evenly-matched pool, we feel they have enough about them to edge past Atletico Madrid, the second favourites, and PSV Eindhoven.

For Atletico this will be their maiden Champions League campaign and it's fair to say they were a huge disappointment in the UEFA Cup last term, being knocked out by Gary Megson's Bolton having failed to score a single goal over the two legs.

Marseille have started their domestic campaign in a positive manner and we're confident their experiences from last term will make them all the more stroner.

Last year's all-English Champions League final should have come as no surprise.

The money and power of the Premier League means England is the dominant force in European club football and in Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal they have four genuine contenders for the continent's top prize.

Totesport are quite right to want to swerve the Premier League's Big Four and are running for cover by making an English winner odds-on.

Sky Bet don't seem as convinced though. They dangle 13/8 about England being the winning nation again and that looks a price that has to be smashed into.

English sides have won it twice in the last four years and also provided the last three losing finalists. Drill down another layer and you find four more losing English semi-finalists.

For the last two seasons, England have got three of their big guns into the semis so this dominance is growing stronger and stronger. With a favourable draw, who would be surprised to see the full house of two all-English semi-finals?

It seems that AC Milan and Barcelona apart the cream of Europe has wilted in this English onslaught.

Real Madrid haven't progressed beyond the last 16 for the last four years, Inter Milan have been hopeless and the likes of Bayern, Juventus, Roma and Lyon have been swept aside before the business end.

Inter are 7/1 third favourites in many books this year and that looks crazily short given how they've capitulated in recent seasons when taken out of the comfort zone of Serie A.

But at least they're in it! AC Milan haven't even qualified this season so one obvious threat to the English dominance has been removed.

Barcelona meanwhile have started the new Primera Liga season poorly under new coach Pep Guardiola, taking just one point from the opening two games.

Sure they have an abundance of talent on paper but as was so often the case throughout last season, they can be very frustrating to watch when it doesn't quite click.

They were toothless against Manchester United in both of their semi-final legs in the previous campaign and we're not convinced they are worth backing, even at 8/1, given the power of the English clubs.

In the tournament top scorer markets, it's no surprise to see last season's winner Cristiano Ronaldo as the 10/1 favourite with Sky Bet to repeat the feat.

The Manchester United star netted eight times throughout their successful European campaign - two clear of his nearest rivals - including a fine header in the final against Chelsea.

The big question this year is can he keep up his sensational record in front of goal? Or, indeed, will he need to?

One of the main talking points at Old Trafford had been the need for a genuine goalscoring striker as there was seemingly too much reliance on Ronaldo to deliver the goods due to the relatively barren spells of hard-working duo Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney.

With the Potuguese winger's injury ruling him out for the start of the season, the Red Devils were in desperate need of a big summer signing and at long last they finally got their man - Dimitar Berbatov.

The former Tottenham favourite, who is no stranger to the European scene, will spearhead United's quest for back-to-back Champions League titles and we're expecting him to make a mockery of his 12/1 price with Sky Bet.

In last season's UEFA Cup he scored five times despite Spurs being knocked out of the competition in the last 16 and of course this time there's the distinct possibility of plenty more matches.

If Berbatov produces the same kind of quality we've grown accustomed to, there's a chance Ronaldo won't be so urgently forcing his way onto the scoresheet like he had to last year and that's why we're siding with the Bulgarian.

He's got two cracking opportunities against Danish side Aalborg to give himself a real boost up the standings while it's still unclear as to when exactly Ronaldo will be fit enough to make his Champions League bow.

Even if he returns earlier than planned, it might take him a significant amount of time to reproduce his best form.

Another leading candidate is Fernando Torres, who is a best of 11/1 with Blue Square, but while there is no doubting the Spaniard's talents, Liverpool's group is tough and it's asking a lot for them to go quite as far as United.

Real Madrid poacher Ruud van Nistelrooy is also up there in the betting, as are the Barcelona duo of Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o and you'd have to say they'll all be threats to us if the Primera Liga 'big two' progress far.

But as we mentioned earlier, Real's recent form in the Champions League is suspect while you never know quite what you're going to get with Eto'o and his inconsistency could well keep him out of the running.

Messi grabbed six goals to finish joint runner-up with Steven Gerrard, Didier Drogba and Torres last season and I'm sure we'll see him entertaining the Catalan crowd with his dazzling skills once again. At 16/1 he is one to watch.

It's always wise to have a stab at an outsider and the 50/1 available with Sky Bet on Pavel Pogrebnyak is worth considering each-way.

The Russian striker was a vital cog in the Zenit St Petersburg machine last season, netting an incredible 10 times in Europe as they stomed to UEFA Cup glory while he also struck in the recent 2-1 Super Cup triumph over Manchester United.

We're confident Zenit are capable of progressing further than most observers think - as highlighted in our group betting preview - so if Pogrebnyak can play at least eight games, he certainly has an opportunity of being one of the top four goalscorers.

古迪比VS谭柏利

副班长古迪比目前和保级线（倒数第3名）的差距多达9分，但并没有完全失去斗志。客场净负英特杜古3球前，他们曾打出一波3战1胜2平的小高潮，当然这也和对手（分别是马利汉姆、VPS华沙和古比斯）相对孱弱有关。这个近几个赛季的保级专业户攻防数据都在芬超名落孙山（进10球、失38球），芬甲已经在向他们招手。芬兰U21射手佩特雷斯库是卫冕冠军谭柏利的骄傲，他对丹麦U21的决定性进球帮助球队跻身欧青赛淘汰赛阶段。但俱乐部风头最劲的是迈恩蒂，目前以9球引领射手榜的他已经连续3轮贡献进球。只是球队近况低迷，连续4轮不胜后，下赛季欧战资格对暂列第8的谭柏利来说成为奢望，幸亏还有芬兰杯。上轮终场前染红的新西兰中场詹姆斯本轮做球监。

赫尔辛基VS汉卡

争冠形势逐渐朝着三足鼎立的方向发展，本场比赛对于双方都可谓天王山之战。先是打破英特杜古不败金身、接着逆转卫冕冠军谭柏利，赫尔辛基和领头羊英特杜古只差2分；闯进联盟杯正赛（下周开打）的汉卡是目前芬兰在欧战仅存的火种，他们近10轮联赛8胜2平，其中包括客场的5连胜。虽然主力射手马科拉离队，赫尔辛基仍然拥有芬超最强的攻击火力，其中上轮打进制胜球的芬兰U21射手帕里卡本赛季已经8球进帐，只比现射手榜头名少1球。汉卡的科科（8球）和沃里宁（7球）同样高产，某种意义上这场争冠焦点战同时也可能是联赛金靴的较量。此外，赫尔辛基本赛季联赛首负（客场0比1）的制造者正是汉卡。

夏卡VS查路

分心联盟杯的夏卡前4轮2平2负无一胜绩，遭丹麦球队邦比淘汰后他们终于可以全力以赴国内赛场。上赛季亚军目前积29分，和第4名只有1个胜场的差距，同时他们还闯进芬兰杯4强，下赛季欧战资格仍有一拼。双箭头莱蒂宁（7球）和因纳宁（6球）是夏卡走上正轨的保障，而近期主场2连败也是球队本赛季首次。查路上轮主场2比3惜败TPS杜古，3连胜的步伐就此终止。实际上，攀升至联赛第6后，查路本赛季的保级任务接近于提前完成。令人称奇的是，查路的客场战斗力（9战13分）远比主场（10战9分）强劲。

TPS杜古VS路云尼米

联赛第6的排名对本赛季财政预算居首的TPS杜古来说略显寒碜，毕竟赛季前他们曾有夺冠的目标。不过目前来看，他们争夺下赛季欧战资格的机会仍然存在。TPS杜古本赛季表现平淡，但主场战斗力不容小觑，前10个主场他们只有2次失利，对手分别是目前居前2位的英特杜古和赫尔辛基。近期遭遇5连败的路云尼米正在褪去黑马的成色，幸好这支升班马目前比倒数第2名多出5分，降级威胁并不大。和主场的抢眼表现相左，路云尼米本赛季还没有在客场取胜的记录，前9个客场只拿到2分，而且近6次做客全部告负。

VPS华沙VS英特杜古

遭遇联赛首负并没对英特杜古造成多大影响，上轮主场3比0完胜古迪比的战果可见端倪。7月底转会英特杜古的克罗地亚射手阿布拉莫维奇近2轮联赛包办4球，荣膺芬超8月最佳球员的中场奥雅拉近5轮只有1场没有进球，荷兰主帅德拉格茨马帐下并不乏攻城拔寨的人选，另一方面，英特杜古的防守功力乃联赛最强（前19轮只丢11球）。没有保级压力的VPS华沙近况不佳，已经连续7轮没有胜绩，其中包括最近的3连平。守强攻弱是VPS华沙的特色，因此成就芬超的平局大师，这在主场尤为明显——本赛季7个0比0有5个诞生于主场。事实上，他们前9个主场只丢2球，同时也只进4球。

古比斯VS马利汉姆

升班马古比斯近3轮1胜2平后大有咸鱼翻身的架势。如果本轮击败倒数第3名马利汉姆，他们就可以和对手交换排名脱离降级区。马利汉姆上轮在主场以压倒性优势2比1战胜路云尼米，由瑞典俱乐部桑斯瓦尔租借来的尼日利亚射手乌基伊玛代表新东家的首场比赛就打破僵局，至此球队连续14轮不胜的尴尬纪录终于画上休止符。但是这支坐落于孤岛玛丽港的球队客场萎靡的现实仍应当注意，目前他们客场不胜的记录是7轮，其中最近6个客场都没有进球。赛季初期受伤的头号门将奥齐恩恢复情况不错，但本赛季出场基本无望。

拉迪VS迈柏

周中世界杯预选赛主场3比3平德国的芬兰国家队大名单中，老将利特马宁是芬超联赛的唯一国脚，不过并未出场。伤病缠身的他上轮联赛就没有列入拉迪的出征名单，球队也客场0比1小负汉卡，利特马宁回归芬超后的数据暂定格在3场3球。实际上，拉迪在利特马宁首度亮相（替补）的8比1后近3轮仅积1分，排名跌到第4，下赛季欧战资格开始岌岌可危。落后拉迪1分、名列第5的迈柏正是欧战名额的主要竞争者，但他们境况同样一般，近6轮联赛只有1次取胜，还是坐镇主场时。值得一提的是，迈柏前9个客场有6次是平局（0比0和1比1各3次）。