Nikhil Parikh

Premier League is back. After the first week which had lots of exciting matches the second week promises to be a exciting one with Liverpool facing Champions and Newcastle facing Chelsea. Not to forget United play the first game at home. Here are the previews for this week's matches.

 Swansea vs. West Ham

Swansea continued from where they left off last season. Spanish recruit Michu is again expected to play a big role in front of the home fans. Eyes will be on Scott Sinclair after he refused to sign a new contract. West Ham would have to be patient against Swansea side who regularly dominates possession. They have got easiest opening run amongst the promoted side and would like to notch up a few points before they face big boys of the league. Kevin Nolan would be the man to watch for West ham. Odds in favor of Swansea to pick another 3 points.

Aston Villa vs. Everton

Ukraine  Ukraine failed to qualify for Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup but qualified for Euro 2012 as co-hosts. Ukraine is missing key players for Euro 2012 such as goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy and central defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy due to injury. Ukraine will be relying on the experienced duo of midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and striker Andriy Shevchenko. Ukraine does not have much else to offer and they will look to defend deep and counter attack when opportunity rises.

Sweden

Lead by manager Erik Hamren, Sweden also has a tricky path ahead in order to qualify for the Quarterfinal stages of the tournament. For Sweden the key will be captain/striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic who is a huge presence in the squad. Johan Elmander will be his likely partner up front. The midfield will see pairing of Anders Svensson and Kim Kallstrom running the show. The only weak area for Hamren is defense which revolves around Olof Mellberg. Sweden has a chance to reach the quarterfinal should they defeat either England or France and defeat Ukraine in the opening match.

Key Player - Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Striker

This is Group C the group of reigning Euro Winner and World Champions, winner of 2006 World Cup.

 Spain 

Spain start as favorites to win the Championship. But after a long season which has seen David Villa and Carles Puyol miss the Euros Vicente Del Bosque's side has a few questions to answer. There were many questions raised with exclusion of Robert Soldado. 

The central defense will see the pairing of Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos. Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Iniesta are set to start in the midfield. With David Villa missing out Spain lose the edge up front. Fernando Torres has been trusted up front. He has been in decent form approaching the Championship. Having spent the 2010 World Cup without scoring a goal, Euro 2012 could very well define his future. 

Key Player - Fernando Torres, Striker 

Group B may be termed as the "Group of Death" but the flip side is that you have four teams and each one is packed with quality names in it.

Ronaldo, Nani, Van Persie, Sneijder, Robben, Eriksen, Agger,  Schweinsteiger, Ozil, etc. The list is long.

Denmark

The 1992 champions missed out on UEFA EURO 2008. The Danes were the group winners during the qualifying stage and overcame the Portuguese challenge to top the group. Martin Olsen is the head coach.

The Danes under Olsen have centered their football on defending and counter attacking. Captain Daniel Agger is in charge of defense. The midfield remains the key where Ajax's Christian Eriksen is expected to pull the strings. Nicklas Bendtner and Dennis Rommedahl will be sharing the goal scoring responsibilities.

Key Player - Christian Eriksen, Midfielder

Germany

In the previous 13 editions of the European Championship, the hosts have ended the tournament in top four positions a whopping 12 times. Can Poland do so?

Poland

For a team which has achieved qualification only two times, this seems to be too much. The run in to the championship has seen Poland putting up strong performances. Under Coach Franciszek, Smuda team has looked energetic and has gradually improved as the Championship nears.

The key player for Poland is striker Robert Lewandowski who playes for Bundesliga Champions Borussia Dortmund and was the third top goal scorer with 22 goals. With home support firmly behind the team, the first target for the Poles will be to get through to the second round.

Key Player - Robert Lewandowski, Striker

Greece

The 2004 Euro Champions are coming to the Championship in good form. They won their Euro Qualifying group. Under Coach Fernando Santos they have added a new element a new attacking dimension to their game.