Big Ears is back and this time there are some mouth-watering clashes from the group stages as well.
The 2016-17 UEFA Champions League threw up some mouth-watering clashes that will excite football fans across the world unless of course they support the Milan clubs, Manchester United or Liverpool. Pep Guardiola will return to Camp Nou to face a new, more radioactive version of the monster that he created, while Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid find themselves in the same group. Meanwhile, Real Madrid last season’s winners will face off against swashbuckling German side Borussia Dortmund. and the other English clubs have a relatively starightforward draw. Here’s a complete analysis of the 2016-17 draw.
Group A: Paris St-Germain, Arsenal, Basel, Ludogorets
A pretty straightforward group for PSG and Arsenal who will expect to qualify against their less-fancied opponents. Arsenal v/s PSG will be an interesting match given Wenger has spent the better part of the last decade complaining about clubs that spend too much and maybe he can be show the oil-rich PSG how football ought to be played. Expect Arsenal and PSG to qualify before Arsenal get knocked out by either Bayern or Barcelona in the knockout stages – again!
Prediction: 1) PSG 2) Arsenal 3) Basel 4) Ludogorets
Group B: Benfica, Napoli, Dynamo Kyiv, Besiktas
The most boring group at least on paper lacks any traditional European heavyweight and while you’d expect Benfica and Napoli to qualify anyone could end up beating anyone in this group. Besitkas and Dynamo Kyiv are no pushovers and trips to Turkey and Russia respectively will be tough for opponents who might find the atmosphere intimidating.
Prediction 1) Bestikas 2) Napoli 3) Benefica 4) Dynamo Kyiv
Group C: Barcelona, Manchester City, Borussia Monchengladbach, Celtic
Manchester City will really wonder what they have to do to get past the bizarre UEFA coefficient rule that finds them facing Europe’s super clubs in almost every season. In 2011 they had Bayern Munich, in 2012 it was Real and Dortmund, in 2013 and 2014 it was Bayern again and then Barcelona in the round of 16, and in 2015 they got Juventus though they did progress far before being knocked out by Real Madrid in the semis.
This time new manager Pep Guardiola again faces off against his old creation which has turned it up a notch with Neymar and Suarez along with Messi helping the club reach greater heights under Luis Enrique. Unlike Pep's Barcelona which had only Plan A (bore the opposition to death by passing the ball), Enrique's Barcelona is a more dynamic creature. Monnchengladbach and Celtic sadly are making up the numbers in this group.
Prediction: 1) Barcelona 2) Manchester City 3) Monchengladbach 4) Celtic
Group D: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, FC Rostov
Last season, Diego Simeone’s boys knocked out the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich before tragically losing to Real Madrid in the finals. Losing tragically in finals must be a harrowing experience for the Atletico boys but it's still better than what European heavyweights Bayern endured. Bayern have consistently failed to even reach the finals in the last three years under Pep. After winning the treble under Heynckes, Bayern was supposed to reach a new level under Pep but his failure to even reach the finals will always be a black mark on his time in Munich. In consecutive years, they were outplayed by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico in the semis, and Bayern will hope Carlo Ancelloti, the man who helped Real win their 10th Champions League trophy, can do better than Pep.
Prediction: 1) Atletico Madrid 2) Bayern Munich 3) PSV 4) FC Rostov
Group E: CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco
Relative new boys Tottenham find themselves in an easy group. Tottenham’s last run in the Champions League came in 2010-11 when Gareth Bale showed the continent just how good he was by toying with the likes of Inter and AC Milan to set a benchmark before they lost out to Real Madrid in the quarters. Now a new bunch led by Kane, Eriksen and Dele Alli will hope to make their mark on the competition. They’ve a straightforward group and are lucky to avoid any European heavyweights but the likes of Monaco, Moscow and Leverkusen are definitely no pushovers.
Prediction 1) Tottenham 2) Monaco 3) Leverkusen 4) CSKA Moscow
Group F: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon, Legia Warsaw
After being the whereabouts for over a decade, Real Madrid ended their wait for La Decima in the 2013-14 season as they beat city rivals Atletico in the finals. The Galacticos followed it up by doing it again in the previous season and are again looking to become the first club to retain the UEFA Champions league trophy in the new format.
And in the group stages they face off against Dortmund and the duo have shared some cracking European nights over the years. There is a trip back home for UEFA Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo as well as he returns to Sporting Lisbon in Portugal, his first professional club from where he was signed by Manchester United.
Prediction 1) Real Madrid 2) Borussia Dortmund 3) Sporting Lisbon 4) Legia Warsaw
Group G: Leicester, Porto, Club Brugge, FC Copenhagen
Leicester City, the most surprising Premier League champions of all time will begin their European journey by visiting Portugal, Belgium and Denmark and will be happy to have avoided the Barcelonas and Real Madrids.
While Porto will be expected to give them a tough test, there’s no way Ranieri could’ve got a better draw. Can Leicester do a Leicester in the UEFA Champions League as well? We’ll have to watch.
Prediction 1) Porto 2) Leicester 3) Club Brugge 4) FC Copenhagen
Group H: Juventus, Sevilla, Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb
Italian clubs, who were used to sitting at Europe’s top table simply don’t have the lure anymore and both Milan clubs are missing from this year’s competition, meaning Juventus and Napoli are the only two clubs from Serie A in the competition. Juventus will be expected to keep their nation’s flag flying high in Europe and have a straightforward group where Sevilla – last season’s Europa League winners – provide their toughest threat.
Prediction 1) Juventus 2) Sevilla 3) Lyon 4) Dinamo Zagreb
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