Still hungover from the thrilling World Cup? Well it’s time to shake it off, because Europe’s premier club competition is back.
It’s time to adjust our sleep cycles and pray that livestream holds up because the Champions League is back. There are some thrilling matches on the menu, Old Man Ronaldo wearing the kit of the Old Lady, four proper Group of Deaths and the slow march to the Estadio Metropolitano which will host this year’s final.
Here are the important takeaways for this year’s Champions League group stages:
Group A
Atletico Madrid, BVB Dortmund, AS Monaco, Club Brugge
(Atletico Madrid/Twitter)
For Atletico Madrid, the Champions League is the forbidden chalice which they’ve come close to winning not once but twice if it wasn’t for their city’s more illustrious rivals. Diego Simeone has engineered a team with almost limitless potential which has fallen at the final hurdle.
With Lemaar, Griezmann and Diego Costa, Atletico will certainly love to pick up Big Ears in their own stadium which will host the final.
Dortmund under Lucien Favre is also shaping up well, looking as bright as Klopp’s 2013 team that reached the final only to lose to Bayern Munich.
Monaco and Brugge complete the group but this should be straightforward for Atletico and Dortmund.
Prediction: 1) Atletico Madrid 2) BVB Dortmund 3) AS Monaco 4) Club Brugge
Group B: Barcelona, Tottenham, PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan
Our first group that qualifies for the proverbial Group of Death and a major flashback for Brazilian legend Ronaldo who has played for three of the clubs
Barcelona have been forced to watch as their bete noire Real Madrid have picked up the last three titles, a feat that is unprecedented in modern football.
Pundits also feel that Barcelona has lost the tiki-taka USP that defined them when Iniesta and Xavi were at their peak. Their motto 'Més que un club (More than a club) no longer feels apt given that they’ve started behaving like all European super clubs who buy the best players. That being said, Messi is still Messi and becomes superhuman whenever he puts on that Barcelona shirt.
Inter Milan, who last won in 2010 under Mourinho will be vying to show they still have it, while Tottenham will want to prove that they can finally turn their promise into silverware. Eindhoven completes the group and it will be a miracle if they don’t finish 4th.
Prediction: 1) Barcelona 2) Tottenham 3) Inter Milan 4) PSV Eindhoven
Group C: PSG, Napoli, Liverpool, Red Star Belgrade
(Neymar Jr with LeBron James/ Neymar Jr Twitter)
Another group of death which will actually create some flutter in the Middle East with Qatar-backed PSG going against the Muslim world’s favourite footballer Mohammed Salah. Salah’s struggles in the final are still fresh in our memories and Klopp’s swashbuckling Liverpool has certainly earned the respect of neutrals. With a better keeper in goal, and a more complete looking forward line, the Reds will hope to march on to another final.
On the other hand, they have PSG with some serious firing power with World Cup hero Mbappe keen to show he can mix with the best in the club game. Neymar Jr, the butt of ridicule during the World Cup for his proclivity to spend time on the ground will also have a thing or two prove. Tuchel, often hailed as Klopp’s successor is also an attack-minded coach who will want to make his mark in Europe and take PSG to the promised land.
Napoli are not going to walkovers either, with former Chelsea, PSG, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout as he warned Liverpool and PSG. One shouldn’t rule out Red Star Belgrade either, given how awful clubs can be in home games.
Predictions: 1) PSG 2) Liverpool 3) Napoli 4) Red Star Belgrade
Group D: Lokomotiv Moscow, Porto, Schalke, Galatasaray
A truly fascinating group where anyone could qualify. Some eyebrows were raised about Lokomotiv Moscow being in Pot 1, totally forgetting the 2015 rule change which state that Pot 1 consists of European and League winners. Russia’s ranked sixth among these countries which mean Lokomotiv Moscow are there instead of European heavyweights who didn’t win their leagues.
Porto, former winners in 2004 aren’t the force they used to be with most of the country’s players preferring to play in bigger European leagues. Galatasaray will be there too with its infamous Welcome to Hell banner which cemented the club’s position as unforgiving.
Prediction 1) Lokomotiv Moscow 2) Schalke 3) Galatasaray 4) FC Porto
Group E: Bayern Munich, Benfica, Ajax, AEK Athens
A group of European heavyweights with 11 European Cups between themselves, it will be a straightforward route to the Round of 16 for Bayern Munich. In Lewandowski, they possess one of the finest number nines in Europe.
The German club last won the title in 2013 and will hope to make their mark on Europe’s top competition. Many of their players are smarting from a lacklustre World Cup. The second spot should be taken by Ajax or Benfica.
Prediction 1) Bayern Munich 2) Ajax 3) Benfica 4) AEK Athens
Group F: Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk, Lyon, Hoffenheim
(Guardiola/Reuters)
With their picture-perfect run in the Premier League last year, Guardiola will be eyeing the top prize. He failed to win it at Bayern Munich, despite all the league titles which had earned a jibe from Mourinho which went: “Maybe I will go to a country where a kitman can be coach and win the title.”
Of course, those jibes no longer fly given the way Guardiola put Mourinho’s Manchester United in its place, and Guardiola will look to deliver to his gracious patrons, Europe’s top prize.
Prediction 1) Manchester City 2) Lyon 3) Hoffenheim 4) Shakhtar Donetsk
Group G: Real Madrid, Roma, CSKA Moscow, Viktoria Plzen
(Luka Modric/Twitter)
Can Real Madrid do it four in a row? It looks very unlikely with the team looking to have finally entered the post-Ronaldo phase where they are looking a tad bit flatter like day-old champagne. With Ronaldo and Zidane’s departure, and the non-arrival of any big stars, Real Madrid look like a completely deferent proposition.
Last season, Roma played some of the most swashbuckling football in Europe, where they punctured Barcelona from 4-1 down to beat them 3-0 in one of the greatest comebacks of all time. They also lost 2-5 to Liverpool before they beat them 4-2 in a rocking Stadio delle Alpi.
Prediction: 1) Real Madrid 2) Roma 3) CSKA Moscow 4) Viktoria Plzen
Group H: Juventus, Manchester United, Valencia, BSC Young Boys
(Ronaldo/AFP)
This is a group of Old Boys returning to their former stomping grounds even though the group will certainly further wizen Mourinho’s brow further. Valencia are no pushovers either, and Ronaldo will be raring to prove at Manchester United that he’s still at the top of his game.
The same goes for Paul Pogba returning to Turin, but only if he doesn’t leave Manchester for greener pastures. Manchester United, in particular, appear to be in meltdown mode, and you wouldn’t put your money against Juventus topping this group.
Prediction 1) Juventus 2) Manchester United 3) Valencia) 4 Young Boys
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