Group A
Teams : Paris Saint-Germain
Real Madrid
Shaktar Donetsk
Malmo FF
Group A features the most successful team in the competitions' history in Real Madrid who have won this competition a phenomenal 11 times. They will have a tough ask to win this group however I believe with their attacking trio of Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo, I think they will outscore the other teams in this group and will finish top of it. French champions PSG are who I would tip to finish 2nd in this group due to the vast quality they have in their squad. Quality doesn't always bring results but it will certainly be a helping hand in this group. Edison Cavani will be hoping to have a successful campaign alongside fellow strike partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic and in those two strikers PSG benefit from their experience and their clinicalness. Shaktar Donetsk will be hoping to progress from the group stage for the second year in succession, we saw the talent that the Ukrainian side possesses in last year's campaign, however with the loss of striker Luiz Adriano, who scored 9 goals in the group stage last year equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's record, they will need someone else to fill his shoes in order to lead Shaktar out of this group. I think they'll threaten Madrid and PSG but they'll lack quality in the final third and therefore will finish 3rd. I think getting out of this group is too much to ask for Malmo FF, they showed their resilience and determination in defeating Celtic over two legs proving that they won't give up if they fall behind in their games. Experienced forward Markus Rosenberg will have to lead the line and score goals if Malmo are to progress however unless they can make their home stadium a fortress and notch up a few shock wins there, I believe Malmo FF will finish bottom of this group.
Group B
Teams : PSV Eindhoven
Manchester United
CSKA Moskow
Wolfsburg
Group B features the first of the English teams in what could potentially be the closest group in the competition. After Rooney's hat-trick against Club Brugge and how good United looked in that game last night, I'm tipping them to win this group. They will have to defend well and put in world class performances away from home in order to progress in this competition. They will need Rooney to be on top form in front of goal and will also need Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin to win the midfield battles in order to keep clean sheets. Bundesliga runners-up Wolfsburg are in for a tough campaign as they aim to reach the Knockout Phase for the first time in their history. They will need Andre Schurrle and Max Kruse in particular to be in top form as they will need to provide service for their clinical striker Bas Dost. If they lose Kevin De Bruyne to Man City then that will affect how they perform in this competition, however I think they have a good balance of quality and experience which will see them finish 2nd. The Dutch champions PSV are in for a tough ask to reach the next phase this year and will be hoping captain Luuk De Jong can find the net on multiple occasions whilst keeper Jeroen Zoet will have to be in top form to keep the world class opponents at bay. When watching PSV play last season, they looked to be a side who are good in possession but vulnerable on the counter so they will have to be aware that clubs will use this against them. I think they're lacking a bit of quality in the midfield after losing Wijnaldum so I can see them getting 3rd. The dark horses in this group for me are CSKA Moscow and they are a side that you never know what you're going to get from. On their day, they play outstanding football and they possess two very fast clinical strikers in Doumbia and Musa. If goalkeeper Akinfeev is in top form and if they can get good service into the strikers, there is no reason they can't get out of this group. Due to their unpredictability, I'm going to say that they will finish bottom but this group can be won by anyone which is a testament to the quality of all four of the teams.
Group C
Teams : Benfica
Atletico Madrid
Galatasary
FC Astana
Group C sees history being made as FC Astana are the first team from Kazakhstan to make the Champions League Group Stage so best of luck to them for their debut campaign. Unfortunately for them, they have been drawn into a very hard group. The 2013-14 runners-up Atletico Madrid will be hoping for more success in this year's campaign and I expect to see them win this group. New signing Jackson Martinez was Porto's top goalscorer in the Champions League last year so Atletico will be hoping he will put in similar performances for them this season. Creative midfielder Koke will be responsible for creating chances for his forwards whereas Diego Godin and Stefan Savic will have to be organised and have a successful partnership in order to reduce the number of goals that this team concedes. The most popular team in Turkey will be hoping to have similar success to the 2012/13 season where they reached the Quarter Finals of this competition. With the experience that they have in their squad in the shape of Sneijder, Podolski, Telles and Muslera, Galatasary will have the experienced heads to help their younger players in seeing out a victory. With the experience they have I'm expecting this to be a good campaign for them as I think they'll finish second. The Portuguese champions have had a slow start to the season this year and will be hoping to produce better performance in this competition. Having failed to make it past this stage of the competition in the last three seasons, I think it'll be another hard year for the experienced side as they will need to have their strikers on top form and they will have to put in great team performances especially when away from home if they're to make it through. It'll be a close battle for 2nd but I think they'll just miss out and be in the Europa League after finishing 3rd. FC Astana have made history this year by making the group stage and they will have no pressure on them to progress further in the competition but that doesn't mean they can be underestimated. After being founded six years ago, the club have never finished below 5th place in the highest division so they're clearly a team that doesn't lack unity or quality and they could cause a major upset or two in this group. I would love to see them make the next phase of the competition as they're an underdog however due to my unfamiliarity of the club, it would be inaccurate of me to place them above the clubs I'm familiar of so I'm predicting 4th but let's hope they enjoy themselves in every outing and have a competition to remember.
Group D
Teams : Juventus
Manchester City
Sevilla
Borussia Monchengladbach
I personally can't see past last year's runners up in winning this group. Despite losing Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tevez during the summer, I believe Juventus will still be a dominant force in the this year's Champions League. Alvaro Morata was pivotal in defeating his old club Real Madrid in the semi-final last season and if he can repeat performances like that this year, then there's no reason he can't lead Juventus to another final. Pogba and Marchisio will be instrumental in the midfield now that the ever-consistent Pirlo has departed however if Pogba goes to Chelsea, they may need another midfielder although Sami Khedira can do a great job in stopping play in front of the defence. The legend Gianluigi Buffon can always be relied on to prevent goals and if there are any penalties against Juventus, I'd bet on Buffon to keep them out. Due to their strength in depth, I have to favour the Italian champions to win their group. Manchester City weren't at their best last season but now that Manuel Pellegrini has changed from his usual 4-4-2 formation, which both Bayern Munich and Barcelona exploited when they played City, to a 4-2-3-1 formation that he has seen his side up their game playing in this season. The partnerships on both left and right sides of the pitch are very effective and with big players like Kompany, Toure, Aguero and Silva lifting their game up to another level, this could be City's best ever Champions League performance. I can see them fighting hard for 1st but I think it'll be too much to ask for them to do as they go through in 2nd place. Having won the Europa League for the past two years, Sevilla return to the Champions League Group Stage for the first time since 2009/10 season with the hope of getting to the Knockout Phase for the 4th time in their history. With 5 Spanish teams in the competition, it clearly shows how much of a threat their style of play is to their opposition and this could help Sevilla make it through this group especially if City continue their poor Champions League form. Ciro Immobile proved his worth at Borussia Dortmund last season so Sevilla will be hoping the Italian will rediscover the form he had in the Champions League last year. They will need their experienced midfielders and defenders to push them across the line in tight matches if they're to succeed in the Champions League this year however, with how well City are playing and with the consistency of Juventus in this competition, it'll be difficult for Sevilla to progress to next stage so I predict they'll finish 3rd. However, Sevilla fans don't need to worry if that happens as they could go on to win a third successive Europa League. The 1977 runners-up finally make their return to the Champions League. After having to repeatedly sell their top players in order to keep finances in order, they look like a club on the rise for them. They have a lot of young talent coming through the ranks in the form of Patrick Herrmann, Thorgan Hazard (Brother of Chelsea player, Eden Hazard) and Josip Drmic and if they can hold on to these players, they could return to the success that they endured during the 70's. This year I think that they will be competitive in this group however unless they play to the best of their ability which I think they will, they may find their selves at the bottom of the group. They are another club that I haven't seen play too much so that's why I'm tipping them to be 4th but they seem to be improving every year and I wouldn't be surprised if they managed to reach the next stage in what will be a group where every game is unpredictable, similar to Group D which shows the quality of this competition.
Hope you enjoyed Part One, Part Two which includes another two English clubs, last year's champions, the German champions and much more will be published tomorrow so be sure to stay up to date!
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