Group E
Teams : FC Barcelona
Bayer Leverkusen
AS Roma
BATE Borisov
Group E features last years champions Barcelona who will be hoping to win the competition for the second year in succession. It'll be a tough ask for anyone in this group challenge Barcelona if they are playing their best football and that's why I believe they'll win this group. If Messi, Neymar and Suarez are as efficient in front of goal as they were last season, then they will be able to outscore any team. As long as they don't concede any sloppy goals and their defence can look stronger than it did in the Spanish Super Cup, the reigning champions should win this group comfortably. Having achieved 2nd place in Serie A for the last two years, Roma look like a team on the up. They've brought in 3 high profile attacking options on loan to buy in the form of Dzeko, Ibarbo and Salah and they will be hoping that the loans of full back Lucas Digne and keeper Szczesny can help lead them to a successful campaign. The legendary Totti is sure to bring goals to this side and if they're other attacking options can contribute consistently, Roma could potentially challenge Barcelona for this group. However, I think they'll struggle to beat Barcelona and that will see them finish 2nd in this group. Bayer Leverkusen will be in a tough battle to progress from this group however they do have the quality to match the teams they're up against. Forward kiesling has the big task of leading the line and finding goals which I think may be too much pressure for him in a club which lacks attacking options. At the back they are a solid side with Toprak, Tah and Papadopoulos being key to their success. I think their lack of attacking options will hinder their progress through this group however and they'll find themselves finishing 3rd. The underdogs BATE Borisov may cause an upset or two which could change the tide in this group. The side from Belarus will be hoping to make it to the next phase of the competition for the first time in their history and if they can show the quality which they show in their league having won it every year since 2006, there's no reason why they can't find success. However in a side mainly dominated by Belarus internationals, I think they'll lack the quality that other sides possess in having various internationals in their squad which will see them finish in 4th.
Group F
Teams : Bayern Munich
Arsenal
Olympiakos
Dinamo Zagreb
The 5 times Champions League winners Bayern Munich line up in Group F and have the honour of being the only side in their group to win the competition. Having at least made the semi-finals in the last 4 campaigns I'm tipping the German champions to win this group. With arguably the best goalkeeper in the world between the sticks in the form of Manuel Neuer, Bayern can rely on the German international to keep them in games and the attacking threat of Lewandowski, Robben, Ribery and Gotze in particular will help them to tear apart opposing defences in this group. Can they make the semi finals for a 5th year in a row? Now as an Arsenal fan I was hoping to avoid Barcelona and Bayern Munich in particular as they always seem to knock us out however after reflecting upon the draw, I think playing Bayern at this stage will be good for the Gunners. Arsenal tend to come out their group in 2nd place and play a high quality team like Bayern and they don't look prepared therefore giving themselves a mountain to climb in the 2nd leg, however by playing Bayern in the group, they will be prepared to play a higher quality side in the next phase. With Wenger saying that he's looking to bring in more players, Arsenal fans will hope their side will be strengthened so they can go further in this competition. However, I don't think they have the quality just yet to beat Bayern in this group so I'd expect to see them finish 2nd. The Greek side Olympiakos will be hoping for a successful campaign this year as they will be aiming to reach the quarter finals for the first time since 1998-99. They are renowned for being difficult to beat when they're at home so as long as they can make they're home a fortress, there is no reason they can't potentially knock Arsenal out. They'll need their captain Giannis Maniatis to lead them on and off the pitch in order to inspire his fellow team mates to play to their maximum potential. Due to the quality of the other sides in their group, I think we'll see Olympiakos finish in 3rd place. Dinamo Zagreb have struggled in the Champions League Group Stage in recent years having only managed to obtain 1 point in their last two campaigns whilst having a total combined goal difference of -32. I think they'll struggle in this group to and although they've won their domestic league 10 times in a row, I still think they lack the quality to perform well in this competition so I'm predicting 4th for them however I hope they have a better campaign then recent years and hopefully they manage to pick up more points.
Group G
Teams : Chelsea
FC Porto
Dynamo Kyiv
Maccabi Tel-Aviv
The penultimate group of this years competition features last years English champions in a group which they should progress from. I think that Chelsea have the quality to beat all the teams in this group as long as they don't get complacent which I'm sure Mourinho won't allow to happen. Their hardest game on paper is Porto however I think their biggest challenge will be going away to Israel to face Tel-Aviv due to the long journey and difficult playing conditions. However with the addition of Pedro and with how strong Chelsea are both attacking and defensively, I believe they're a force to be reckoned with in this competition and that this year could be the one where Mourinho goes down in history as the first manager to win the Champions League with 3 different clubs. FC Porto will look forward to this year's competition and will be hoping to progress to the Knockout Phase as they hope to equal/better their Quarter Final elimination last season. Following the departure of Jackson Martinez, their top goal scorer in this competition, they will look to Aboubakar and Osvaldo to lead the line and fire them out of the group stage. I think that Porto will progress through the group stage in 2nd place however I think the Round of 16 is where they'll depart due to their lack of top quality goal scorers. Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv are my dark horses in Group G and I think they are capable of progressing to the next stage in what will be a tough fight with Porto for 2nd place. Key players for them are Andriy Yarmolenko, Miguel Veloso, Aleksandar Dragovic and Younes Belhanda and if all of these can perform to the highest level then there is no reason why they can't progress to next stage. Yarmolenko is linked with a move Premier League club Everton right now so if they lose him I think it'll have a negative effect on their chances as he is arguably their best player. Due to the fact that he may leave the club, I'm going to say they'll finish 3rd but if they keep him, I think they'll beat Porto to 2nd place. The Israeli Premier League's most successful side return to the Champions League for the first time in 11 years. They've been given a hard group however if they can play well at home and take advantage of the fact that teams have to travel so far to play them, they could be a threat in this group. Having seen Israel's national team play a few times, striker Eden Ben Basat and midfielder Eran Zahavi have stood out to me and if they can repeat these impressive performances for their club, then they could challenge for 2nd place. However due to me not knowing many of their other players, I'm not sure how well they play as a team and for that reason only it is only fair for me to put them as 4th however I wouldn't be surprised if I'm proved wrong and hopefully they have a successful campaign.
Group H
Teams : Zenit St Petersburg
Valencia
Olympique Lyon
Gent
The final group in the Champions League this year with any of 3 teams being able to win the group in my opinion. I have a sneaky feeling that Lyon are going to take this group despite not looking great when I watched them in the Emirates Cup, I think they'll only improve and that will see them win this group. They'll be aiming to progress as far as they did in the 2009-10 campaign where they reached the semi-finals however I think that might be a little too much to ask from this side. In a side dominated by French players which is likely to boost the team as their are no language barriers so squad morale is likely to be high especially after finishing second in Ligue 1 last season, they will be hoping for last season's top goalscorer for them Alexandre Lacazette to be able to continue his goalscoring form on the biggest stage in European football. The back four of Jallet, Yanga-Mbiwa, Bedimo and Kone will have to be in top form in every fixture if Lyon can match my prediction of them topping their group. The 5th Spanish side in the competition are who I'm tipping to progress to the Knockout Phase finishing in 2nd place. Valencia will have to deal with the loss of star centre-back Nicolas Otamendi to Man City and will hopefully be able to bring in another world class player to help them get through their group. They will need their midfielders Perez, Feghouli and Parejo to perform to the highest level and will need strikers Rodrigo and Negredo to find form in front of goal if they're to progress. Look out for youngster Zakaria Bakkali who is tipped to be a future star so it'll be interesting to see if he can live up to people's expectations. Russian champions Zenit are who I'm predicting to just miss out on the next phase of the competition despite making out of the group stage in the last two seasons. Expect Hulk to be the main player to watch out for in this side however he can be greedy at times and I think if he goes for goal too many times when he should pass, that'll cost them from progressing. He is a quality player but in the Champions League you have to take every chance you get because anyone can beat anyone. The midfield trio of Danny, Witsel and Garcia will be key to Zenit's progression as they can not only be strong in the midfield battles, they can also attack well and defend to a high standard, especially against an aerial threat. It will be a close group but in my opinion Zenit will just miss out on making it through due to other team's holding possession for long periods of the game and keeping Hulk for having an effect therefore leaving Zenit in 3rd. Having won their first ever Belgian Pro League title last season, confidence is high in the Gent camp as they join the Champions League for the first time in their history. They will need captain Sven Kums to keep the squad motivated and lead by example on the pitch if they're to threaten teams in this group. I'm not entirely sure what to expect from this side which is why I've predicted them 4th however as the underdog in this group, they will be playing with no pressure on them and I'm sure they'll prove to us all why they belong in the top European competition.
So there we have it, a return to Malmo for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a return to Porto for Mourinho, multiple unpredictable groups and two new clubs to welcome to this competition. This could be the greatest Champions League campaign yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment