All eight of the Champions League group stages are set. While there are typically major differences in groups in terms of difficulty, this year seems relatively balanced. There are no real groups of death and there isn’t a cakewalk of a group either. Almost every club that leaves their group stage the winner, will have had a similar road to battle.
Group A- Liverpool
Despite not winning their league, Liverpool should still be considered the overwhelming favorite to win Group A. Liverpool was having a miserable start to the premier league season before defeating Bournemouth 9-0, proving they are still the most dangerous team in the world when they are on.
Liverpool is coming off of a champions league runner-up campaign that will leave a bitter taste in Jurgen Klopp’s side’s mouth. The last time they lost a champions league final, they won it all the next year; this year may be similar.
The group also contains Ajax, Napoli, and Rangers. Napoli has looked great in Serie A this season, and Ajax should challenge them for the second spot. However, with losing Antony to Manchester United, it will be difficult to achieve the quality of Liverpool and Napoli. The group will be won by Liverpool with Napoli advancing in second and Ajax and Rangers finishing the group out in that order.
Group B- Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side is as solid defensively as there is in any team in the world. With a group that has Club Brugge, Bayern Leverkusen, and FC Porto, they all have offensive capabilities, but none have the force going forward to be able to break down the Atletico defense.
It is going to take a dynamic team to force Atletico Madrid not to play their brand of football, and that will not happen in this group stage, as Atletico should win the group without too many issues.
Group C- Bayern Munich
It is odd not to pick either Barcelona or Inter Milan to win a group, but when that group also contains Bayern Munich, you have to go with the Bavarian giants. Bayern For a well-oiled machine that plays incredibly tactical football. The story of this group will be Robert Lewandowski going to play for his former club Bayern Munich, as he suits up for Barcelona. This group has three legitimate contenders to win any group, but Bayern has the most depth out of any of these teams that will advance.
Group D- Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspurs received likely the easiest group of all to win. Tottenham looks head and shoulders above the rest of the teams in Frankfurt, Marseille, and Sporting. Tottenham looks like a real threat for the premier league title with the likes of Harry Kane; Son Heung-Min combined with new signings Richarlison, Cristian Romero, and Yves Bissouma coming into the squad.
Frankfurt won the Europa League last season and could be a dark horse team; Sporting has a ton of talent, but Marseille is playing as well as anyone in French football, but Tottenham will prove to be the best of the group.
Group E- Chelsea
Group E is Chelsea’s group to lose. However, it is unknown which Chelsea side is going to show up in the Champions League. Last season, Chelsea was competing for a while with Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, but this season there has been a ton of struggles and controversies surrounding the club. Without Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea is really relying on new signing Raheem Sterling to propel them back to a competing side.
In a group that contains AC Milan, Dinamo Zagreb, and RB Salzburg, Chelsea should come out on top, but look for AC Milan to compete against them for the top of the group.
Group F- Real Madrid
Unless something unpredictable happens, Real Madrid should win their group with relative ease. That is not to say that their group is bad by any means, but the reigning Champions League winner Madrid is clearly the superior side in all of the matchups.
RB Leipzig looks to be a force in the Bundesliga with returning star, and Chelsea failed project Timo Werner finding his way back to form. Shakhtar Donetsk are a staple in champion league group stages but Hasn’t gotten out of the group since 2017, and Celtic would be an incredible story, but they will likely fall to Leipzig as well. In this group, Madrid has a real shot at going undefeated.
Group G- Man City
Manchester City, year in and year out are the most talented team in the world. They have the most expensive Squad and have incredible depth in every single position. There is not too many weaknesses for Manchester City, other than their ability to win the big one.
Sevilla and Dortmund will fight for that second spot, with Dortmund likely winning the group and leaving Sevilla to probably win the Europa League once again. Copenhagen shouldn’t give much of a problem to any of the teams, and Manchester City will walk out as the victors once again of their group, with Dortmund following just behind.
Group H- PSG
On paper, PSG should trounce every single team in group, but that hasn’t been PSG’s luck recent. However, it does look like this is the perfect time to play Juventus, as they are not the Italian Giants that they were a couple of seasons ago, and Benfica sold new Liverpool star striker Darwin Nunez, as he was transferred to the Merseyside team this summer.
With a squad containing Neymar, Mbappe, and Lionel Messi, PSG have one of the deadliest attacks in the entire world, it’s just important that they can get it together. The group stage shouldn’t give PSG too many issues, and they should leave the group as the winners, but it will be the rounds following that will put them to a true test.
