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One of the most anticipated European football tournaments - the UEFA Champions League - starts today, where the strongest 32 teams from the Old Continent will compete.
Last season, unstoppable in this UEFA tournament was the Munich "Bayern" team, which managed to defeat Dortmund's "Borussia" in the final with a score of 2-1.
This season, all teams have strengthened their ranks and prepared not only to storm their national championships, but also the Champions League.
The portal "Eurofootball.com" presents an overview of the first four groups (A, B, C, D) to its most loyal visitors.
Group A
"Manchester United" and Leverkusen's "Bayer" - the main two teams with the most realistic chances of advancing to the next stage. Without any doubt, David Moyes' "Red Devils" team are the favorites in the group. Last season, "Man Utd" ended their European campaign in the quarterfinals, when they had to admit the superiority of Madrid's "Real". Meanwhile, Leverkusen's team did not participate in the Champions League last year, but this year we will see the "Bayer" club again, which has been demonstrating excellent results in the German "Bundesliga" championship.
Donetsk's "Shakhtar" and San Sebastian's "Real Sociedad" - according to various foreign experts, these are the teams that, along with Leverkusen's "Bayer", will also compete for a spot in the quarterfinals. Ukrainian giants surprised the football world last season and left behind the 2011-12 champions, London's "Chelsea", in the group stage. It can be said that this summer "Shakhtar" weakened and strengthened at the same time, even though they lost some leaders. After a long break, the Basque "Real Sociedad" players return, who managed to overcome Lyon's resistance in the qualifiers. However, "La Real" team may lack experience, and the Basques may end up in last place.
Group B
Madrid's "Real" and Turin's "Juventus" - undoubtedly the main favorites to continue the battle in the most powerful European tournament after the group stage. Led by Carlo Ancelotti, the Spanish team spent impressive amounts this summer and acquired the world's most expensive player, Gareth Bale, but the country's vice-champion, who started excellently in the "Primera" championship, stumbled in the last matches and played a draw with "Villarreal", but in this group, "Real" remains a contender to take the first place. Competition awaits the "white" team from Turin from the Turin "Juventus" team, which this season has set high goals for itself. The Italian champions also received reinforcements and promise to fight not only for second place but also for the highest - first place.
Istanbul's "Galatasaray" and "Kobenhavn" - probably many would agree that the Turkish champions will take third place in this group, and the Danish champions will be last. This scenario is likely to happen, although playing in Istanbul for both "Real" and "Juventus" will be devilishly hot. Fatih Terim's proteges proved it last season when they lost to the royal club 3-0 in the quarterfinals away, but in the return match in front of the Turkish audience, "Galatasaray" managed to defeat the Spanish vice-champions 3-2. Without a doubt, the teams from Turin and Madrid will have to sweat heavily against Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder's former club, but "Galatasaray" will likely remain in third place.
Group C
Paris Saint-Germain and Lisbon's Benfica - among these teams, there should be a tense battle in this group, but the French champions are most likely to win the first place. PSG spared no expense in the summer and acquired a great forward Edinson Cavani for 63 million euros, who together with Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be a "deadly duo" for every team. Benfica will try to ruffle the nerves of their opponents from Paris at home, but PSG should defend their favorite status and move to the next stage as the winners of Group C.
Olympiacos from Piraeus and Anderlecht from Brussels - these teams will have a great opportunity to compete with the Benfica club for a spot in the quarterfinals, but it seems that the Greek club will have more chances than their rivals from Brussels. Last season, the "Olympiacos" club almost outperformed London's "Arsenal," which collected 10 points and finished second in the group. The team led by Michel may be able to take the second place, but Benfica should have better chances. Meanwhile, opponents do not believe in Anderlecht's club's chances to advance to the next stage, although none of the teams can be underestimated, but the Belgians will likely remain at the bottom of the group.
Group D
Munich's "Bayern" and "Manchester City" - the champions of the last season are without a doubt the main candidates in this group to take the first place. Manuel Pellegrini's players should also continue the battle in the Champions League after the group stage, although in the last two seasons, they failed to reach the quarterfinals in this tournament. However, the remaining two teams should not pose a problem for the English vice-champions, but the Bavarian team may cause trouble, although they are not demonstrating impressive sports form in Germany, but future opponents are unlikely to challenge the champions.
CSKA Moscow and Plzen's "Viktoria" - between these teams, both matches are expected to be a breathtaking duel, as they are roughly equally strong clubs. Both teams defending the honor of the Czech Republic and Russia show excellent results in their national championships and occupy the top spots. Both clubs can cause serious troubles to the favorites of the group in front of their own fans, but believing in their chances to advance to the tournament's quarterfinals would be naive.
Tuesday's matches: (All matches will take place at 21:45)
"Manchester United" - Leverkusen's "Bayer" San Sebastian's "Real Sociedad" - Donetsk's "Shakhtar" Istanbul's "Galatasaray" - Madrid's "Real" "Copenhagen" - Turin's "Juventus" Lisbon's "Benfica" - Brussels' "Anderlecht" Piraeus' "Olympiacos" - Paris Saint-Germain" Munich's "Bayern" - CSKA Moscow" Pilsen's "Viktoria" - "Manchester City"
