With the national championships already underway, the only thing separating us from the real start of the football season is the UEFA Champions League tournament. The strongest tournament on the Old Continent, which never lacks surprises, will once again receive enormous attention this year. The reloaded Madrid "Real" for over 100 million euros, the rejuvenated "Barcelona" and "Liverpool" clubs, and the strengthened last year's finalist "Atletico" promise intriguing years ahead. "EuroFootball.com" helps you preview what to expect from the upcoming season.
Group A: Madrid "Atletico", Turin "Juventus", Piraeus "Olympiakos", "Malmo FF". This group can be called champions: "Atletico" were the strongest in Spain last season, "Juventus" - in Italy, "Olympiakos" - in Greece, and "Malmo FF" - in Sweden. Judging by the team names, it seems clear that the Spaniards and Italians should fight for the first place, but the Piraeus team should not be underestimated, as they can certainly provide surprises. The Greek club last year forced Lisbon's "Benfica" to go to the Europa League and almost eliminated "Manchester United" in the quarter-finals. In addition, this year they have signed several experienced players.
From the Swedish champions, miracles are probably not expected, but in the qualifiers against Salzburg "Red Bull", the Malmo club showed that points will not be easily handed out. Returning to the fight for the first place in the group, it is worth mentioning that "Juventus" has lost coach Antonio Conte, who was one of the main reasons for the team's dominance in Italy. Led by the dismissed from "Milan" Massimiliano Allegri, the "Bianconeri" will certainly find it hard to overcome "Atletico" coach Diego Simeone's tactics.
Group B: Madrid "Real", "Basel", "Liverpool", Razgrad "Ludogorets". In the second UEFA Champions League group, last year's cup winners, Madrid "Real", are standing out. This summer, having acquired Tony Kroos and releasing 80 million euros for the Colombian national team star James Rodriguez, the "royal club" sends a message that it will not stop at "La Decima". Football fans say that the current composition of "Real" is simply "unfair". The biggest challenge for the Spaniards should come from last year's second-place finisher in the Premier League, "Liverpool". Of course, playing without Luis Suarez will be much more difficult, but history shows that the Merseyside team has never lost to the current cup holders. However, this is not just a group of "two teams", and the Swiss champion "Basel", who has already shown that they can leave behind even "Man United", will also strive to advance to the knockout stage.
However, this will require luck, as the composition of these teams is far from as powerful as the giants of Spain or England. Well, and Razgrad's "Ludogorets", who created a miracle in the qualifiers, will have to fight honorably. If they continue to show the dedication they showed in the matches against Bucharest's "Steaua", they may have a chance to fight for third place.
Group C: Lisbon "Benfica", St. Petersburg "Zenit", Leverkusen "Bayer", "AS Monaco". This group is one of the weakest. Lisbon "Benfica" last year did not go beyond the first stage and fell in the Europa League final, "Zenit" and "Bayer" lost in the Champions League quarter-finals, and "Monaco" did not play in the strongest Old Continent tournament at all.
Based on the results of last season, all four teams seem evenly matched, but looking at the beginning of this year, the Germans can be named as the favorites. Leverkusen "Bayer" has so far won two games in the Bundesliga and also defeated "Copenhagen" twice in the qualifiers and crushed opponents 6-0 in the cup. The Zenit club is also doing well in the national league, having won six games out of six possible. However, the St. Petersburg team has so far only beaten teams from the bottom of the table and lost to Limassol's "AEL" in one qualifier. Lisbon's "Benfica" looked very poor in preparation for the season, but is starting to gain momentum.
Portugal, along with "Bayer" and "Zenit", should compete for a place in the quarterfinals. Monaco will most likely say goodbye to the tournament after the group stage, as the team lost its key leaders Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez. In addition, the team is returning to the tournament after a long break this year, so adjusting to European football will also not be easy.
Group D: London "Arsenal", Dortmund "Borussia", Istanbul "Galatasaray", Brussels "Anderlecht". Here, unlike in Group A, there is only one national championship winner. Ironically, the Belgian champion Brussels "Anderlecht" is considered the underdog of Group D. Last season, having won just one point, the Belgians have entered such a strong group this year, so they are likely to face a similar fate.
The giants of England and Germany meet in the Champions League group stage for the second year in a row. After last year's draw, both teams collected the same number of points along with "Napoli", but due to goal difference, "Borussia" took first place. Both clubs are facing some changes this season: Dortmund's team replaced Robert Lewandowski with Adrian Ramos and Ciro Immobile, while Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez arrived in London.
Both teams also won the domestic super cup this summer and are doing well in the national championship. A tough fight awaits for the first place. Turkey's vice-champions Istanbul "Galatasaray" will try to challenge the giants, but it is doubtful that a team mostly composed of local players will be able to collect more points than the powerful opponents, even though they played in the quarter-finals of last year's tournament.
