My Champions League Group Stage Predictions

The Champions League groups have been announced! These are the most uneven groups I can remember, with group B's teams arguably all better than any of the ones in group G just proving this. While City face Leipzig and PSG face Club Brugge other groups will feature a group of Ukrainian zookeepers called Shakhtar Donetsk going up against something called Sheriff that comes from a country that doesn't even exist (sorry if you support either of those clubs, but they really don't have enough pedigree to feature in a league containing Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Manchester United). Today I will be predicting the final outcomes in each of the eight groups.





Group A 

Paris Saint Germain 
Manchester City 
Red Bull Leipzig 
Club Brugge 
I could see Club Brugge making it through other groups, but in this one they won't win a single game. PSG are the most frightening team in the world and City are the champions of the world's best domestic league. Leipzig stand a slim chance of getting through, but the Bundesliga title contenders will have to settle for third. I think they will take points off every team, but they will have to set their sights on the Europa league because they will be dumped out of the groups in third. 


Group B 
Liverpool 
Atletico Madrid 
AC Milan 
Porto 
The other group of death is just as tough, if not an even tougher than the last. Unlike in the other one though ANY of the four teams could win and ANY could come last. Atletico and Liverpool know each other well and are most peoples' picks for one and two. The order is trickier, and I think they will be separated by goal difference. Liverpool are more prone to spectacular wins where they smash teams for 6, so I think they should just take it, leaving AC Milan in third and Porto down in fourth. 


Group C 
Dortmund 
Ajax 
Sporting 
Beşiktaş 
This is actually a pretty underrated group. I mean, I'm predicting the Turkish Champions to bomb out in fourth. I've just noticed that the only team not to be league champions is the one I'm predicting to come first. Most people do seem to predict them to win, and I have to agree. Seasoned competitors Ajax will also progress, with Sporting Lisbon in third going down into the Europa League. 


Group D
Inter Milan 
Shakhtar Donetsk 
Real Madrid 
Sheriff 
This will be an utter disgrace. Real Madrid have seemingly not played in the Europa League since 1995. Looking at the team, it is completely unbalanced. Up front they are acceptable and the midfield isn't bad but their backline is a complete disaster. Shakhtar have shown that they can win against Madrid, and I think they will squeeze out the groups. Sheriff will be rooted to the bottom without a single point.


Group E 
Bayern 
Barcelona 
Benfica 
Dynamo Kyev 
I find it hard to believe when you hear about Barcelona being in ruins all the time, but their best starting eleven is better than Real Madrid's. Just think about it: Ter Stegen, Alba, Pique, Garcia, Dest, Pedri, Busquets, de Jong, Fati, Depay and the GOAT Martin Braithwaite. It is certainly better than anything Benfica or Dynamo have to offer, so they go through with Bayern, Benfica go to the Europa League and Dynamo are unlucky to exit at the groups. 


Group F 
Man United 
Atalanta 
Villareal 
Young Boys 
A rematch between Man United and Villareal has a lot of people excited, but I actually think the losers of that final will end up going through, while Villareal will have to defend their title down in the Europa league. Atalanta were ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus team last season, as well as Napoli, Lazio, Roma, etc. so I think they will come in ahead of Villareal. Young Boys will get points, but they will not record a single win and will go out of the groups in fourth. 


Group G 
Lille 
Sevilla 
RB Salzburg 
Wolfsburg 
This is not only the easiest group of the bunch but also the hardest to predict. Any team could make it through the groups. Lille are the current French champions, and as they have kept the core of their squad I think they will top the group on goal difference. Wolfsburg are the only team here that I haven't watched much in action, and looking through their squad they don't look like anything special. Sevilla might have been pushed by Salzburg a year ago, but without Haaland or Daka they will struggle for goals and just edge into the Europa League position. 


Group H 
Chelsea 
Juventus 
Zenit 
Malmo 
Chelsea will only drop points in a shock draw with Zenit on the last day, and will top the group with ease. Juve will go through ahead of Zenit by one point and Malmo will end in last. I have infrequently watched Zenit's matches ever since Dejan Lovren moved there, and I think they will not make life easy even against the top teams. Malmo are unproven and will end on one single point. 


What do you guys think? Will PSG, City, Liverpool, Atleti, Dortmund, Ajax, Inter, Shakhtar, Bayern, Barca, United, Atalanta, Lille, Sevilla, Chelsea and Juve indeed be the round of sixteen teams or am I completely wrong. Let me know in the comments! Please remember to follow me on social media and check out my other posts on "labels" and "archive" on the sidebar to continue to be engaged in my content. Have a good day further! Noah `('-')`

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Revised History of Ekrizdis, the Evilest Wizard Ever

Image
JK Rowling has written a few brief pieces about the evil Ekrizdis, but has barely scraped the surface of this loathsome character, and has left a lot shrouded by the mists of mystery. An intriguing character, Ekrizdis is the physical form of madness and evil, and today I will attempt to erase a few of the question marks surrounding this creepy character. Firstly, let's go over the little information we have  been given.  He was a Dark inventor who was born somewhere during the fifteenth century. He was traveling the North Sea for an unknown reason when he came across a tiny island, which was basically just a big rock jutting out of the sea. There was no life there, and he decided to become the island's first inhabitant.  After casting sufficient protection charms, he created a huge fortress, which eventually became Azkaban, and resumed his experiments on Muggle sailors who unintentionally passed through his territory. He created many Dark things, most notably Dementors, before
Read more

Real Survivor: The Fox, the Bear, the Goat and the Bunny

Image
Survivor fans such as myself are mostly familiar with certain terminology. For example, to be purpled is to be placed in the complete background of a particular editing, to the extent where you are utilized like the shelter or water well, firmly in the background of a lot of scenes without being in the forefront barring something bad happening to you, like the shelter being blown over or the well being contaminated. Perhaps the first bit of terminology that has a unique meaning is to be a goat, or someone who is used like an extra vote by another player or group of players. However, where the name "Goat" actually came from is something many fans, even hardcore ones, do not know the answer to. They would point to where someone like Ethan Zohn said it in early seasons and credit it to them. The person who actually coined this term is SurvivorSucks user sunsawed, whose article can be found here . Basically, he stated that most Survivor final fours consist of four different playe
Read more

Survivor 41 Cast: Most Similar Player - Part 2

Image
To find out my criteria, etc. please check out Part 1. Please share my post with your friends and without further ado, let's head right in. Danny McCray - Brad Culpepper  I really think Danny is going to end up having been one of the underrated players on this cast. So many people (including me) anticipated a big strong oaf who would boss challenges but portray "the emotional range of a teaspoon" to quote Hermione Granger. This was something most also thought would be true of Brad Culpepper, but both seem emotionally and mentally intelligent as well as being huge Survivor fans, and I think Danny will likely play a game similar to Brad's Game Changers performance, especially if he can survive the first post-merge vote. Naseer Muttalif - Johnathan Penner  Why he was predicted for a first boot I do not know. This prediction is looking a bit more into the future, but I definitely see at least one flip coming from Naseer. I think he will turn out as a above-par player who
Read more