Following a scintillating 2018/19 Uefa Champions League football actions that saw Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side emerge winners after they defeated Tottenham Hotspur in the final.
The 2019/20 draw held in Monaco seems to favour the English sides. Reigning champions of Europe Liverpool, last season’s runners-up Tottenham Hotspurs, Premier League Champions, Manchester City and Europa League winners Chelsea have all drawn in simple groups.
Thirteen-time European champions Real Madrid will face the biggest test after being paired with big-spending French giant PSG in Group A.
This season Champions League might go down as one of the most thrilling contests in the competition’s history.
Here, we do a Group-by-Group analysis of Group A to H drawn from 32 teams and which teams are favourites to go through to the knockout stage.
Group A: PSG, Real Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray
No doubt, there are two obvious standouts from this group: PSG and Real Madrid.
After dominating domestically for the past few years, French giants PSG are still on a quest for their first Champions League title, perhaps this season is their best chance of finally clinching it, provided they keep Neymar.
With a deadly frontline in the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Edison Cavani and Neymar, it’s hard to see this side not qualifying for the knockout stage.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, have had their fair share of problems off the pitch.
The arrival of Zinedine Zidane has seen a huge squad overhaul with superstars such as Gareth Bale and Isco seemingly on their way out.
The arrival of Belgian star, Eden Hazard, the gaping void left by Cristiano Ronaldo may finally be filled. And who knows, it could just earn Real Madrid a record-extending 14th European titles.
Club Brugge and Galatasaray, are expected to battle for the Europa League spot given to the team who finishes third.
Group B: Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Olympiakos, Red Star Belgrade
Tottenham, last season finalist and will be hoping for a similar run this term. The North Londoners were the surprise package of the tournament, registering emphatic comeback wins against Manchester City and Ajax to earn them a spot in the final against Liverpool.
Having made several big-name signings, Mauricio Pochettino has made his Champions League statement and will want to win it this time.
If Spurs stand any chance of an easy route to the final, they’ll have to take six points from German giants Bayern Munich first.
Things have changed for German giants Bayern Munich, gone are the days of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.
The new-look Bayern side are lead by summer signings Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Perisic — an exciting era for the team.
The Bavarians and five-time European champions still boast of Robert Lewandowski, a prolific striker that can make the difference for the team
Olympiakos and Red Star Belgrade beat Liverpool last year and could be also spring up another upset.
Group C: Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Atalanta
Following their domestic dominance, Manchester City should sweep through this group with ease.
City boss, Pep Guardiola, is still desperately searching for his first Champions League title since 2010/11 when he was with Barcelona and this could be his best opportunity to end that disappointing run in the competition.
Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling have started the Premier League campaign in fine form, meaning Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta could get some absolute thrashings.
Shakhtar stand a better chance of qualifying for the next round along with City.
Dinamo Zagreb have won 13 of the last 14 Croatian league titles, but have only taken four points from their 18 Champions League games.
It would be wrong to write off Atalanta, especially after they signed Colombian speedster Luis Muriel.
Group D: Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lokomotiv Moscow
Juventus boast of Champions League icon, Cristiano Ronaldo. The 34-year-old Portuguese star has record 126 goals to his names accompanied by five titles.
The Old Lady face stiff competition in Group D, but hard to see Juventus lose with Ronaldo among the ranks.
Atletico Madrid offer the biggest test for the Italian side. The LaLiga heavyweights have spent big in the summer transfer, most notably recruiting $205m teen sensation Joao Felix.
Atletico’s intentions to challenge Barcelona and Real in LaLiga are clear, but it remains to be seen whether they can transfer that onto the continental stage following their success in 2015/16.
Group E: Liverpool, Napoli, Red Bull Salzburg, Genk
Reigning European champions, Liverpool will be excited with the draw. The Reds begin their title defence in the weakest groups of them all.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were stunned by Red Star Belgrade last year when the Serbian outfit beat them 2-0.
The Premier League side will be aiming for another impressive Champions League campaign.
The draw sees Liverpool reunite with Napoli, who they beat 1-0 in the final group game to reach the knockout stage last season.
Red Bull Salzburg are making the group stage for the first time since 1994/95, while Genk saw off Club Brugge last season to secure their first Belgian league title in eight years.
Group F: Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Slavia Prague
Tagged as ‘group of death’, which means Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan all have chances of qualifying to the next round.
The signing of Frenkie De Jong from Ajax and the potential arrival of Neymar puts the Barcelona in good stead to top this keenly contested group.
Having narrowly missed out on a Bundesliga title last term, Borussia Dortmund also have their fare share of optimism.
Lucien Favre has been busy in the off-season, bringing in former Bayern defender Mats Hummels and Eden Hazard’s brother, Thorgan.
Serie A giants Inter Milan also have a right to feel confident about their Champions League hopes. Antonio Conte’s side possess an incredible threat in the final third. It will be exciting to see $106m signing Romelu Lukaku link up with the likes of ex-Manchester United teammate Alexis Sanchez and Inter talisman Mauro Icardi.
Group G: Zenit St Petersburg, Benfica, Lyon, RB Leipzig
Russian side Zenit enter the group from the top-seeded Pool A of the draw but that doesn’t mean they have any advantage over their opponents.
RB Leipzig, who are expected to challenge for a Bundesliga title this season have perhaps the best chance of topping this evenly matched group.
Benfica are the only Portuguese representative this season after Porto’s qualifying phase disaster.
French Lique 1 side, Lyon, who shocked Manchester City last season.
But there are question marks as to whether new signing Thiago Mendes can fill the shoes of Nabil Fekir, Ferland Mendy and Tanguy Ndombele who all sealed big money moves abroad.
Group H: Chelsea, Ajax, Valencia, Lille
Given their below-par start to the Premier League season, Chelsea have a big target on their back as the team to beat in the this group.
For a club that is notorious for dipping into their endless pot of funds, Europa League champs Chelsea have clearly been stung by their transfer ban.
Frank Lampard’s fresh-faced squad remains relatively new to Champions League football, the Blues have reasons to be cheerful with the arrival of Christian Pulisic — the youngest player to appear and score for Dortmund in Europe’s top competition.
Ajax, on the other hand, are the team everyone should be watching.
A thrilling 2018/19 Champions League run helped put the Dutch giants back on the footballing map.
Ajax side has undergone a drastic shake-up with exit of de Jong joining Barcelona and Matthijs de Ligt signing for Juventus, it will be interesting to see how the team adapts in their absence.
Anthony Nlebem
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