Two of the world’s best strikers are to reunite with their former teams here in the Champions League as Robert Lewandowski’s Barcelona are bunched alongside Bayern Munich, while Erling Haaland’s Manchester City are in the same group as Borussia Dortmund.
Elsewhere, many have dubbed Group C as the Group of Death, but Groups A and H aren’t far behind talent-wise. Overall, SBOTOP football fans are in for a huge treat once more.
Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers
Liverpool are going through their worst start in the Jurgen Klopp era and they must improve quickly. They’ve yet to win in the Premier League this term, although they should be able to snap their winless streak against Bournemouth this weekend.
Ajax, meanwhile, started their campaign in similar fashion – losing to PSV in the Dutch Super Cup – but they’ve been doing pretty well in the Eredivisie so far.
Napoli are the most in-form club as of the moment with impressive wins against Hellas Verona and Monza, while Rangers – who made it back here for the first time in 12 years and were last season’s Europa League finalists – are out to disrupt this group.
Group B: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge
Atletico Madrid are expected to top this group, but the second spot is going to be fought over between Porto, Bayer Leverkusen, and maybe Club Brugge.
Los Rojiblancos made it to as far as the quarter-finals last term, only to lose to Manchester City by one goal, and they’ll be ambitious to go all the way.
Porto and Club Brugge have lost key players this summer, but both can cause problems, although the Portuguese side has the better chance.
Bayer Leverkusen had a shocking start to the season with three consecutive Bundesliga defeats and Gerardo Seoane is under immense pressure to turn things around.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen
Bayern Munich are remembered for dismantling Barcelona 8-2 at the quarter-finals in 2020, but a lot has changed since.
But what hasn’t changed is that the reigning Bundesliga titlists are still formidable and they’re the favourites in Group C, according to the Champions League 2022 odds. Despite losing Robert Lewandowski to their groupmates Barcelona, they haven’t skipped a beat at all.
Barcelona continue their reconstruction under Xavi, but their financial situation has been one of the sagas this summer.
Inter Milan are rejuvenated with the return of Romelu Lukaku, while Czech side Viktoria Plzen are probably just here for the experience.
Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham, Sporting CP, Marseille
There are no standout teams in Group D, but Tottenham are likely to prevail given their quality. Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son have made it to the final in 2019 and they know what it takes to thrive in this tournament.
Following their Europa League triumph, Eintracht Frankfurt’s mettle will be tested, while Sporting and Marseille are no strangers at the group stage and they all believe that they have a real chance of advancing to the knockouts.
Group E: AC Milan, Chelsea, RB Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb
AC Milan and Chelsea are likely to advance while RB Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb will have to settle for third and fourth places respectively.
We’re particularly looking forward to the matchup between the Rossoneri and the Blues since few former Chelsea players return to Stamford Bridge for the first time and will have something to prove – namely Fikayo Tomori, Olivier Giroud, and Tiemoue Bakayoko.
Group F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic
Los Blancos have won the Champions League five times in the last nine seasons and there’s no doubt that they’ll cruise through Group F.
The second spot is up for grabs between the other three clubs, with RB Leipzig more likely to join Real Madrid given their recent experiences in this competition.
Group G: Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, FC Copenhagen
Manchester City are hopeful that former Borussia Dortmund man Erling Haaland is the missing piece to their Champions League puzzle. The Norwegian striker is expected to have his share of Champions League 2022 highlights.
The battle for second place is likely to be between Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla, with the La Liga side having the slight edge since BVB are still learning to cope without Haaland.
On the other hand, FC Copenhagen are happy to be back in this position for the first time since 2016/17.
Group H: PSG, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa
PSG are also aiming to finally win the Champions League once and for all. And with a frightening front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Lionel Messi, this is quite possible.
Juventus and Benfica will pose a challenge in this group, but the Bianconeri should advance comfortably with their retooled lineup.
Maccabi Haifa are out to prove that they belong in this stage as they’ve only made it here before in 2002-03 and 2009-10.
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