UEFA Champions League Draw
The 2020/21 Champions League season is about to commence quite soon. The playoffs have been completed, and the draw for the group stages took place on Thursday, October 1st as the Road to the Final in Istanbul begins. The UEFA Player Awards also took place as Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski won the UEFA Best Player Award plus the Best Forward award for his exploits last season, scoring over 50 goals in all competition. Becoming the top goal scorer in the Champions League. Joshua Kimmich won the Best Defender award, Kevin De Bruyne won the Best Midfielder award, Hansi Flick won the Best Coach award while Didier Drogba won the UEFA President award. Nevertheless, the eight groups have been sorted so here's a preview of all the eight groups, and to see what are more likely to advance to the knockout stages.
Group A: Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid, RB Salzburg & Lokomotiv Moscow
Bayern Munich won the Champions League last season winning every game they played, terrorizing the opposition, and scored goals like it was nobody's business with over 40 goals in their winning run. Now, as defending champions, they have a target on their back, and it will be interesting how they approach the new season under Hansi Flick, who is having his first full season as Bayern manager. Their squad is arguably the best in the competition, and despite losing Thiago, they have signed Leroy Sané, which further improves their team and are favourites to win it this season. Atlético Madrid are heavy favourites to advance into the knockout stages due to their experience in the competition and a notorious side to play against. With another year for João Félix at Madrid, plus the addition of Luis Suárez, Atléti will be roughing feathers again. Salzburg are in the Champions League for a second consecutive, having grown their profile to the wider football world last season. They are renowned for their production of talent which includes Sadio Mané, Naby Keïta and Eerling Håland. They are the outside shout to go through to the knockout stages but with their front three gone, the chances to do that are very slim. Lokomotiv Moscow will be hoping their European adventure doesn't end quite soon but even going to the Europa League will be a difficult task for the Russian side.
RB Salzburg to go to the Europa League
Group B: Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan & Borussia Mönchengladbach
This is probably the most interesting group from the draw. Each team is relatively strong in the competition, and have a good chance to advance. Real Madrid had a poor Champions League campaign last season. They were knocked out in the Round of 16 against Manchester City in convincing fashion, and they will be hoping for a better run this season. Much of the old guard that guided to the three straight titles are still around but with little transfer activity, the squad players at the Bernabéu will have to contribute more if Los Blancos are to make it number 14. Inter Milan are the favourites to advance but were knocked out in the group stages last season. The Nerazzurri have Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martínez up front, who can score goals plus a solid defensive core. Antonio Conte, however, has a poor record in the Champions League and although they will be focusing on Serie A, they should have enough to go through. Both Shakhtar and Gladbach have a very good chance of going through. Shakhtar are regulars in the Champions League and have reached the knockout stages over the past few years. Gladbach are on the up under manager Marco Rose and their talented players in Dennis Zakaria, Marcus Thurman and Alassane Pléa. Madrid and Inter are heavy favourites to advance but Gladbach and Shakhtar can give them a run for their money. Even qualifying for the Europa League in this group will be a big deal.
Teams to go through: Real Madrid and Inter Milan
Shakhtar Donetsk to go to the Europa League
Group C: FC Porto, Manchester City, Olympiakos & Marseille
Manchester City would still be licking their wounds following their disappointing exit from the Champions League last season, losing in the quarterfinals to Lyon. Many still put City as one of the favourites to win the Champions League but last season felt like an opportunity gone as City go into the competition this season with some question marks from the team to Pep Guardiola. City have only reached the semifinals once and have reached the quarterfinals in three straight seasons. However, the group will hardly keep City up at night as they should go through, top of the table. FC Porto are favourites to advance given their pedigree in the competition but have let the likes of Fabio Silva go while Alex Telles is heavily linked with a move to Manchester United. Olympiakos are the team likely to rival Porto for that second place spot. They were in the Champions League last season but were knocked out of the group stages and the last time a Greek side reached the knockout stages was in 2013 when Olympiakos reached the Round of 16. Marseille are back in the Champions League for the first time since 2013. Under former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas, the Ligue 1 side have become a defensive resolute side, which paid off as they finished second in Ligue 1 last season. Following years of stagnation, the French side are back but will they be able to challenge for a knockout place?
Teams to go through: Manchester City and Olympiakos
FC Porto to go to the Europa League
Group D: Liverpool, Ajax, Atalanta & Midtjylland
Liverpool have reached the Champions League final in two of the last three years, winning it in 2019. Despite being heavy favourites, they were knocked in the Round of 16 last season. They will be looking to go all the way to the final in Istanbul in May plus the additions of Thiago and Diogo Jota, will enable them to compete on all fronts. Jurgen Klopp's side are more than likely to advance from the group, top of the table. Ajax had that incredible run to the semifinals in 2019 with their group of players of a good chunk of that squad have now gone to pastures now. They narrowly missed out on reaching the knockout stages last season, as they had Chelsea and Valencia in their group. They have a better chance this time around but have to be wary of Atalanta. The Serie A side wowed fans last season in the competition with their attacking brand of football which led them to the quarterfinals, as they narrowly lost the tie to Paris Saint-Germain. They are very unlikely to change the way they play so, we could see loads of goals when they face Liverpool and Ajax. Nevertheless, the experience of their squad will rival the youthfulness of Ajax. Midtjylland are in the Champions League for the very first time in their history. The Danish side was established just over twenty years ago, and have competed in European football via the Europa League. They beat Slavia Prague in the playoffs to reach the group stage but with the group they are in, it looks their European adventure will be a short one.
Teams to go through: Liverpool and Atalanta
Ajax to go to the Europa League
Group E: Sevilla, Chelsea, FC Krasnodar & Rennes
Sevilla enter this season as Europa League champions again. However, they did need the Europa League to qualify as they finished 4th in La Liga last season. Julen Lopetegui's side had one of the meanest defence in Spain and their European experience over the years should see them through this group. Chelsea are more than likely to join Sevilla, maybe finish top of the group. The Blues managed to advance from a tricky group last season but were thumped by Bayern in the knockout stages. They have greatly improved their squad with Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, and Thiago Silva, who played in the final last season. The 2012 winners will look to go on a deep run in the Champions League as they have not reached the semifinals since 2014. Russian side Krasnodar qualified for the group stages for the first time in their history, beating PAOK. The club have been playing Europa League football over the past few years but have finally reached the top tier of European football. Ligue 1 side Rennes made it finishing third last season. The French side has been a ground where some players have made their names recently like Ismalia Sarr and Edouard Mendy. The jewel of their crown is midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who has impressed with Real Mad interested in him. Krasnodar and Rennes have a lower chance to qualify for the knockout stages so it looks like they are battling for a Europa League place.
Teams to go through: Sevilla and Chelsea
Rennes to go to the Europa League
Group F: Zenith St. Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio & Club Brugge
From this group, three teams have a great chance of qualifying for the Round of 16. That team, unfortunately, will not be Club Brugge. The Belgian side have made it consecutive seasons of qualifying for the group stages. They finished bottom in their group last season, and it looks like history will repeat itself this season. Borussia Dortmund are heavy favourites to advance from the group, top of the table. The Black and Yellow have a very exciting squad of young players like Eerling Hålaand, Rio Reyna and Jude Bellingham. However, the issue for Lucien Favre is balancing these players together plus the youthfulness of the team, particularly the attack. Zenit are Champions League regulars for some time now, and their biggest strength is their home advantage. All of Zenit's opponents have to come to St. Petersburg, which will be far including the Russian cold weather. They have Champions League winner Dejan Lovren in their defence and striker Artem Dzyuba. Lazio are back in the Champions League for the first time in twelve years. Le Aquile finished fourth in Serie A thanks to the goals of Ciro Immobile, who won the European Golden Boot, after scoring 36 goals in Serie A last season. Their squad also consist of Luis Alberto, Lucas Leiva, Joaquín Correa, and Sergej Milinković-Savic.
Teams to go through: Borussia Dortmund and Lazio
Zenit to go to the Europa League
Group G: Juventus, FC Barcelona, Dynamo Kiev & Ferencváros
Group G consist of Juventus, Barcelona, Dynamo Kiev and Hungarian side Ferencváros. The story of the group will be between Juventus and Barcelona, will Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo playing against each other in the group stages for the first time. Both teams have set their eyes on winning the trophy with Barça's last Champions League title coming in 2015 while Juventus' last win coming in 1996. Messi and Ronaldo have dominated not only football but the Champions League as well with over 230 goals and nine titles between them. Juventus and Barcelona are very heavy favourites to advance but the question is who tops the group. Juventus are the favourite to top the group. The Old Lady disappointed last season with former Juventus player Andrea Pirlo appointed as manager. There is little to know of what kind of manager Pirlo is, and how he can get the best out of a squad that have not achieved in Europe despite signing Ronaldo over two years. Barcelona has been experiencing a lot of drama over the past few months from the board, the Messi situation and sales of players. Ronald Koeman was appointed but may have it for just this season. Messi is staying for the season but is unhappy, and while they have a talented squad, it doesn't have enough to win the Champions League this season.
Teams to go through: Juventus and Barcelona
Dynamo Kiev to go to the Europa League
Group H: Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, RB Leipzig & Istanbul Basaksehir
Istanbul Basaksehir are entering the Champions League for the first time ever. The Turkish side, which is supported by the Turkish President, won the Turkish Süper Lig last season, and have some familiar names like Demba Ba, Martin Škrtel, and Nacer Chadli. Unfortunately, even getting to the Europa League will be a tough task. PSG, Manchester United and RB Leipzig have strong chances of going through the group. Leipzig had an incredible run last season, reaching the semifinals beating Spurs and Atlético Madrid in the run-in plus their exciting young manager Julian Nagelsmann. Their squad is still together but they have lost striker Timo Werner, who was a great source of their goals. Manchester United return to the competition but they have done little to improve their squad and could get knocked out from the group. PSG are the favourites to top the group. They reached the final last season but have lost some experienced heads like Edinson Cavani and Thomas Meunier. Going to the competition, can the Parisian club do one better this time around?
Teams to go through: PSG and RB Leipzig
Manchester United to go to the Europa League
The group stages begin on the 20th of October.
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