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Mid-september is when the football season really gets going, with Champions League giving us football at its finest between rounds in the domestic leagues. We will analyze the UCL group stages in four episodes until the official start of the competition. Today, groups A and B.
GROUP A: Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetk, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Sociedad
Group A might be one of the toughest to predict, being very well balanced and with all teams going through different phases of uncertainty. We could see some upsets both in individual events and in the final standings of the group. The final round could very well be decisive here.
Manchester United is the obvious favorite, but the Devils are used to being upset in the group stages from time to time (2005-2006, 2011-2012). With Sir Alex Ferguson gone, only one big signing (Fellaini) and a tough group filled with quality teams, United are not really worth backing to win the group, qualify or win particular matches at low odds. Nevertheless, you have to feel that Manchester United will proceed to secure first place here.
Former Europa League titlists Shakhtar Donetk are front runner for the second place in theory, but the ukraininas are going through a rebuilding process, selling their best players over the summer (Fernandinho, Mkhitaryan). They have always been inconsistent in the Champions League, having a lot of talented but inexperienced and undisciplined south brazilian youngsters in the first eleven. Leverkusen should be a big threat to Shakhtar, but the german team also lost some important men: Schurrle, Carvajal and Kadlec. They must prove that they can mantain the level from last season without these key players, but if they do, they will mount a solid challenge for the first two places. And the way Leverkusen started the season, they seem capable of playing the same solid football as they did in 2012/2013, having a cohesive team and a promising manager in Samy Hyypia.
Even after a 4th place finish in Spain last season, Real Sociedad is considered the cinderella in this group and for good reason. The spanish league is not so strong besides Real, Barcelona or Atletico and Sociedad`s win over Lyon in the playoffs is a little bit overrated, as Lyon is really not so strong at the moment. But make no mistake, Sociedad will be a tough competitor and they should be able to win a fair number of points, taking advantage in the standings if any other teams slip up. They could get an Europa League spot if Shakhter again fails to show its class against western european opponents.
Prediction: 1. Manchester United 2. Bayer Leverkusen 3. Real Sociedad 4. Shakhter Donetk
Best bets:
- Bayer Leverkusen to qualify @ 2.50 at William Hill
- Robin van Persie top goalscorer (all competition) @ 17.00 at Winner
GROUP B: Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray, FC Kobenhavn
Real Madrid seems to be a lock for the first place in Group B. Even without Jose Mourinho, the spanish team is one of the big favorites to win the trophy and there should be no trouble for them against the opponents in this group, as they are clearly a level above everybody. They could lose some points in the last games and/or in Torino or Istanbul, but that`s it. Juventus dominated the italian league in the last 2 years but Serie A is really not what in once was. Juventus is still a long way from having the quality to fight equally against the top class sides in Europe. This was obvious in the 2012-2013 UCL season, when they were dismantled by Bayern Munchen in the quarters (0-4 aggregate). “The old lady” made some good signings in the summer (Tevez, Llorente, Ogbonna), but not enough to challenge the likes of Real Madrid.
Galatasaray is a dark horse here. The turkish team has an amazing squad, with the likes of Muslera, Burak Yilmaz, Drogba, Sneijder, Felipe Melo and many others in the roster, Galata may just have the best team in its history, arguably. Manager Fatih Terim is another big advantage for them, and the turks will give Juventus a run for their money in this group. They already played together for a season, reaching the quarterfinals in UCL last year (3-5 agg. vs. Real Madrid), so they should be even stronger in 2013-2014.
FC Kobenhavn is hands down the worst team in the group and should be happy to get 2-3 points here. The team is weaker than in the last seasons and their best player Cornelius was sold to Cardiff in the summer transfer window. It would be a huge surprise for the danish club to even get a win in this group, and qualification (Champions League or Europa League) is almost surely out of the question.
Prediction: 1. Real Madrid 2. Galatasaray 3. Juventus 4. FC Kobenhavn
Best bets:
- Real Madrid to win the group @ 1.53 at Winner
- Galatasaray to qualify @ 5.00 at Bet365
OTHER GROUP PREVIEWS: Groups C and D – Groups E and F – Groups G and H
Juve ahead of Galata
I really think Galata has what it takes to go second, but that`s a personal opinion.
The meaningful point is that odds of 5.00 on the turks to qualify are value, I think you can agree with that.
I do.
Group A: I feel this group like a 3-team battle, as I consider Shaktar not being strong enough to challenge any of the other 3 teams – because of the player sales.
Group B: Juve with these interesting players added to the squad should prove too strong for Galata, as they have the chemistry and a very good coach. So, I believe Juve will finish second with crucial matches to be played against the Turks.