UCL Group Stage Predictions

Author: Archit Reddy

The Champions League is back in all its glory on Monday. After the initial play-in tournament wrapping up at the end of September and after the group draw at the beginning of the month, each group is now locked in. Although the group stages tend to have more foreseeable results, the hecticness of last season proved that anything can happen on a European night. Nonetheless, here are my predictions for the 2020 Champions League Group Stage:

Predicted Finishes

Group A:

1. Bayern Munich

2. Atletico Madrid

3. RB Salzburg

4. Lokomotiv Moskow

This Bayern team is very, very good. We saw that as they steamrolled their competition on the way to a title last year and have added the extremely talented Leroy Sane to their ranks. It still seems like they have yet to fully kick into gear, marked by a 4-1 loss to Hoffenheim and a close 4-3 win against Hertha, they are still the devastating force from last year seen in their 8-0 victory over Schalke and recently adding the UEFA Super Cup and DFL-Supercup to their trophy collection. Loss of the transformative Thomas Partey and their somewhat unconvincing La Liga form aside, second place is Atleti’s to lose here as they are simply a tier above Salzburg and Lokomotiv. I see Salzburg taking 3rd, the Europa League spot, over Lokomotiv as they are undefeated in Austria while Lokomotiv has had mixed domestic results, standing at 5th in Russia ten matches in.

Group B:

1. Real Madrid

2. Inter Milan

3. Shakhtar Donetsk

4. Borussia Monchengladbach

I have the current Spanish champions taking top spot in Group B, however I expect Inter Milan to pose a strong challenge against Los Blancos in Antonio Conte’s second season. Madrid currently stand first and yet to lose in La Liga four matches in, but their form has been somewhat iffy including drawing against Real Sociedad and eking out a 3-2 win against Betis through a Sergio Ramos penalty and Emerson OG. Eden Hazard’s injury also has been a concern but Madrid have done well when relying on Karim Benzema as well as collective effort for goalscoring. Inter have also been bolstered in the market with young talent such as Nicolo Barella and Achraf Hakimi and veteran free agent Arturo Vidal. Borussia has had shaky early Bundesliga form, standing at 11th with a -1 GD so I see Shakhtar gaining the Europa spot. Still, I believe 3rd can go either way.

Group C:

1. Manchester City

2. FC Porto

3. Olympique de Marseille

4. Olympiacos FC

Man City received a lucky draw this year and have spent a ridiculous sum on defenders this summer. I guess some things never change. Although the loss of Leroy Sane and club legend David Silva will sting, this should be another easy route to the top spot for them. Olympiacos will have a hefty challenge in qualifying for the knockout stage or even holding the Europa spot. Although they have both had inconsistent form in their respective leagues, Porto and Marseille are still not easy competition.

Group D:

1. Liverpool

2. Atalanta

3. Ajax

4. FC Midtjylland

Poor Midtjylland… While this should be a relatively easy road to the knockouts for Liverpool, this is definitely gonna be an interesting group to follow this year. The previous European and current English champions are a mile above their competitors and will win this group but Atalanta and Ajax are scrappy teams to say the least. While Ajax will have to cope with the losses of some important midfield pieces in Donny Van De Beek, Hakim Ziyech, and Sergino Dest, they have shown in the past that they have the capacity to make surprising runs through their youth talent. Atalanta has been an offensive force in Serie A, scoring 13 goals in 3 matches this year and 98 last season and will be especially threatening to a Liverpool team that conceded 7 against Aston Villa.

Group E:

1. Chelsea

2. Sevilla

3. Stade Rennais

4. Krasnodar

Chelsea had a FIFA Career Mode-like transfer window this year and added some of the world’s most highly sought after young talent in striker Kai Havertz, attacking mid Timo Werner, and defender Ben Chilwell. They also added Hakim Ziyech ,Ajax’s most crucial pieces to their unexpected 2019 Champions League run, veteran defender Thiago Silva, and hoped to have patched their defensive and Kepa-related issues through Malang Sarr and Eduoard Mendy. Although these moes have yet to make their full impact and Sevilla have been strong under Julen Lopetegui, anything short of first would be a disappointment for the Blues.

Group F:

1. Borussia Dortmund

2. Lazio

3. Club Brugge

4. Zenit

I personally really hope to see how long BvB can keep this young core around for a few years. Teams are already flocking to shell out big money for the generational Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho and American midfielder Gio Reyna has been emerging lately. Lazio has had a mixed start but nonetheless have a respectable collection of talent with Sergej Milinković-Savić and Luis Alberto servicing European Golden Shoe winner Ciro Immobile and should take the 2nd spot.

Group G:

1. Juventus

2. Barcelona

3. Dynamo Kyiv

4. Ferencvaros

Now this group is must-see football. We will have the privilege of watching the two greatest players of our era lace up against each other twice for the first time since a Clasico on May 6, 2018, a draw where both Messi and Ronaldo scored. Both players have an extra spark to win this year after Ronaldo’s brace wasn’t enough last season and Juve still lost to Lyon on away goals and Barcelona was notoriously knocked out on away goals. After a hectic transfer window for Barcelona that included the losses of Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, and Arturo Vidal, the club was lucky to just keep Lionel Messi. They also added young talents Sergino Dest from Ajax and Trincao from Braga. Juventus had a somewhat quiet window but were able to add young reinforcements Weston McKennie and Federico Chiesa to their lacking midfield as well as a bench scorer or Higuain replacement in striker Alvaro Morata. The two clubs aso engaged in an odd swap deal with 30 year old Miralem Pjanic heading Barca’s way and 24 year old Arthur arriving for Juve. I have Juventus winning this simply because they haven’t dealt with the degree of Champions League humiliation that Barcelona has gone through in the last three seasons, their team has not had nearly as much turnover, and Cristiano Ronaldo has an extra pedigree in European competition.

Group H

1. Paris Saint-Germain

2. RB Leipzig

3. Manchester United

4. Istanbul Basaksehir

Istanbul sticks out like a sore thumb in Group H, often dubbed this year’s “The Group of Death”. Personally, I think that when compared to previous seasons, this season’s version of the “Group of Death” isn’t nearly as harsh or competitive but it’s also a fair title considering these days, Man U and RB Leipzig aren’t too far off from each other. I see last season’s runner-ups winning this group as Neymar has continued to dominate in his new role, shifting from embarrassing opponents on the flank to playmaking in the center. Barring an unlikely Edinson Cavani revenge tour, Manchester United should worry less about top spot and simply making it to the knockout stage. Even with Timo Werner having gone to Chelsea this summer, Leipzig made it to the semi-finals and lost to a very talented PSG team. They are currently top of Bundesliga and while it is only 3 matches in, Man U’s first 3 EPL matches have also proven to be quite worrisome, losing 3-1 to Crystal Palace, scraping a 3-2 win against Brighton with a penalty in 100th minute (Nice to see that Fergie Time is back though), and of course, a 6-1 loss to Tottenham. The Red Devils have the clear advantage in player talent and should finish second in their group but unless something changes fast, Leipzig are a solid and consistent squad who won their group last year and could take that spot and make the knockouts again.

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