by shizzle787 Fri Aug 28, 2015 2:31 am
Group predictions
A: Real Madrid, PSG, Shakhtar, Malmo
Pretty straight forward group.
B: Man United, CSKA, Wolfsburg, PSV
The last time Wolfsburg were in the CL, they crashed out at this stage after the fanfare of the year before. German teams not named Bayern, Bayer, Dortmund, or Schalke generally do not do well in the group stage.
C: Atletico, Galatasaray, Benfica, Astana
Benfica struggles mightily in the group stage and Galatasaray is a brutal environment for Benfica to play in.
D: Juventus, City, Sevilla, Monchengladbach
Monchengladbach: by far the worst team in the group and see Wolfsburg. Sevilla are overrated: winning the EL means nothing for CL success (just ask Zenit and Shakhtar).
E: Barcelona, Leverkusen, Roma, BATE
Leverkusen take care of business in the group stages.
F: Bayern, Arsenal, Olympiacos, Zagreb
Pretty straight forward, except for the fact Olympiacos might be a problem for Arsenal.
G: Chelsea, Porto, Dynamo Kiev, Maccabi
Kiev will challenge Porto, but probably fall short.
H: Zenit, Lyon, Valencia, Gent
Group of life: Zenit are due advancing after being in similar difficulty group. Lyon have arguably two best players in group: Lacazette and Fekir. Like in Germany, outside of Spain's big three, the rest of the teams tend to struggle in the group stage.