UCL Predictions: Group G and H

The Champions League kicks off on Tuesday with Group G’s matches starting later in the night under the lights. Let’s jump right into our predictions of this season’s compressed UCL group stage. 

GROUP G 

Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Copenhagen

Manchester City are the clear favourites to win this group. Their new signing Haaland has obliterated the league, scoring 10 in 6 already, making the Prem look like a “farmer’s league’. Also, Alvarez has scored some brilliant goals, but they don’t look as imperious as earlier. The defence has been found out on multiple occasions, so it may not be as straightforward as it seems. 

Sevilla lost their CB pairing Kounde and Carlos over the transfer window and brought in Marcao, Nianzu, Isco, and Januzaj. We still need to see if Lopetegui can get these players to gel together. They are yet to win a game in the league and could see themselves dropping into the Europa League if they don’t get their act together soon. 

Dortmund looked promising at the start of the transfer window, completing most of their moves early, but injuries seemed to scupper their progress. Unfortunately, Sule was injured to start the season, and Haller was diagnosed with cancer. Apart from the freak loss to Werder Bremen, they’ve been solid, with Terzic doing a splendid job fixing the leaky backline. 

Finally, onto Copenhagen, they’ve had an arduous journey to reach the group stage having to beat Turkish Champions Trabzonspor to make it here. They should enjoy these games and maybe get an odd draw, but they’re unlikely to make it far. They’ve also had a patchy start to the domestic campaign, sitting in 6th at the time of writing.  

Final Prediction: 

1. Man City

2. Borussia Dortmund

3. Sevilla

4. Copenhagen

GROUP H 

PSG, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa

Well, this could be PSG’s year, after all. Galtier has done a splendid job so far; his formation change and new signings have made his team exciting and compact. It’s the World Cup this year, and Neymar isn’t playing around, 7G and 6A in 6 games. The MNM is firing on all cylinders despite skirmishes on and off the field. 

On the other hand, Juventus are a bit of a mixed bag. A wholesale of changes with Pogba, Di Maria, and Kostic coming in, among others. While their defence isn’t an issue, it is the attack where they leave a lot to be desired. Vlahovic is the only hope for them in attack. They have just not been impressive, sitting in 6th with 2W and 3D in the Serie A. 

Benfica have an excellent chance of making it out of the group, in my opinion. In spite of losing Darwin Nunez, Roger Schmidt has got this team playing really exciting, attacking football, and David Neres has been sensational on the right for them thus far. Even veteran Joao Mario has turned back the clock and is putting in some brilliant performances along with their new star Enzo Fernandez. 

Maccabi Haifa deserves a lot of credit for making it this far. This is the first time an Israeli side has qualified for the Champions League since 2015, and they did it the hard way, beating Red Star and Olympiakos to make it this far. I’m sure they will give it their all, but this may be as far as they get. 

Final Prediction: 

1. PSG

2. Benfica

3. Juventus

4. Maccabi Haifa