With the final qualifiers behind us, and with all of the European leagues in full swing, we are finally on the eve of the world’s most star-studded club competition: the UEFA Champions League. With Real Madrid fresh off a 6-0 victory over Espanyol in La Liga, Los Blancos look to be in fine form for challenging their arch-rivals—and defending champions—Barcelona. But beyond the two Spanish superpowers, there are plenty of other teams capable of lifting the trophy in the San Siro at the end of May
Marquee Matchups
The Champion’s League is not only about fielding a tournament with the best teams in the world, it’s about matching up heavyweights who don’t always face one another. Sometimes the truly mouthwatering match ups don’t come around until the knockout rounds, but there are plenty of big games to look forward to in the group stage of the 2015 Champions League. In this year’s draw, Groups A, D, and F all have heavyweight bouts to look forward to. In Group A, Paris Saint-Germain have the unenviable task of taking on Real Madrid, but the Parisian giants have what it takes to take some points off Real Madrid, if unlikely to run away with the group.
Group D has some claim to be this year’s so-called ‘Group of Death’ in the Champions League. Defending Serie A champions Juventus are the only ‘true champion’ in the group, but they’re joined by both Manchester City and Sevilla. In other groups, Sevilla might be the favorite to win, or at least look a likely candidate to advance, but with Manchester City’s perfect form so far this season in the Premier League, they’ll have their work cut out for them. Borussia Monchengladbach, who sit 18th in the Bundesliga at the moment, round out the fourth team of Group D—may god help them.
The other big ticket event in the group stage will be Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich, as the two clubs headline Group F. Arsenal supporters will be a bit chagrined at their having drawn Pep Guardiola’s men once again. Bayern have knocked the Gunners out of the Champions League for the past two years consecutively. This year, Arsene Wenger won’t have to worry about being drawn against Bayern Munich in the first of the knockout rounds—but he will have to worry about making it to those rounds in the first place, with the Bavarian giants standing between his Gunners and advancement
Dark Horses
We know the perennial powerhouses, but it’s also worth taking a moment to look at the lesser known clubs featured in this year’s group stage. The Hipster Award for least known, most obscure football club goes this year to FC Astana from Kazakhstan. Founded only seven years ago in 2008—as opposed to a bevy of teams such as Arsenal or Real Madrid whose legacies date back to the 19th Century—Astana are actually owned and operated by the Kazakhstani government. Although they have an experienced coach and a promising young starlet (Nemanja Maksimovic was Serbia’s hero at the U20 World Cup in New Zealand this summer), Astana will likely be overmatched by Benfica and Atletico Madrid. They may take some points, and perhaps even win one against Galatasary, but Maksimovic’s international fairytale is unlikely to extend to the club level, at least not this year.
One team that may end up being a surprising knockout round qualifier is Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv. In Group G, they’ll have to face Dynamo Kiev, FC Porto, and perhaps most dauntingly, Chelsea. However, the Israeli team play with a stout defense, and in Nigerian international Nosa Igiebor they have a speedy goal threat coming out of midfield. With some solid defending and a chance or two on the break, Maccabi Tel Aviv could prove troublesome, especially if written off as a team without a prayer.
Today’s Big Game
When it comes to the Champions League, picking out the ‘best games’ is a bit like picking out the ‘best pastry’ at some world renowned baker’s shop. Still, this week, one fixture in particular truly stands out. This afternoon, at 2:45 Eastern, Manchester City host Juventus in the very first group match. The two clubs have had very different starts to the 2015 season; Manchester City have failed to drop a single point through their first five Premier League fixtures, having salvaged a win against Crystal Palace this past weekend, while Juventus have, by stark contrast, only taken a single point from their first three games in Italy.
But don’t let that fool you—Juve are dangerous.
With the likes of Paul Pogba and Paulo Dyala, Juventus were already dangerous before they signed former Chelsea man Juan Cuadrado, and former Real Madrid general Sami Khedira. What’s more, despite the two team’s inverse fortunes domestically, Manchester City will be without their star striker Sergio Aguero, who was injured against Crystal Palace this weekend. Manchester City will have a home crowd behind them at the Etihad, but don’t expect the home field advantage and City’s run of good form to mean that Juventus will be steamrolled in this match. Although they may lack the momentum enjoyed by Manchester City, Juventus have everything to play for in this game, and they’ll be especially hungry to prove they are still a top side, and to get their season back on track against top quality opposition. If you can tune in tomorrow at 2:45 Eastern, you ought; it could be a blinder.