Champions League Draw with Sean Robinson
Reactions and thoughts from the UEFA Champions League draw.
The UEFA Champions League always provides incredible excitement and strategy, this year should be no different. Here are the UCL draws before we dive into some of the most exciting storylines:
What group do you think is the weakest?
Sean: Whatever group Leicester led was almost always going to be the weakest, but the fact that they drew possibly the weakest teams in pot 2 and 3 makes that group an absolute joke. Most years any of those teams would be in a fight to qualify second. Now they get to play for two spots and that should mean that there are some other strong groups.
Joshua: Top to bottom the weakest group is Group G as Sean points out, but the easiest group to distinguish who is going through, and who isn’t, is Group F. Group F by far presents the easiest path for Real Madrid and Dortmund to advance. The scenarios for anyone else to advance are little to none. Short of a major injury, the easiest group to distinguish best and worst is Group F.
Sean: That is a good way to look at it and Madrid and Dortmund definitely are a class above the rest of the group. Who knows, maybe Cristiano goes easy on his boyhood club and lets them win? Probably not.
Joshua: That is a good point because he may be so busy showboating and receiving applause that he costs them a game.
We only joke Cristiano.
Which group is the strongest?
Sean: Group E, I wouldn’t be surprised if CSKA finished last in this group and they are the pot 1 team. Tottenham is a new team in the Champions league this year after a few years in the purgatory that is the Europa League. Leverkusen returns their entire core of a team that finished last season very well. And Monaco’s defensive record last year was absolutely astonishing. Now, I know none of these teams have a chance at winning the entire thing but this group is very even. Any way that it finishes, a decent team is missing out on Europa League.
Joshua: The group with the strongest collection of teams is Group D. Bayern and Atletico are two of the top four or five teams in the world. But what distinguishes this group from the rest of them is the talented PSV. A long and storied history back PSV as a great team, but also their play in last year’s UCL. They bring back a strong squad and after losing to Atletico in the round of 16 in penalties, they’ll be looking for revenge.
Sean: I actually don’t rate PSV that highly. Last year they had two super underwhelming teams in their group in Manchester United and Wolfsburg. Making it out of that group said more about those teams than it did about PSV.
Joshua: That’s a good point regarding PSV, my selection could possibly be weighted far too heavily on Atletico and Bayern.
What game are you most looking forward to?
Sean: As a Dortmund fan I am excited to see the Real-Dortmund game. I fell in love with BVB in 2013 as they made their magical run to the final and that started with beating Real Madrid in the group behind fantastic goals from Robert Lewandowski. Any good Dortmund player is constantly linked to Real (now Aubameyang and Reus) and watching them compete against the “galacticos” that they might join is always fun.
Joshua: City and Barcelona provide a pretty irresistible group stage matchup. Pep returning to Barca with his shiny new car is certain to provide not only narrative, but a fascinating matchup on the field. Pep’s new Manchester City are one of the deepest squads in the world from front to back. Barca return about everyone except their recently sold Claudio Bravo, whom they sold to Manchester City. It’ll be fascinating to watch Manchester City’s midfield attempt to both throttle and push back at Barcelona’s attack. It’ll also be great to watch the bleach brothers of Barcelona, Neymar and Messi, come flying at their old keeper Claudio Bravo.
Sean: That should be a great one and we didn’t even mention Bayern and Athletico which is a final worthy match up or Arsenal vs PSG. Can we get started with Champions League already? I’m pumped.
Joshua: Every year there are so many great matchups in the UCL group stages that I’m convinced it’s fixed, when in reality it’s just an amazing tournament.
Team most likely to not advance: PSG, Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester City, Bayern, Atletico, Real Madrid, Dortmund, or Juventus.
Joshua: An incredibly negative UCL question begs to be satisfied by an English team. As much as I love to watch Pep’s new Manchester City, there is a scenario where Borussia Mönchengladbach and Thorgan Hazard catch lightning in a bottle. The likelihood is as well that City will be incredibly focused on the EPL in year one of the Pep experiment. I wouldn’t make a bet on Manchester City not advancing, but out of the biggest clubs, this is the most likely scenario in my opinion.
Sean: I am jealous of that Man City pick, Pep has never done that well in the Champions League and Man City haven’t either. That could compound into disaster. But instead, I am going to take the now Zlatan-less PSG. Without their main man, I worry a little bit about the French giants. They bought pretty well this summer but now it looks likely they will also lose Matuidi. This amount of change in the squad could cause a slip-up and it won’t be the first time that FC Basel ruin a team’s Champions League dream.
Who is the player who could breakout in the group stage?
Joshua: Raheem Sterling has a chance to outgrow his reputation as the kid who won his way out of Liverpool in a somewhat negative manner, to a star for Manchester City. He already looks rejuvenated under Pep Guardiola’s new system. Raheem is searching for pockets of space and attacking them with the vigor we were used to seeing from him at Liverpool. As he continues to grow under Pep there is a massive opportunity for Sterling to shine on the world stage of the Champions League.
Sean: I am actually going to stay in England and go for Dele Alli. The last time Tottenham were in the Champions League the world was introduced to Gareth Bale. This time, they have a great chance to advance past the group stage and their engine in the middle could get a lot of the plaudits. He was a breakout star last year in the EPL and after struggling a bit at the Euros I think he could rebound in a big way. Then again Pochettino could literally run this team into the ground with his style of play and the amount of competitions they’ll be in.
Joshua: My retort for both players we picked is that they suffered under the tutelage of Roy Hodgson during the summer. Which of course makes me immediately rethink my selection.
