Group C
The Teams
Atletico Madrid – 3rd place in 2014-15 Spanish La Liga – Currently 6th in the 2015-16 season
Benfica – 1st place in 2014-15 Portuguese Liga – Currently 3rd in the 2015-16 season
FC Astana – 1st place in 2014 Kazakhstan Premier League – Currently 2nd in the 2015 season
Galatasaray – 1st place in 2014-15 Turkish Super Lig – Currently 8th in the 2015-16 season
Best player in the group – Antoine Griezmann/Atletico Madrid
There were a few players who could be on this list but Antione Griezmann wins out because while he’s young and has potential, he can also make an impact in this years Champions League. Beginning his second season at Atletico Madrid, Griezmann looks to better his 22 goals scored last year.
Most important matchup – Fernando Torres and the back of the net
Fernando Torres is a terrific player and is back home at Atletico this year on loan from AC Milan. One of Torres’ unfortunate traits that has followed him around is that he has struggled at scoring goals, particularly easy goals. Like this on for example from this past weekend.
To be fair, this was a pretty good chance and Torres also scored during the Barcelona game so maybe he has turned it around. At least he’s missing more difficult chances. He couldn’t possibly say that when he was at Chelsea.
X-factor – FC Astana
Astana is one of the weaker teams in the Champions League but they will have an incredible home field advantage because none of these teams have ever gone to Kazakhstan. That may prove to be an equalizer as Astana try to scrape points together.
Group prediction
1st Atletico Madrid
2nd Benfica
3rd Galatasaray
4th FC Astana
Group D
The Teams
Borussia Monchengladbach – 3rd place in 2014-15 German Bundesliga – Currently 18th in the 2015-16 season
Juventus – 1st place in 2014-15 Italian Serie A – Currently 16th in the 2015-16 season
Manchester City – 2nd place in 2014-15 English Premier League – Currently 1st in the 2015-16 season
Sevilla – Won UEFA Europa League – Currently 18th in the 2015-16 Spanish La Liga season
Best player in the group – Sergio Aguero/Manchester City
If he can remain healthy, Sergio Aguero will be the best player in the group. Sadly that hasn’t been the case since he just got hurt this weekend but maybe it won’t be as serious is it could be. If he is out for an extended period of time, this may be a much tighter group than previously speculated.
Most important matchup – Manchester City vs. themselves
Manchester City has seemingly been cursed with being in “groups of death” in recent years. While this group is pretty difficult, Manchester City should still be able to get out of the group. That is, unless Man City are unable to get over that hump and go another year without living up to their potential in Europe.
X-factor(s) – The three struggling teams
Monchengladbach, Juventus and Sevilla are currently on the lower ends of their respective league tables. With only a few games in the league, these three teams are obviously not going to remain there but it is a worrying sign (unless you’re Manchester City). The team who get things together the quickest will obviously have the advantage.
Group prediction
1st Manchester City
2nd Juventus
3rd Sevilla
4th Borussia Monchengladbach