{"id":56443,"date":"2022-08-25T22:43:07","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T22:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/champions-league-2022-23-draw-group-stage-analysis-and-predictions-champions-league\/"},"modified":"2022-08-25T22:43:07","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T22:43:07","slug":"champions-league-2022-23-draw-group-stage-analysis-and-predictions-champions-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/champions-league-2022-23-draw-group-stage-analysis-and-predictions-champions-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Champions League 2022-23 draw: group stage analysis and predictions | Champions League"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Group A<\/h2>\n

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After Liverpool’s indifferent start to the season, the Champions League offers little respite. With Erik ten Hag departed after five seasons that yielded a number of notable European results, Ajax are something of an unknown quantity under Alfred Schreuder, who managed Hoffenheim and was an assistant at Ajax and Barcelona before overseeing the end of last season at Club Brugge. He plays the familiar high-pressing Ajax style of football, but has to deal with the exodus of Lisandro Mart\u00ednez, Andr\u00e9 Onana, S\u00e9bastien Haller, Noussair Mazraoui and Ryan Gravenberch, with Antony perhaps soon to join them. Naples, buoyed by the Georgian wonderkid Khvicha Kvaratskelia , always represents a difficult trip, and the atmosphere at Rangers, back in the group stages after 12 years, is unlikely to be any less fervent.<\/p>\n

Predicted order<\/strong>: one<\/strong> Liverpool 2<\/strong> Naples 3<\/strong> ajax 4<\/strong> Rangers<\/p>\n

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Group B<\/h2>\n

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What Group B lacks in star power it makes up for in intrigue. S\u00e9rgio Con\u00e7ei\u00e7ao’s Porto have become habitually awkward opponents in recent years, elimination Juventus the season before last. There’s been the usual summer flux at the Portuguese champions, with six players departing, among them F\u00e1bio Vieira to Arsenal, and four players arriving, but domestic form has so far been unaffected, with three wins out of three in the league. For Atl\u00e9tico, the story is a familiar one of whether Diego Simeone can evolve to a more progressive style, with financial pressures beginning to bite. Bayer Leverkusen finished third in the Bundesliga and have largely kept that side together but this campaign has begun with four straight defeats. Club Brugge are Belgian champions, but with Carl Hoefkens replacing Schreuder as coach, this feels like a season of transition.<\/p>\n

Predicted order<\/strong>: one<\/strong> Porto 2<\/strong> Atl\u00e9tico 3<\/strong> Leverkusen 4<\/strong> Bruges<\/p>\n

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Group C<\/h2>\n

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Without question the most glamorous group, with 14 titles between the sides. For Barcelona, \u200b\u200bBayern, who beat them twice in the group stage last season and inflicted an 8-2 defeat on them in the 2020 quarter-final, represent a useful test. After years of stagnation, Bar\u00e7a are perhaps ready to compete again with the elite, having brought in Robert Lewandowski , Raphinha, Franck Kessi\u00e9, Andreas Christensen and Jules Kound\u00e9 in a frankly inexplicable and very risky spending spree. Inter beat Bar\u00e7a and Bayern on their way to the 2010 title and have reprized the Romelu Lukaku-Lautaro Mart\u00ednez partnership. Bayern, having signed Sadio Man\u00e9 and Matthijs de Ligt, have started the season by winning three out of three, but domestic form is rarely an issue. The Czech champions, Viktoria Plzen, make up the group.<\/p>\n

Predicted order<\/strong>: one<\/strong> Bayern 2<\/strong> barca 3<\/strong> Inter 4<\/strong> Plzen<\/p>\n

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Group D<\/h2>\n

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For Tottenham, the draw could have been worse. They have the stadium, they have the manager and with the arrival of Richarlison, Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic they perhaps now can seriously challenge again, but in terms of their progress perhaps most significant is having drawn Eintracht Frankfurt, the weakest of the Pot 1 side They came 11th in the Bundesliga last season, have lost Filip Kostic and not won a league game yet this term. Sporting finished six points behind Porto last season and have already suffered a 3-0 defeat to them this season. Add in a 3-3 draw with Braga on the opening day and there are major concerns over R\u00faben Amorim’s side. After last season’s second-place finish, Marseille have spent a net \u00a360m to add Alexis S\u00e1nchez, Jordan Veretout, Chancel Mbemba and Mateo Guendouzi.<\/p>\n

Predicted order<\/strong>: one<\/strong> Tottenham 2<\/strong> Marseille 3<\/strong> sporting 4<\/strong> Eintracht<\/p>\n

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Group E<\/h2>\n

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Winning the Scudetto for the first time in 11 years was a first step in restoring Milan to greatness; the next is European progress \u2014 but it’s 10 years since Milan last reached the quarter-finals. Divock Origi and Charles De Ketelaere have arrived to bolster the attack, but the most significant transfer activity may be the departure of Franck Kessi\u00e9. Chelsea have been wildly inconsistent already this season and will probably add to their squad before the window closes, but the biggest problem remains the lack of a consistent goalscorer. RB Salzburg reached the last 16 for the first time last season, but their existence remains Sisyphean, building a side and then selling their best talent: 10 players left this summer. Dinamo Zagreb remain trapped between levels: they’ve won 16 of the past 17 Croatian titles but have only won three of 36 group matches.<\/p>\n

Predicted order<\/strong>: one<\/strong> Chelsea 2<\/strong> Milan 3<\/strong> Salzburg 4<\/strong> Dynamo<\/p>\n

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