Bayer Leverkusen and Celtic FC - Dark horses in the upcoming UEFA Champions League

Here is a look at the dark horses in the upcoming UEFA Champions league campaign:

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Manager: Sami Hyypia

Group : Group A – Manchester United, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Real Sociedad, Shaktar Donetsk

Key Players: Bernd Leno, Lars Bender, Gonzalo Castro, Son Heung-Min, Stefan Kießling

Key Matches: Bayer 04 vs Manchester United, BayArena, Bayer 04 vs Real Sociedad, BayArena

Best result in the UEFA Champions League: Runners up in the 2001-02 season

Strength

After falling marginally short of the Champions League spot the previous season, Bayer Leverkusen secured their place in the group stages, by virtue of their 3rd place Bundesliga finish.

This season however is a completely different story, especially with the new acquisition of front man Son Heung-Min. Should midfielder Lars Bender find his form and Stefan Kießling find his shooting boots, Leverkusen will definitely be a force to reckon with.

As for the Champions League group stages, Leverkusen will be expected to put up a strong performance. With Manchester United undergoing a transition under new manager David Moyes, apart from having a horrific record against German opposition, and Shakhtar Donetsk reeling from the heavy losses of Fernandinho and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the odds look very favourable for the Löwens from Leverkusen.

Weakness

Despite all the strength in the first team, Sami Hyypia will have to focus his attention on the inexperience of the defensive line. Due to this major problem, a bulk of the responsibility will be thrust upon the likes of Bernd Leno, Son Heung-Min and Stefan Kießling.

Overall, Bayer Leverkusen are definitely one of the dark horses in the upcoming UEFA Champions League campaign.

Celtic FC

Celtic FC

Manager: Neil Lennon

Group: Group H- Barcelona, Ajax, Celtic, Milan

Key Players: Kris Commons, Fraser Forster, Georgios Samaras, James Forrest

Key Matches: Celtic vs Ajax, Celtic Park; Celtic vs Barcelona, Celtic Park

Best result in the UEFA Champions League: Winners 1967

Strength

Last Season, Celtic showed the world why exactly they belonged in Europe’s biggest competition by pulling off a shock 2-1 home victory against favorites Barcelona.

However, this season poses a different challenge. Neil Lennon’s side once again showed that they do indeed have the character to go on and win the Champions League with their heroics in the playoffs round against Shakhter Karagandy. After a 2-0 loss in the away leg, the Scottish champions roared back with a 3-0 victory on the second leg at home to secure qualification to the group stages.

As for their opponents in the group stages, their encounters against Barcelona and Ajax will be crucial, as Barcelona have undergone a managerial change this season and AFC Ajax recovering from the loss of key player Christian Eriksen to Tottenham Hotspurs.

Should Anthony Stokes and Kris Commons find their firing boots, and Fraser Forster recapture the form he showed the previous season, Celtic will most definitely be a force to reckon with.

Weakness

Despite the strengths in the team, there will be two major issues that will be in the back of Neil Lennon’s mind. First, it will be the loss of his two prime stars from the previous season, Gary Hooper and talisman Victor Wanyama to Norwich and Southampton respectively.

The loss of Wanyama will leave a hole in the defensive line, leaving the bulk of the responsibility to Fraser Forster. Secondly, it does not take an expert to notice that Group H is evidently the group of death, which means that Celtic will have to play out of their skins to qualify for the knockout stages, capitalize on the home fixtures and attempt to recapture last season’s form if they want to play a further part in the Champions League.

Having reviewed the strengths and the weaknesses of the defending Scottish champions, it can be agreed that Celtic F.C is one the dark horses in the upcoming UEFA Champions League campaign.