5) Juventus to dominate the group stage?
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One look at all eight groups and it is easy to see why Juventus seem to be the biggest favourites to top their group. Every group has at least two teams who will battle it out for top spot except for Group H.
Juventus are drawn with Europa League winners Sevilla, Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb. While Sevilla may have earned the right to play in the Champions League, the loss of three-time Europa League winning coach Unai Emery to PSG and the high-scoring Kevin Gameiro to Atletico Madrid does not inspire confidence.
On the other hand, Juventus have strengthened their squad with signings around the park to make them a very frightening prospect in the Serie A and Champions League. Paul Pogba and Alvaro Morata may be gone but Gonzalo Higuain, Miralem Pjanic, Dani Alves, Medhi Benatia, Marko Pjaca and Juan Cuadrado (on an outrageous three-year loan deal) have come in. Their squad is so strong that even their second-string side could compete in the Champions League.
Lyon will be without striker Alexandre Lacazette who is “out for a few weeks” while Dinamo Zagreb are not expected to put up much of a fight when they travel. With Serie A success pretty much guaranteed, the Old Lady will focus on the Champions League and try and move one step further than their 2015 final loss to Barcelona.
