Champions League 2018/19: Anatomy of the groups - Part 1

After a long wait, finally, the day has arrived when the curtains will be raised to commence the battle for the grandest prize of club football: the Champions League 2018-19. There are 32 teams contesting for the glory who are divided into 8 groups of 4 teams each. Each group has its own beauty in terms of the teams lining up there.

The draw for the Champions League was held in Monaco on 30th August 2018. As it stands the top two from each group will qualify for the knockout rounds of the competition, while the 3rd placed team in each group will drop down into the Europa League.

So, let us find out which team has got an easier draw and which ones have a tough nut to crack:

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Group A

Antoine Griezmann is the showstopper of the group

Teams: Monaco, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and Club Brugge

This is the group where each team will have the opportunity to improve their performance from last season. None of the above teams was present in the knockout phase in the previous campaign.

Despite this, Atletico Madrid managed to win the Europa League and subsequently the UEFA Super Cup this season, defeating Real Madrid 4-2. Prior to that, the Rojiblancos had made it to the quarterfinals in each of the previous four seasons, confirming their status as the super team of this group.

Atletico and Monaco both have had a jittery start to their domestic campaign this year. On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund is still unbeaten in the Bundesliga whereas Club Brugge are the table toppers and the powerhouse of the Belgian League.

Club Brugge should not be taken lightly by the other three as this is a team which has managed to win games even when they have gone a man down.

However, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are the favourites to qualify for the next round.

Group B

Lionel Messi will have a case to prove after recent debacles faced by Barcelona

Teams: Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspurs, PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan

Unarguably, Barcelona is by far the team to beat in this group. They are flying in La Liga and would love to continue the winning momentum in the Champions League.

Elsewhere, Tottenham have made a forgettable start in the Premier League. They would give their best to regain the momentum. Harry Kane has seen a dip in performance and would look to get back his goalscoring touch.

Since Tottenham has never won the Champions League/European Cup out of the quartet, they would be looking towards Kane for inspiration with his powerful right foot.

PSV Eindhoven is mimicking the results of Barcelona with a perfect start in the first five games of their domestic league. They are on a goalscoring spree in the Dutch league, Eredivisie. However, in the battle of the biggest prize of Europe, they are staring at a momentous task to uproot Barcelona, where the legend of Messi transpires.

Inter Milan is back in the contest after seven seasons and would love to make the most of it. They have the worst of the starts in the Serie A sitting in the bottom half of the table.

Barcelona and Tottenham are the favourites to qualify from this group but one should not be disappointed if PSV or Inter spring some surprises.

Group C

Can Mohamed Salah lift Liverpool to the Champions League glory after missing it out last time to Real Madrid

Teams: Paris Saint-German(PSG), Napoli, Liverpool and Red Star Belgrade

This is a star-studded group with Salah spearheading Liverpool, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe leading the lines for PSG while Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens roaring upfront for the Serie A outfit, Napoli.

PSG is an outright favourite to win the Ligue 1 again this season with already creating a gap of 5 points over second-placed Marseille. Their opponent for the opener, Liverpool has the perfect start to the campaign and are rightfully the contenders of the Premier League.

The curtain raiser between these two teams of this group will not just be an opener, rather it could be the testament to the improvement of the Liverpool defence over the years. For PSG, this could be an opportunity to get an idea of the intense competition present in the Leagues elsewhere which they are not going to experience until 2019.

Red Star Belgrade were the winners of the last European cup when the competition was solely based on knock out phases in 1990-91, before the inclusion of the group stages in 1991-92. They are making their first appearance since then.

With Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli ready to spoil the parties of Anfield and Parc des Princes, this is certainly the group of death.

Group D

Vedran Corluka, the World Cup finalist from Croatia is the big name in the group who plies his trade for FC Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian Premier League

Teams: Locomotive Moscow, Porto, Schalke and Galatasaray

This is arguably the weakest of the eight groups and will garner the least focus at this stage. However, teams will look for them for pairing in the round of sixteen.

Porto are the favourites to progress from the group. Galatasaray are returning back to the competition after three seasons; Schalke are back after four campaigns while Locomotive Moscow has earned a spot after fifteen years.

This is a group where none of the teams have anything to lose and they will play with extreme intensity to prove their mettle. A qualification to the round of sixteen will be a bonus for the teams contesting.

However, Iceland have demonstrated in the Euro Cup and the World Cup, that one should never underestimate the power of the minnows. They possess the capability to rattle the dreams of the heavyweights. This is football and we could not know the outcome of a game until the final whistle is blown.

With Porto, the favourites to qualify, any of the other three teams have an equal chance of joining them in the second round.

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Let us focus on these four groups today. We will be back with the remaining four groups tomorrow. Let the music play...