Pretenders and Contenders: Predicting the Champions League Group Stage

Group F: Olympique Lyonnais (France), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), 1899 Hoffenheim (Germany), Manchester City (England)

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Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne

Prediction:

1. Manchester City
2. Olympique Lyonnais
3. 1899 Hoffenheim
4. Shakhtar Donetsk

As with group E, this looks like a rather straightforward pairing. Manchester City are leagues above the other 3 clubs, coming off a record-breaking 100 point title-winning season in the Premier League and filling out their already packed roster with record signing Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City, 67.80 million pounds).

It is a testament to their depth that World Cup bronze medalist and star player Kevin De Bruyne's injury will have little impact on their ability to win the group.

Finishing behind them should be Lyon, led by talisman and World Cup winner Nabil Fekir whose services they retained this window despite fierce interest from elsewhere. Breakout starlet Hassem Aouar will be eager to make his Champions League for Les Gones, as will new boy Moussa Dembélé (Celtic, 22 million pounds).

Hoffenheim's meteoric rise through the echelons of German football led them to their highest ever finish last season: 3rd place (they were playing in the 4th division as recently as 2001). Front-lined by Croatian sensation Andrej Kramaric, an upset could be in the cards if it all comes together for them, with young, fresh coach Julian Nagelsmann (he's only 31!) pulling the strings.

Shakhtar Donetsk, one of the best teams outside of the top 5 leagues as of late, are heading to uncharted waters. Though they've won 6 out of the last 8 Ukrainian Premier League trophies, they've lost all the key players that made that happen. Luiz Adriano, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Teixeira have all moved on to greener pastures since then, with Fred leaving as well this summer to Manchester United, leaving gaping holes in the squad that have yet to be plugged.