Pretenders and Contenders: Predicting the Champions League Group Stage

Group H: Juventus (Italy), Manchester United (England), BSC Young Boys (Switzerland), Valencia CF (Spain)

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Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo

Prediction:

1. Juventus
2. Manchester United
3. Valencia CF
4. Young Boys

Cristiano Ronaldo's 117-million euro move from Real Madrid to Juventus is the most important transfer in football since well, Cristiano Ronaldo's move from Manchester United to Real Madrid. The competition's all-time leading scorer and joint-top scorer in every year's edition since 2012, he more than makes up for Gonzalo Higuain leaving the club.

He's already won it all with both the Red Devils and Los Blancos, the question remains: can he do it all with a 3rd club? If the answer is yes, the Old Lady will be on track to win their first Champions League since 1996, in addition to a potential 8th consecutive Serie A title. If only Buffon were here to see this.

Over in England, the hot seat at Old Trafford just keeps on getting hotter. From the glaring hole in their defense due to their highly-maligned center-back chase to Jose Mourinho's press conference meltdowns, things aren't looking too good. Still, the quality in their squad is such that even under these less than perfect conditions, they should make it to the knockout stage comfortably.

Ronaldo's homecoming will be one of the group stage's best match-ups. Should the Mancunians falter, Valencia will be quick to pounce. Rodrigo's out-of-nowhere ascent, combined with strong new signings in Goncalo Guedes (PSG, 40 million euros), Geoffrey Kondogbia (Inter, 25 million euros), Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea, on loan) and World Cup standout Denis Cheryshev (FC Villareal, on loan), could make life very difficult.

Champions League debutantes Young Boys, meanwhile, have just won their first Swiss title since 1986, and their first in the Swiss Super League era. Unfortunately for them, they are much more interesting off the pitch than on it, as their solar-powered stadium, rookie coach and artificial turf make them an interesting organisation, whereas their actual players might be lacking the quality to compete against some of the world's best teams.