The Champions Blog: League Phase Draw Special
THE CHAMPIONS BLOG: LEAGUE PHASE DRAW SPECIAL
The Champions League is back after a long and restful summer, which kicked off with a month of international football in Germany. All the players have been well rested and are ready to take on this historic new season of the Champions League. As the new season begins, the first-ever draw of the brand-new League Phase has been drawn, and the games UEFA has in store for us are certainly breathtaking. This is the Champions Blog.
Real Madrid:
Borussia Dortmund (h)
Liverpool (a)
AC Milan (h)
Atalanta (a)
RB Salzburg (h)
Lille (a)
VfB Stuttgart (h)
Brest (a)
Real Madrid's quest to retain their European title requires them to face off against the last two teams they met in the final of the Champions League. As most fans of both teams would've known, Liverpool and Real Madrid have had some quite exciting encounters in recent times, most notably in the 2018 and 2022 Champions League finals, with Real Madrid prevailing twice, as Los Blancos are set to travel to Anfield. A rematch of the last final will also be on the cards for Ancelotti's men as his side will host Borussia Dortmund, with the German side hoping to avenge their final defeat from last season. In addition, Real will also face the Europa League champions, Atalanta, in a rematch of the latest Super Cup final, in which Real was victorious, 2-0 in Warsaw. As well as this, Real Madrid's newest signing, Kylian Mbappe will face off against his younger brother, Ethan when Real travel to Lille. Overall, not an easy league phase route for Real Madrid, but, as they are the favorites, many suspect they will prevail.
The Champions Blog Predicts: Semi-Finals/Finalists
Manchester City:
Inter Milan (h)
PSG (a)
Club Brugge (h)
Juventus (a)
Feyenoord (h)
Sporting CP (a)
Sparta Praha (h)
Slovan Bratislava (a)
The Premier League champion's league phase route doesn't faze most City fans. The Citizens are set for a 2023 final replay against Inter Milan at the Etihad while a trip to Paris to face the Ligue 1 champions is set to test Pep Guardiola's men. Furthermore, Pep's men are set to travel to Turin to face a brand-new and revolutionized Juventus side, now under the guidance of Thiago Motta, who look to cause problems for City and look so after making a positive start to the Serie A season. As well as this, City will take a trip to the Slovakian capital to face tournament debutants, Slovan Bratislava. Overall, Man City should be fine with clearing through these fixtures, but, as we've seen in the Champions League many times, anything is possible.
The Champions Blog Predicts: Semi-Finals/Finalists
Bayern Munich:
PSG (h)
Barcelona (a)
Benfica (h)
Shaktar Donetsk (a)
Dinamo Zagreb (h)
Feyenoord (a)
Slovan Britaslava (h)
Aston Villa (a)
Vincent Kompany's men will host their latest opponents in a Champions League final, PSG in the Allianz Arena, while they will also travel to Catalonia to face some old faces, including former talisman, Robert Lewandowski and former Champions League-winning boss, Hansi Flick. Bayern have had some enjoyable memories over the Catalan side, including a demolishing 8-2 win in August 2020. However, Barca looks like a whole new team under former coach, Hansi Flick, as the former Bayern boss looks to cause problems for Kompany's men. Bayern will also take trips to Feyenoord and Birmingham while traveling north in Germany to face off against Shakhtar Donetsk as they'll play their home games in the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen.
The Champions Blog Predicts: Quarter-Finals/Semi-Finals
Paris Saint Germain:
Manchester City (h)
Bayern Munich (a)
Atletico Madrid (h)
Arsenal (a)
PSV Eindhoven (h)
RB Salzburg (a)
Girona (h)
VfB Stuttgart (a)
PSG is widely believed to have the hardest route in the Champions League this season, as the Parisians are set to host Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the Parc de Princes while also making trips to Bavaria and North London. The side's strength in attack was slightly weakened over the summer, when star player and captain, Kylian Mbappe made a summer move to Real Madrid. However, the owners of PSG have splashed the cash once again and brought in the young Portuguese rising star, Joao Neves from Benfica. Luis Enrique's men have quite some work to do if they want to finish in the top 8 places and qualify for the last 16 directly. However, seeing the depth of PSG's squad, they should be able to progress without much of a problem.
The Champions Blog Predicts: Round of 16/Quarter Finals
Liverpool:
Real Madrid (h)
RB Leipzig (a)
Bayer Leverkusen (h)
AC Milan (a)
Lille (h)
PSV Eindhoven (a)
Bologna (h)
Girona (a)
Liverpool has returned to the Champions League after a one-year absence, and they look much stronger compared to their last season in the Champions League. The Reds will face old foes in Real Madrid, as Los Blancos will face the side from Merseyside for the fourth time in five seasons. Liverpool are now without Jurgen Klopp as the German gaffer left the club after almost nine years as manager. Former Feyenoord boss, Arne Slot has taken over the club as their new manager, and already he's doing a great job with the club, capping off a famous 3-0 win at Manchester United in just his third Premier League game with the club. Liverpool fans will also await Bayer Leverkusen as club legend, Xabi Alonso is set to return to Anfield with the current Bundesliga champions. Slot's men will also travel to the San Siro, to face off against one of their biggest rivals in the competition, AC Milan, in a repeat of the 2005 and 2007 final. Arne Slot will also return to the Netherlands and face off against one of his old club's biggest rivals, PSV. Liverpool should break out of this league phase in spectacular fashion and look to go all the way in the Champions League once again.
The Champions Blog Predicts: Semi-Finalists/ Finalists
Inter Milan:
RB Leipzig (h)
Manchester City (a)
Arsenal (h)
Bayer Leverkusen (a)
Crvena Zvevda (h)
Young Boys (a)
Monaco (h)
Sparta Praha (a)
Simone Inzaghi's men are spectacularly entering this Champions League campaign, having won Serie A the previous season in some style. The Nerazurri won the league last year, achieving a staggering 94 points, 19 points over second-placed rivals, AC Milan. Inter is set to host Leipzig in the San Siro, while they also look to avenge their 2023 final heartbreak and produce a positive result in their game against Manchester City. Inzaghi's men will also be tested with a home game against Arsenal and a trip to western Germany to face off against the reigning Bundesliga champions, Bayer Leverkusen. Many tough opponents are ready to test Inzaghi's men, however, the 2023 finalists should be fine making it out of the league phase.
The Champions Blog Predicts: Round of 16/Quarter-Finals
Borussia Dortmund:
Barcelona (h)
Real Madrid (a)
Shakhtar Donetsk (h)
Club Brugge (a)
Celtic (h)
Dinamo Zagreb (a)
Sturm Graz (h)
Bologna (a)
Borussia Dortmund surpassed all the odds last time, making their first Champions League final in 11 years, defeating Atletico Madrid, PSG, and AC Milan en route to the final in London. Dortmund's former coach, Edin Terzic left the club over the summer, with former player, Nuri Sahin taking over as coach. The Yellow and Black have lost club veterans, Marco Reus and Mats Hummels over the summer, with the Champions League final from last season being their final appearances with the club. The club also let go of club superstars, Jadon Sancho and Nicklas Fullkrug as the Englishmen returned to Man United after his loan deal while the German joined West Ham. However, the club has brought in German stars, Waldemar Anton, Pascal Groß, and Maximilian Beier. The club has also brought in Serhou Guirassy from Stuttgart, who was the runner-up in the Torjargerkanone in the Bundesliga last season, to rack up goals for BVB. Not many people think Borussia Dortmund will finish in the top 8, however, hopefully, we see another underdog story for this fantastic team.
The Champions Blog Predicts: Round of 16/Quarter Finals
RB Leipzig:
Liverpool (h)
Inter Milan (a)
Juventus (h)
Atletico Madrid (a)
Sporting CP (h)
Celtic (a)
Aston Villa (h)
Sturm Graz (a)
Speaking of underdogs, RB Leipzig looks to surprise everyone in the Champions League once again, by hoping to repeat their 2020 campaign by making the semi-finals, in what was only their second campaign. After consecutive Round of 16 exits, and the release of many stars over the years, RB Leipzig is back in the Champions League, with their young stars who are ready to make a difference in the competition, as they look to take on the likes of Liverpool, Inter Milan, Juventus and Atletico Madrid in eye-catching thrillers across Europe.
The Champions Blog Predicts: Round of 16/Quarter-Finals
Barcelona:
Bayern Munich (h)
Borussia Dortmund (a)
Atalanta (h)
Benfica (a)
Young Boys (h)
Crvena Zvezda (a)
Brest (h)
Monaco (a)
Barcelona has had some changes over the summer break, with the introduction of new head coach, Hansi Flick. Barca's team is full of superstars from veterans, like Robert Lewandowski and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, to the rising stars of Lamine Yamal and Pedri. Barca is set to face Bayern Munich in Catalonia, who they haven't had many fond memories in recent times, however, they look to improve after signing EURO 2024 winner and former La Masia graduate, Dani Olmo from Bayern's Bundesliga rivals, RB Leipzig. The Catalans will also take on last season's runners-up, Borussia Dortmund in Germany, as Lewandowski will face both his former Bundesliga clubs. With the Bundesliga duo looking to cause problems for the Blaugrana, Barca looks to impress everyone and aim for revenge against Bayern. We should see the Catalan giants go far in Europe this season.
The Champions Blog Predicts: Quarter-Finals/Semi-Finals
The Champions League is ready to be up and running for the new season, and there is plenty to look forward to from the induction of a new format to the return/debuts of many exciting teams. The road to Munich starts now, as the Champions Blog is ready for the new season. The Champions Blog will return in mid-September as the new season kicks off.
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