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The 2014/15 draw of the UEFA Champions League provided us some exciting groups in the competition with a handful of highly anticipated fixtures to look forward to. While some European heavyweights like AC Milan and Manchester United failed to book their place amongst the 32 teams that qualified, former 5-time champions Liverpool, Roma and AS Monaco returned to Europe after a while. As expected, the usual suspects to top their respective groups were immediately recognised while some of the dark horses were also figured out after the draw concluded. Real Madrid’s La Decima dream finally became a reality last season and rest assured, they will be looking to become the first team to defend the Champions League title. Bayern Munich’s consistency in recent years is what that makes them a potential contender while Barcelona will have a statement of their own to make after suffering a quarter-final exit last year.But alongside these potential title winners, we also have some quality sides, even domestic league champions, that have the capability to turn the tables and win matches convincingly, but due to the tough group fixtures and oppoenets hold a chance to get eliminated for reasons of their own. In this slideshow, we talk about the top 5 teams who could get knocked out in the Champions League group stages:
#5 AS Monaco
From the second tier of French football, to the biggest club competition in the world. It has been a roller coaster ride for the Ligue 1 outfit AS Monaco who also return to Europe after a decade long absence. Since their last appearance as finalists of the 2003/04 Champions League season which they lost to eventual winners FC Porto, a lot happened at the club inside the management level which led to their downfall, subsequently leading to a relegation in the 2010/11 season.
The team’s fortunes were turned around when the club’s major proportion of the shares were purchased by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. After finishing 8th in the 2011/12 campaign in Ligue 2, Claudio Ranieri was appointed and with the target set for promotion to the top tier, Monaco lost only four games and became the champions of Ligue 2, returning to the top tier of French football.
With Rybolovlev’s massive funds, Monaco were one of the biggest spenders in 2013 in all of Europe as they signed a few prolific players including Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho. They finished second behind champions PSG in the league and qualified for the Champions League, as the campaign turned out to be a successful one considering the condition they were in a couple of years back.
But going into the competition, Monaco are an inexperienced side with players who are relatively new comers into the big stage. The task gets harder for Les Rouges Et Blancs as they have lost two of their marquee players James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao to Real Madrid and Manchester United respectively.
They have been seeded alongside Russia’s Zenit, Portuguese champions Benfica and the German outfit Bayern Leverkusen in Group C which is an open group to be honest and they have a realistic chance of progressing. But out of all these sides, Monaco are a bit down the pecking order in terms of experience and their opponents have been there before and have a better knowledge of how to get past into the knockout rounds.
#4 AS Roma
Italian Serie A’s decline over the years has been reflected in the last few seasons as they fell behind in the European league rankings system. But this campaign took a new low as only two teams from the once elite league managed to book their places in the biggest club competition in the world. Champions Juventus will be joined by AS Roma as the two representatives of Serie A in the Champions League.
Roma returns to the big circuit after 3 years. And based their record from their previous appearances in the last decade, they haven’t done enough to be labeled as realistic contenders in the competition. The task of qualifying to the knockout stages is even more daunting for La Maggica this year as they have been placed in the group E (group of death) with two potential title winners in the form of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and Premier League winners Manchester City.
Munich are a household name who have the pedigree to win their sixth crown while Manuel Pellegrini’s City possesses one of the best sides in all of Europe. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Roma come up short against the two powerhouse clubs and go home early in the group stage itself.
#3 Borussia Dortmund
Jurgen Klopp and his men announced themselves on the European stage in the 2012/13 season of the Champions League as they marched on to play the finals in Wembley against domestic rivals Bayern Munich. The team stood as a symbol to the concept that the sum of the whole team is greater than the individuals and captured the hearts of many fans, even more so after defeating the likes of the competition giants like Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Last campaign, they came agonizingly close to a second consecutive semi-final spot but Madrid held on to their home advantage and based on the aggregate scoreline of 3-2 over the two legs, Dortmund failed to advance further.
This year, they have been seeded in group D alongside familiar foes Arsenal (for the third time in four years), Turkish league runners up Galatasaray and Belgian outfit Anderlecht. Galatasaray have shown over the last two campaigns that they are no pushovers as they have managed to qualify to the knockout stages two seasons in a row by knocking out the likes of Italian champions Juventus in the group phase. Arsenal on the other hand have qualified for the 17th consecutive season and have always prevailed in their group games.
While Dortmund have acquired two significant signings in the form of Adrian Ramos and Ciro Immobile in the striking department, star forward Robert Lewandowski departed the Signal Iduna Park to play for league rivals Bayern Munich which was a major deduction from Klopp’s attack.
Their chances of progressing to the round-of-16 will heavily rest on the shoulders of their prolific attacker Marco Reus and the Armenian sensation, Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The returning Shinji Kagawa will also add significant quality in the middle but it is very likely that Dortmund could be one of those potential teams who could succumb to the pressure of the tough group and face an early exit from the competition.
#2 Arsenal
Arsenal secured their Champions League spot for an impressive 17th consecutive season after defeating Turkish club Besiktas in the qualifying phase. And their record in the group stages of the tournament has been pretty impressive as they have managed to progress in the round-of-16 consistently.
For a team that has proved its quality on the European stage, it would be absurd to bet against the progression of Gunners into the knockout rounds. However, based on the recent outings that the Gunners have displayed in the start of their new campaign, a few problems were unveiled which may cause a concern or two for manager Arsene Wenger, especially in the Champions League.
To begin with, Arsenal’s activity in the transfer market wasn’t up to the mark especially when compared to their Premier League opposites. The signing of Alexis Sanchez from FC Barcelona added new life and quality to their attack, but it did not address the problem of an absent target man up front.
With Sanogo still learning the tricks and trades of Premier League football and Oliver Giroud’s long-term injury, problems piled up for Wenger and by the end of transfer deadline day, he acquired Danny Welbeck from Manchester United which wasn’t a preferred option for the Gunners’ fans by any means, leaving them without any proven quality finisher in attack.
It will be a heavy task for the North Londoners as they have to make a couple of difficult away trips to the Signal Iduna Park and the Turk Telecom Arena which are two of the most hostile grounds to play in Europe. And the quality of the oppositions like Dortmund and Galatasaray will make life very hard for the Premier League outfit to get past the group phase.
#1 Juventus
Italian champions Juventus suffered an early blow last campaign when they were knocked out by Galatasaray in the group stages. They had a poor outing in the competition as they finished third behind the Turkish outfit and group winners Real Madrid.
This season’s draw looks to be more favorable on paper for the Old Lady as they have been lined up alongside newcomers Malmo, Greek champions Olympiacos and last year finalists Atletico Madrid.
While Atletico Madrid and Juventus looks to be one of the most anticipated group stage tie, the chances of Bianconeri getting the better of the Rojiblancos are highly unlikely judging from their recent records against quality oppositions. And Olympiacos have proved last season that they have the capability to advance through to the knockout stages and certainly have enough in their squad to cause an upset.
The job of overcoming these two teams will be difficult for the Turin outfit even more so due to the absence of the marquee playmaker Andrea Pirlo who will be missing the starting games owing to an injury.
The departure of coach Antonio Conte and the appointment of former Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri also means that there will be a rebuilding process and revamp of tactics which if isn’t adjusted early enough, may prove to be the factor behind a poor start in the competition.
