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The football season is now well and truly underway, and with the UCL Group Stage Draw having taken place a few days ago, football fans can sit back and enjoy some mouth-watering European ties in the coming months.
With almost all of the groups stacked with finely poised competition, it is surely going to be a brutal fight for the two qualification spots, and that's when European football is at its absolute best.
GROUP A
ATLETICO MADRID, BORUSSIA DORTMUND, AS MONACO, CLUB BRUGGE
Starting things off with Group A, 2-time UCL Runners-up Atletico Madrid find themselves in a challenging group along with German giants Borussia Dortmund, former French Champions AS Monaco and Belgian giants Club Brugge.
Though many would be expecting Dortmund and Atletico to progress, it is to be noted that football has a knack of defying logic and, come the end of the group stages, we may well see Monaco or even Club Brugge spring some surprises.
Monaco, in particular, is no stranger to living up to the 'underdogs' tag, and once the group matches start, they will surely be worth watching out for.
PREDICTION: ATLETICO (1st), BORUSSIA DORTMUND (2nd)
GROUP B
FC BARCELONA, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR, PSV EINDHOVEN, INTER MILAN
Already being dubbed as the 'Group of Death', this is surely one of the tougher groups amongst the lot as 5-time European Champions Barcelona, Inter Milan, Tottenham and PSV go up against each other.
With all the four sides boasting a legendary European pedigree, each tie in this group promises to be crucial for the sides involved, and there is a high possibility that qualification to the next round will be in balance until the very last fixture.
PREDICTION: BARCELONA (1st), TOTTENHAM (2nd)
GROUP C
PSG, NAPOLI, LIVERPOOL, CRVENA ZVEZDA
This is another group which is tough to predict. PSG and Liverpool are expected to go through, but one should also not count Napoli out as the Italian side is filled with quality players who can pose problems for any side on their day.
Unfortunately, for Crvena Zvezda, the draw seems to be a huge mismatch in terms of firepower, but that being said, no one can really be taken out of the equation this early.
However, essentially, each club in this group needs to give its 100% to reach the Round of 16.
PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL (1st), PSG (2nd)
GROUP D
LOKOMOTIV MOSKVA, PORTO, SCHALKE, GALATASARAY
Football has its own way of bringing a layer of anticipation and excitement to its proceedings. There is arguably no "top" team in this group, and that is exactly what makes this group an exciting one.
All four teams are roughly similar, both on paper and on the pitch. These teams would love to go as far as possible in this competition, avoiding giants and feasting on fellow minnows.
The group looks filled with competitive clashes, and thus is quite risky to predict.
PREDICTION: SCHALKE (1st), PORTO (2nd)
GROUP E
BAYERN MUNICH, BENFICA, AJAX, AEK ATHENS
Compared to some other sides, this group is relatively comfortable for Niko Kovac's Bayern Munich. Therefore, the Croatian manager's team are the clear favourites to top the group.
The point of intrigue within the group is the fight for second place, which is between Benfica and Ajax. Benfica has strengthened well with a few key signings, but Ajax is not far behind them due to the presence of some exceptional homegrown talent in their side.
AEK Athens will be happy enough to avoid many losses in this group.
PREDICTION: BAYERN (1st), AJAX (2nd)
GROUP F
MAN CITY, SHAKHTAR DONETSK, LYON, HOFFENHEIM
Another manager whom the draw has surely been kind to has to be Pep Guardiola whose Manchester outfit have been pit against easy competition.
Man City will have to navigate through the group without their mercurial midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, but that shouldn't cause any problem as they have no shortage of talent in their squad.
Shakhtar Donetsk, who handed the Cityzens their first loss last season, have sold all their prized assets since then, and on paper at least, are significantly weaker.
On the other hand, Lyon has been boosted by the return of their star playmaker, Nabil Fekir, who was linked with a move to Liverpool throughout the summer.
Hoffenheim boast the tactical prowess of RB Leipzig-bound Julian Nagelsmann, and their game versus Man City will surely be a tactical contest between him and Pep.
Realistically though, you would expect City to come away with all 3 points in each of their group games.
PREDICTIONS: MAN CITY (1st), LYON (2nd)
GROUP G
REAL MADRID, AS ROMA, CSKA MOSKVA, PLZEN
This draw must be a sigh of relief for Real Madrid fans. In a season where they start learning how to perform without Ronaldo, this is a group in which they can experiment with their formations and tactics to be prepared for the tougher games of the season.
The current UCL holders, along with AS Roma, are clearly the favourites to progress through this group.
As for the Europa League place, we will most probably see CSKA take the spot ahead of Plzen.
PREDICTIONS: REAL MADRID (1st), AS ROMA (2nd)
GROUP H
JUVENTUS, MANCHESTER UNITED, VALENCIA, YOUNG BOYS
Rounding off the analysis with the last UCL group of Juventus, Man United, Valencia and Young Boys.
It is an awfully unfortunate draw for the Red Devils. Mou cannot let his team's recent poor form affect his UCL encounters if he has to keep his place at Old Trafford.
Juve are expected to top the group and, after having added Ronaldo to a squad that was already strong, are arguably favourites to win the whole thing this season.
Valencia have also used their money wisely this summer and they are looking stronger than they were last season. Tipped to be the side to disrupt the Real-Atletico-Barca dominance in LaLiga, Los Che might just have it in them to beat a faltering Man Utd to second place.
With Jose Mourinho losing the plot again and the star players not really putting their best performances at the moment, whatever you do as a fan, putting your money on Manchester United should not be one of them.
PREDICTION: JUVENTUS (1st), VALENCIA (2nd)
