Champions League 2019/2020 Preview
Following an entertaining 2018/2019 Champions League campaign which ended with an all-English final, yet another exciting season in the elite competition is ahead of us.
Paris Saint-Germain are on a quest to win their first ever Champions League trophy, whilst Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid aim to regain the title they won four times in previous six seasons.
Griezmann-less Atletico Madrid should not be written off just yet as the club chiefs not only found an adequate replacement for the French attacker, but also added several high-profile players to the squad.
Our Champions League predictions will be published every Monday 08:00 London time the day before the first fixtures of that round are being played.
English dominance
Premier League clubs impressed in the 2018/2019 Champions League campaign, with the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham making it to the quarter-finals of the elite competition.
Spurs did well to beat the Citizens, but eventually suffered a loss to the Reds in the title game.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are determined to defend their title, but bookmakers see Man City as No. 1 favourites to lift the trophy. Pep Guardiola did well to keep hold of key players in the summer transfer window, with the likes of Rodri (Atletico Madrid), Joao Cancelo (Juventus), Angelino (PSV) etc. joining the Etihad Stadium outfit.
Man City have been grouped with Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta, meaning that the big-spending English champions are unlikely to find it hard to book their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Easy first round for the title holder
Liverpool will face the likes of Napoli, Salzburg and Genk in Group E and they are seen as hot favourites to clinch top position in their group, whilst Tottenham take on Bayern Munchen, Crvena Zvezda and Olympiakos in Group B.
Chelsea, who were not allowed to buy players in the summer due to transfer ban, are placed in Group H alongside Ajax, Lille and Valencia.
The Blues are expected to struggle in the 2019/2020 season as key player Eden Hazard joined Real Madrid, but new coach Frank Lampard is likely to use this campaign to test as many young and talented players as possible.
La Liga sides aim to regain the trophy
Real Madrid owners did remarkably well to bring aforementioned Belgian superstar Eden Hazard to Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, but the big-money signing has yet to make his Primera Division debut due to injury.
Zinedine Zidane’s men have been struggling to find their best form at the start of the new La Liga campaign, but they should never be written off speaking of the race for the Champions League trophy.
Los Blancos suffered a shocking loss to Ajax in the last 16 of the elite competition last term and, no doubt, they are eager to make amend for the unsuccessful campaign.
Barcelona, on the other hand, are seen as No. 2 favourites to lift the Champions League trophy as French ace Antoine Griezmann signed for the Catalan giants for a fee of €120 million.
Leo Messi is not getting any older and seeing that Luis Suarez has overcome his injury, Unai Emery’s troops are likely to play one of the main roles in the 2019/2020 Champions League campaign.
All eyes on Joao Felix
Atletico Madrid chiefs splashed out an eye-watering €126 million for Portugal rising star Joao Felix, who seems to be the perfect successor to Antoine Griezmann. To make things even better for Atletico fans, the likes of Marcos Llorente (Real Madrid), Mario Hermoso (Espanyol), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham), Renan Lodi (Athletico-PR) and Felipe (Porto) joining the capital club as well.
Diego Simeone has a number of top-class players to choose from and los Rojiblancos, who made a flying start to the new La Liga season, are likely to shine in the 2019/2020 Champions League campaign.
Real Madrid have been grouped with the likes of PSG, Galatasaray and Club Brugge, Atletico Madrid take on Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Lokomotiv in Group D, Barcelona are placed in the “group of death” alongside Borussia Dortmund, Inter and Slavia Prague, whilst Valencia will take on Ajax, Chelsea and Lille in Group H.
Dark horses
Juventus are the dominant force in the Italian Serie A, but it has been 23 years since they won their last Champions League trophy. The Bianconeri are eager to bring glory days back to Turin and it remains to be seen if Portugal ace Cristiano Ronaldo is going to give Juve fans a reason for celebration this time out.
Fans have faith in new coach Maurizio Sarri, but winning the Champions League trophy is easier said than done.
Bayern Munchen owners were not too active in the summer transfer window, but they did well to sign a loan deal with Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho.
The mighty Bavarians said goodbye to veterans Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery and seeing that their squad is undergoing rebuilding process, Niko Kovac’s men have slim chances of winning the 2019/2020 Champions League trophy.
Lethal PSG offense
Paris Saint-Germain, on the other hand, managed to keep hold of Neymar in the summer and considering that they brought the likes of Keylor Navas (Real Madrid), Mauro Icardi (Inter, loan), Pablo Sarabia (Sevilla), Idrissa Gueye (Everton) and Abdou Diallo (Borussia Dortmund), they could go all the way in the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
The new Champions League campaign kicks off on September 17, 2019 and seeing that there will be a plenty of betting options in the upcoming season in the elite competition, we strongly recommend you to check out our football tips and football predictions.
