Ranking the 2019 UEFA Champions League groups
By Orri Benatar
The eight groups for this season’s UEFA Champions League are set and we have some dynamite pairings. Here is how the groups rank for the 2019-20 season.
The 2019-20 UEFA Champions League officially has entered our minds with the group stage draw. The journey to the final in Istanbul on May 30 will be a long one and for some of the top contenders, getting to the knockout round won’t be a walk in the park. Legends Wesley Sneijder and Petr Cech executed the draw and it resulted in these eight groups. Take a good look.
https://twitter.com/ChampionsLeague/status/1167120206344458240
For this ranking, I’m looking at the quality of the teams making up the full group and taking into account entertainment value as well as the number of teams that can make a possible run after the group stage. So, let’s start with Group C as the weakest group.
8. Group C (Man City, Donetsk, Zagreb, Atalanta)
Once again, the English champions have gotten away with an easy Champions League group in pursuit of the only competition the club has yet to win under Pep Guardiola. European glory is of the utmost importance to the Citizens success this season and they can comfortably rest their superstars in these group encounters.
Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb and Italian debutants Atalanta will be the opponents for Manchester City on those Tuesdays and Wednesdays this fall and finishing first should be easy even for City’s reserves. Atalanta has a very good chance to make their UCL debut a memorable one by advancing. Trips to Ukraine and Croatia will test that squad out.
7. Group G (Zenit, Benfica, Lyon, RB Leipzig)
Going into the draw, we knew Russian champions Zenit Saint Petersburg were by far the weakest team in Pot 1 and their group would likely be weak. Turns out that is the case but Group G is the group of life in this year’s Champions League. Every team in this group can come in first and every team in this group can finish last.
Zenit’s core of Russian superstars will face Portuguese champions Benfica, an underrated Lyon side who received automatic qualification thanks to Arsenal’s Europa League final loss and German regulars Red Bull Leipzig. You cannot pinpoint a favorite in this group but none of these teams pose much of a threat to make a deep run in the competition. Based on experience, Benfica and Lyon are the likely favorites to progress.