New 2023 UCL Group B Predictions

Group B features Porto, Atlético Madrid, Leverkusen, and Club Brugge. Despite these clubs winning their respective leagues multiple times, except for Leverkusen, there are only two European Cup trophies here. While Group B of the 2023 UCL isn’t as popular as some others, the thrill and intensity of the game remain unchanged. We prepared this article for you, giving our best predictions for the 2023 UCL Group B.

This group is certainly underrated and isn’t talked about enough. The four teams only share two European Cup/Champions League titles but they can produce a performance as good as any. See our Group B predictions for the 2023 UCL where we talk about each club’s chances individually. We’re only focusing on the group stage in this article so if you’re interested in the outright winners, take a look at our 2023 UCL betting predictions.

Early predictions for final 2023 UCL Group B standings

We’re going to pick Atlético Madrid as the future winners of Group B. It’s unlikely that the Spanish club will go undefeated but they will finish with at least 12 points. Porto are the strongest candidates for the second position but the exact match results should be interesting. We expect them to finish with around 8 or even 9 points with Leverkusen close behind them.

Leverkusen are struggling right now and we don’t think they can fully turn around their luck. The battle for the 2nd position will be close but eventually, Porto will take it from the Germans. We think Leverkusen will finish with around 7 points. Lastly, despite Club Brugge’s great start, we don’t see them advancing to the next round. If they keep up this performance they could finish 3rd but not 2nd.

Porto will try to move past last season’s failures

Porto are the only European Cup/Champions League winners from their group. They have two titles, from 1987 and 2004. Last season didn’t quite go as planned for the Portuguese as they couldn’t get past the group stage. They didn’t have much success in the Europa League either, where they were eliminated in the Round of 16. While Porto aren’t the most successful team when it comes to the UCL, they’re tied second for most group stage appearances.

With the addition of David Carmo and Gabriel Veron, the team looks promising. While Porto lost their first group stage game to Atlético, they showed glimpses of greatness. We believe they will advance to the Round of 16 later this season. On 20Bet Sportsbook their odds for this are 2.11, while the odds of finishing top 2 in Group B are nearly identical with 2.10. Additionally, Porto’s odds of winning their group are 5.11 but we do not think that will happen.

Can Simeone lead Atlético Madrid to another final? – 2023 UCL Group B predictions

Los Rojiblancos have seen a lot of things under the guidance of Diego Simeone. Since he took over, Atlético won two Europa League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, and two LaLiga titles. The club also reached the Champions League final twice, in 2014 and 2016. But like many other teams in the competition’s history, they had the unfortunate event of facing Real Madrid. Atlético are the clear favorites in Group B and within the four teams here they had the best results last season. They finished second in their group and reached the quarter-finals.

Online sportsbook news in Spain picks Atlético as the favorites to win Group B. Their odds are significantly higher than the others. The Spanish club’s odds are 1.06 to finish in the top 2 and 1.55 to win the group altogether. History is on Atlético’s side too as the club advanced eight times out of the last nine seasons. The team’s main focus is Joao Felix but players like Witsel and Molina are ones to watch out for in the competition. Griezmann’s contract is a disaster but the forward has shown that he can be valuable even when underutilized.

What worked for Leverkusen last season, seems to be broken now

In the past ten seasons, Leverkusen were able to finish in the Bundesliga top four, more or less. They qualified for this year’s Champions League by finishing 3rd in Germany last season. However, their season has been a bit of a disaster so far. They lost four of their first five league games and got beaten by Club Brugge as well on 7 September. Their first UCL game ended only in a 1-0 loss despite registering more shots, having higher possession, and completing more passes.

Leverkusen’s chances aren’t looking that good. Not because they lost to Club Brugge, but because they’re in the same group as Porto and Atlético. On 20Bet Sportsbook, their odds of finishing in the top 2 of Group B are 2.81. After their first loss in the competition, the German club’s odds became even worse than Brugge’s. But we do think there’s a believable chance to see Leverkusen make it past this stage. Head coach Gerardo Seoane shows great promise and Patrik Schick is still a dangerous force on the front. In the end, only time will tell how right we were about our 2023 UCL Group B predictions.

Club Brugge have something special but it might not be enough

Brugge are the champions of Belgium but they’re far from being the champions of Europe. Last season they finished last in their group. The club did manage to reach the European Cup final but only once, in 1978. Club Brugge’s disastrous performance in last year’s Champions League leads us to believe that they have improved since then. The Belgian club beat Leverkusen 1-0 during their first meeting. What’s even more impressive is that the market value of Clubb Brugge’s squad is almost five times lower than Leverkusen’s.

While their first victory tipped the scales a little bit it’s not enough to completely change the numbers on the online sportsbook sites in Spain. Their odds to finish in the top 2 are the same as Leverkusen, 2.81. This means that even after beating the Germans, Club Brugge are still the underdogs of Group B. The odds for winning the group are around 7.00 which isn’t that bad on its own but no 2023 UCL predictions see this as the most realistic option. We don’t think the Belgians will advance to the Round of 16.

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