Champions League Draw – Group Stage 2015/16

Casillas will face Mourinho again, while Man City can prove against last year’s runner-up…check out the Champions League draw!

The Champions League draw is always something incredibly exciting as great teams can be drawn together in the same group. That is what football enthusiasts always hope for when they hear about the upcoming excitement of the Champions League draw every year.

• PSG will face Real
• Casillas meets Mourinho
• Barca got an easy group

However, this season brought rather a dull sorting as there are not really any groups of death, which is quite unusual considering the previous year. Luckily some great derbies will still be available though, such as the clash between PSG and Real Madrid, or Bayern Munich facing Arsenal… Check out all the groups of the Champions League!

Real and PSG will fight in Group A, Man Utd. should rule Group B

Paris Saint-Germain was drawn into Group A as one of the top 8 European clubs. They will play against the Royal Club, so fans will definitely be looking forward to 2 spectacular encounters. Ukrainian gambling news report that Shakhtar Donetsk is also a member of Group A and will aim to prove themselves good enough to qualify for the Round of 16. Malmö FF are the dark horse of this group, they are not expected to be able to cause any major surprises against the other teams.

Group B’s team from the first pot is PSV Eindhooven, whose rival from the second pot will be Manchester United. The Dutch and the English team will have to travel to Moscow in order to play a tough clash against CSKA Moscow. The “weakest” member of the group (according to the odds of UEFA) can cause huge surprises as Bundesliga’s previous runner-up Vfl Wolfsburg could be able to qualify themselves for the next round.

Juve meet City while Benfica face Atlético Madrid

Benfica and Atlético de Madrid will fight for the first place of group C. The Portuguese side was drawn there from the first pot while 2014’s runner-up was sorted from the second one. Their next opponent will be Galatasaray who are extremely keen on fighting for their place, in order to participate in the next rounds as well. Unpredictable games are expected in this group as the teams are more or less on the same level. The 4th member of this group is Kazakh champion Astana, who are expected to finish last in the group, however surprises can always happen.

Group D’s star team from the first pot is FC Juventus. The Italian side finished as runner-up last season as they lost the final to Barcelona after eliminating Real Madrid in the semi-finals. They aim even better results this season. Their opponents in group D will be Manchester City and Sevilla, forming a group of death with 4 very strong teams, completing the group with the team from the fourth pot, Borussia Monchengladbach, who could be able to cause a surprise and steal some points from any of the above-mentioned teams.

Barca have an easy group, Bayern have to defeat Arsenal

The biggest star club of group E is FC Barcelona without a doubt – the title defender that defeated Juventus in last season’s Champions League final. Their rival from the second pot is Bayer Leverkusen, and AS Roma are also in the same group, however they don’t stand a chance against the Catalans. Bate Borisov are drawn to group E from the fourth pot and they are expected to finish last at the end of the group stage.

Online gambling sites in Germany report that Bayern Munich is the biggest name of Group F. Their opponent from the second pot will be Arsenal, so great matches are expected between the two star teams. Olympiacos was also drawn in this group, however they are not very likely to be able to fight for Round of 16 qualification. Dinamo Zagreb will be eager to harden the tasks of the above-mentioned clubs as the Croatian champions are the 4th member of Group F.

Mourinho-Casillas battle in Group G, Valencia favourite of Group H

Group G sees Chelsea as the team from the first pot. José Mourinho’s men will have to face FC Porto, the Portuguese team who signed the legendary goalkeeper Iker Casillas this summer. The match between the two sides is expected to be quite interesting thanks to the meeting of the two legends, who are believed to have had a bad relationship during Mourinho’s era at Real Madrid. Dinamo Kyiv will intend to break the hegemony of the star teams, however they are underdogs for qualification, just like the 4th member of the group, Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Online gambling websites report that Zenit was drawn into the last group from the first pot. They were pitted together with Valencia and Lyon from the second and third pots respectively. Both teams are regarded stronger and are expected to be among the top 2 sides in the end of the group stage. Zenit will have to perform greatly if they want to continue in the Round of 16. The team from the 4th pot is KAA Gent, but the Belgian team is unlikely to be able to compete with the other 3 clubs.