The draw for 2019/2020 season of Champions League took place in Monaco this Thursday, August 29, which revealed how the groups ahead of the most prestigious football tournament of the year will look like. Just like any year before, the 32 qualified teams got seeded into eight groups of four teams, giving us an insight of which teams will clash mid-September, hoping to overcome their opponents and earn a ticket for the CL playoffs.
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Table of Contents
UEFA Champions League 2019/2020 Groups
GROUP A
PSG
Real Madrid
Club Brugge
Galatasaray
A fairly tough group, consisting of two football giants and two underdogs, who will hope to produce an upset and earn their spot in the playoffs. Yet it will be a very hard journey for Club Brugge and Galatasaray, who will have to be on top of their game to overcome the 13-times CL champions Real Madrid as well as the French champions PSG. Paris Saint-Germain will enter the upcoming CL scarred by two R16 exits, which did not go down well with the fans and the club owners, meaning a lot of pressure will be on them to perform. Coming out of the group stage should not pose many problems for the French giants, yet there are serious concerns about their chances going forward, with Neymar at the exit doors of the club.
GROUP B
Bayern Munich
Tottenham
Olympiacos
Crvena Zvezda
A very solid group, featuring two former Champions League champions and two teams who have not yet achieved that feat in their history. Despite what the first glance of the participating might suggest, it’s Bayern Munich and Crvena Zvezda who are the only two teams in group B who won the Champions League before. While boasting with a historic achievement, the Serbian club will have to produce something incredible to get out of the group stage here and the same goes for the Olympiacos. Both Bayern Munich and Tottenham are clear favourites here and should have no issues coming through and into the playoffs. That is, however, if they can withstand the immense pressure of playing away games at Karaiskakis Stadium and Rajko Mitic Stadium (Marakana).
GROUP C
Manchester City
Shakhtar Donetsk
Dinamo Zagreb
Atalanta
An interesting group, which at the first glance does not reveal which two teams will end up on top. While there is no doubt Man City will finish at the first spot, the second place finish which leads into playoffs is still wide open. Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta all possess enough talent to battle for the second place finish, yet it’s Atlanta who come out as the favourites to claim the final spot leading into final 16. The Italian side’s CL debut was well-earned and we believe they have enough quality to go deep here.
GROUP D
Juventus
Atletico Madrid
Leverkusen
Lokomotiv Moskva
The two undisputed favourites to finish at the top of Group D still have some unfinished business to settle, following Juventus incredible comeback against Atl Madrid last season, when they overturned a 2-0 first leg deficit to knock the Spanish team out in the round of 16. It will be an important season for last year’s hero Cristiano Ronaldo to perform up to par. He is turning 35 this year, meaning his time to win his sixth CL title is slowly running out. All things considered Juventus and Atl. Madrid are favourites to finish top two here and with a lot on the line for both outfits, we can’t see them underperforming against the two underdogs of the group D.
GROUP E
Liverpool
Napoli
Salzburg
Genk
Near perfect draw for Liverpool, who should not have any issues entering the final 16. Their biggest threat is Napoli, however, even they should not be too tough of a nut to crack for Klopp and his men. Last term Napoli and Liverpool traded wins, yet it’s hard to make a case Napoli enter this season any stronger. As it seems Salzburg and Genk will clash for the third place finish, which should be an interesting battle to watch. There is also a slim chance the Austrian team can push Napoli for the second place finish, yet they will have to be on top of their game to do so.
GROUP F
Barcelona
Dortmund
Inter
Slavia Praha
Group F, also known as the “group of death” features Barcelona, Dortmund, Inter Milan and Slavia Praha, who cannot be too happy with their draw. Barcelona will fancy their chances here, yet they are sweating with the presence of Inter Milan and Antonio Conte, who look very strong heading into the new season. That being said, Borussia Dortmund are not to be underestimated. The German side look much stronger compared to last season and should be able to compete for a domestic title as well as deep finish in CL. They are a team, who can produce remarkable results if everything clicks. Will that happen this term is yet to be seen, nonetheless, it will be very entertaining which of the three top dogs will fall short.
GROUP G
Zenit
Benfica
Lyon
Leipzig
Arguably one of the most interesting group, despite the absence of any top European team. Featuring Zenit, Benfica, Lyon and Leipzig, group G looks like the most evenly-matches out of all eight. Zenit and Benfica do come off as the strongest two teams, yet they cannot be too happy seeing Lyon and Leipzig on the other side, who are arguably the strongest two teams from the other two pots. It’s fair to say all four teams have a solid shot at coming out on top, meaning any mistake could and will cost them a playoffs ticket.
GROUP H
Chelsea
Ajax
Valencia
LOSC Lille
Last on the menu is group G, featuring Europa League champions Chelsea, 2018/19 Champions League semi-finalists Ajax, Valencia and Lille. It will be interesting to see how Chelsea perform under a new coach (Lampard) and can Ajax repeat their run from last season, despite selling both Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt this summer. Valencia might be able to produce an upset win against Ajax and Chelsea if given a chance. The French side, however, look like they will struggle walking away with anything here, considering they have sold a couple of key players this summer. A third place finish will be their goal, yet even that will not be easy to achieve.
UEFA Champions League 2019/2020 – Schedule and Fixtures
Matchday one
Tuesday 17 September Group E: Napoli v Liverpool, Salzburg v Genk Group F: Inter v Slavia Praha (18:55 CET), Dortmund v Barcelona Group G: Lyon v Zenit (18:55 CET), Benfica v Leipzig Group H: Chelsea v Valencia, Ajax v LOSC Lille
Wednesday 18 September Group A: Club Brugge v Galatasaray (18:55 CET), Paris v Real Madrid Group B: Olympiacos v Tottenham (18:55 CET), Bayern v Crvena zvezda Group C: Shakhtar v Manchester City, Dinamo Zagreb v Atalanta Group D: Atlético v Juventus, Leverkusen v Lokomotiv Moskva
Matchday two
Tuesday 1 October
Group A: Real Madrid v Club Brugge (18:55 CET), Galatasaray v Paris Group B: Tottenham v Bayern, Crvena zvezda v Olympiacos Group C: Atalanta v Shakhtar (18:55 CET), Manchester City v Dinamo Zagreb Group D: Juventus v Leverkusen, Lokomotiv Moskva v Atlético
Wednesday 2 October Group E: Genk v Napoli (18:55 CET), Liverpool v Salzburg Group F: Slavia Praha v Dortmund (18:55 CET), Barcelona v Inter Group G: Zenit v Benfica, Leipzig v Lyon Group H: Valencia v Ajax, LOSC Lille v Chelsea
Matchday three
Tuesday 22 October Group A: Club Brugge v Paris, Galatasaray v Real Madrid Group B: Tottenham v Crvena zvezda, Olympiacos v Bayern Group C: Shakhtar v Dinamo Zagreb (18:55 CET), Manchester City v Atalanta Group D: Atlético v Leverkusen (18:55 CET), Juventus v Lokomotiv Moskva
Wednesday 23 October Group E: Salzburg v Napoli, Genk v Liverpool Group F: Inter v Dortmund, Slavia Praha v Barcelona Group G: Leipzig v Zenit (18:55 CET), Benfica v Lyon Group H: Ajax v Chelsea (18:55 CET), LOSC Lille v Valencia
Matchday four
Tuesday 5 November Group E: Liverpool v Genk, Napoli v Salzburg Group F: Barcelona v Slavia Praha (18:55 CET), Dortmund v Inter Group G: Zenit v Leipzig (18:55 CET), Lyon v Benfica Group H: Chelsea v Ajax, Valencia v LOSC Lille
Wednesday 6 November Group A: Paris v Club Brugge, Real Madrid v Galatasaray Group B: Bayern v Olympiacos (18:55 CET), Crvena zvezda v Tottenham Group C: Dinamo Zagreb v Shakhtar, Atalanta v Manchester City Group D: Lokomotiv Moskva v Juventus (18:55 CET), Leverkusen v Atlético
Matchday five
Tuesday 26 November Group A: Galatasaray v Club Brugge (18:55 CET), Real Madrid v Paris Group B: Tottenham v Olympiacos, Crvena zvezda v Bayern Group C: Manchester City v Shakhtar, Atalanta v Dinamo Zagreb Group D: Lokomotiv Moskva v Leverkusen (18:55 CET), Juventus v Atlético
Wednesday 27 November Group E: Liverpool v Napoli, Genk v Salzburg Group F: Barcelona v Dortmund, Slavia Praha v Inter Group G: Zenit v Lyon (18:55 CET), Leipzig v Benfica Group H: Valencia v Chelsea (18:55 CET), LOSC Lille v Ajax
Matchday six
Tuesday 10 December Group E: Napoli v Genk (18:55 CET), Salzburg v Liverpool (18:55 CET) Group F: Dortmund v Slavia Praha, Inter v Barcelona Group G: Benfica v Zenit, Lyon v Leipzig Group H: Chelsea v LOSC Lille, Ajax v Valencia
Wednesday 11 December Group A: Paris v Galatasaray, Club Brugge v Real Madrid Group B: Bayern v Tottenham, Olympiacos v Crvena zvezda Group C: Shakhtar v Atalanta (18:55 CET), Dinamo Zagreb v Manchester City (18:55 CET) Group D: Atlético v Lokomotiv Moskva, Leverkusen v Juventus
Knockout stage
Round of 16 Draw: 16 December First legs: 18/19 & 25/26 February Second legs: 10/11 & 17/18 March
Quarter-finals
Draw: 20 March First legs: 7/8 April Second legs: 14/15 April
Semi-finals
Draw: 20 March First legs: 28/29 April Second legs: 5/6 May
Where will be played the finals of the UEFA Champions League 2019/2020?
The Final of the UEFA Champions League 2019/2020 will take place at Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadı in Istanbul on May 30, 2020.
