UCL Group Stage Day 1 (Wednesday) Predictions

Juventus vs Valencia

I’ve waited too long to see Juventus back in the Champions League. Coming into this season with a reinforced squad, I can’t wait to see just how far we go. We start off the tournament away at the Mestalla stadium, home of Valencia. While they might not be one of Europe's elite, they should not be underestimated as they have proven to be a stubborn side the past few years. Taking that into consideration, I believe Juventus still has the ability to get all three points. Valencia loves to attack through the middle and they have been successful in creating many goal scoring opportunities. The problem for them is that they are poor at finishing. Juventus is hard to defeat through the middle of the pitch so unless Valencia find space from out wide, they will have a hard time being successful with their usual style of play. Another problem for Valencia is that they have given too many free kicks near the box so far in La Liga. Juventus have some of the best players to capitalize in free kicks like Ronaldo, Pjanic and Dybala. Juventus also have Mr. Champions League in Ronaldo this season and he will look to continue being one of the best in the competition. While this might not be a walk in the park, Juventus should come out on top regardless. Juve’s style of play is perfect for countering Valencia’s style of play.

Predicted Winner/Score: Juventus 2-0 Valencia

Player to look out for: Cristiano Ronaldo

At this point, it’s become cliche to mention Ronaldo in everything UCL related. This is deserved since CR7 has been the most consistent goal scorer in the UCL. He will be even more motivated to try and replicate past success in his new Bianconeri jersey. I expect him to be very decisive in games for Juve.

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Real Madrid vs Roma

Roma dominated the headlines last season when they stunningly knocked out Barcelona in the quarter finals. They entered the Serie A season this year with high expectations but have fallen short so far. In their first four Serie A games so far, they have only managed to win one game, draw two and lose the other. This is not the kind of form they will want to carry into the UCL. Roma have been successful in exploiting wide spaces with through balls and attacking through the flanks. Despite those strengths, they haven’t been able to capitalize on their opponents so far. Real Madrid have been a very possession heavy team that likes to attack through the flanks often. They are always able to create many goal scoring chances are very clinical at this. Los Blancos also have arguably one of the best set of midfielders in the world which is capable of controlling a game. Roma will definitely have a hard time finding their feet in this one.

Predicted Winner/Score: Real Madrid 3-1 Roma

Player to look out for: Gareth Bale

Bale claims that the absence of Ronaldo has made Real more of a team since they no longer revolve around one player. Whether this was a diss or not is beyond the point. Bale will be looking to demonstrate that he can help Madrid as much as Ronaldo was able to in his time there. In the first four La Liga matches, Bale has scored three times and assisted twice. I see no reason to believe he will be unable to continue this success in the UCL with the amount of quality players around him.

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Manchester City vs Lyon

The reigning Premier League champions will be looking to take full advantage of the quality team they have assembled and go far into this seasons UCL. City is known for dominating possession and favor short passing in the build up. When in possession, they have been able to create an abundance of goal scoring opportunities. Lyon is similar to City in the sense that they play a possession centered style and are able to create many goal-scoring chances. They have been successful in creating a style of play that fits their players. On paper, City is the overwhelming favorite with the amount of quality players and the world class tactician in Pep on their side. It’ll be interesting to see if Lyon can hold their ground in this one.

Predicted Winner/Score: Manchester City 4-1 Lyon

Player to look out for: Kun Aguero

It’s not clear yet if Aguero will be fit in time for the match having came off Saturday’s win over Fulham due to a ankle injury. If he is able to play, then he will surely find the scoresheet. Aguero has been City’s best goal scorer so far this season having scored three times and assisting twice in five Premier League matches so far. You couldn’t have asked for a better start from him.

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Manchester United vs Young Boys

After a horrendous start to the season, Manchester United seem to be back on track having won their last two Premier League matches. United’s style of play focuses on exploiting the wide areas in the counter attack which usually are the flanks. They are able to create a lot of chances at goal and have players that can be clinical on a given day. I’m not too familiar with Young Boys or how they play, but they have dominated in their domestic league so far. No offense to their club but I just don’t believe they will be able to defeat a team with the quality of United.

Predicted Winner/Score: United 2-0 Young Boys

Player to look out for: Romelu Lukaku

Four goals in five games for United so far this season is impressive. Despite his size, he’s very pacey and is a perfect target man. I expect United will do their best to get the ball to him in the final third and let him do his thing.

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Bayern Munich vs Benfica

It’s ridiculous how dominant Bayern has been in the Bundesliga for the past couple of years. They have scored three goals in each of their first three Bundesliga matchups. This makes it pretty obvious that one of Bayern’s biggest qualities is their ability to find the back of the net. They also dominate possession in their opponents half, week in and week out as if it was nothing. Benfica on the other hand plays a possession dominated style of play. They have been successful in creating many chances at goal from the flanks. I don’t expect their style of play to be enough against Bayern. I think Bayern will likely dominate possession and find the space necessary to score goals. Benfica will be struggling to keep up with their intensity.

Predicted Winner/Score: Bayern Munich 3-1 Benfica

Player to look out for: Joshua Kimmich

Kimmich has established himself as one of the best upcoming right backs in the world during his time in Munich. Last year, he helped Bayern tremendously in the UCL having scored decisive goals while also being present in defense. I’m expecting him to pick up where he left last year and continue to impress.

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Ajax vs AEK Athens

Ajax has been almost outperforming in their domestic league to start the season off. Five games into the Eredivisie, Ajax have won four and only lost once. They have been lead in attack by the experienced Klaas-Jan Huntelaar which has netted six goals so far. They have also been very defensively solid thanks their most promising player, Matthijs de Ligt which has helped his side only concede ONE goal in the Eredivisie so far. That is very hard to accomplish and it’s no wonder De Ligt is also linked with a big move away from Ajax. The team's ability to defend will be crucial and tied to how far they are able to go into the competition. On the other hand, they are capable of constantly finding the space necessary to score and actually hit the net. Moving on to AEK Athens, I’m not too familiar with the club so I will base my predictions on their domestic league performances so far. In three games, two less than Ajax, they have have not conceded a single goal while scoring seven on their opponents. I get the feeling that Ajax is overall more complete and the favorite to win this match despite AEK’s performance in the Greece Super League.

Predicted Winner/Score: Ajax 2-0 AEK

Player to look out for: Matthijs de Ligt

As I mentioned earlier, De Ligt is one of the most promising defenders in the world right now. He is playing at a level beyond his years at only 19 years of age. If Ajax somehow makes it pass the group stage, you’ll know his defending capabilities helped Ajax progress. Really exciting player to watch.

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Hoffenheim vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Hoffenheim was one of the better sides in the Bundesliga last season, managing to finish 3rd being Bayern Munich and Schalke 04. In three Bundesliga matches so far, they have lost twice and won once with a negative goal difference. This is definitely not a confidence booster heading into the UCL. They are very good on the counter attack and even better when they find space through the flanks. They have been able to get into the right positions to score but lack a clinical striker. Their defense also needs some help since they have struggled to earn a clean sheet so far. Shakhtar Donetsk are clearly miles away from the next best Ukrainian Premier League side. In eight matches, they have won all but one of them. They have also scored twenty goals while only conceding four. It’s worth saying that Hoffenheim is surely much better than Shakhtar’s usual opponents but if they maintain their domestic league form they could definitely get some points. If anything, their performances so far must help elevate their confidence. This one seems like it could definitely go either way.

Predicted Winner/Score: Shakhtar 1-0 Hoffenheim

Player to look out for: Ádám Szalai

Adam is Hoffenheim's top goalscorer at the moment with three goals to his name. Scoring goals is crucial to winning games in a league full of ridiculously capable goal scorers. Expect Hoffenheim to get the ball to his feet every chance they get.

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CSKA Moscow vs Plzen

CSKA has started off the season giving very inconsistent performances in the Russian Premier League. In seven games so far, they have won & drew three times and have only lost once. It doesn’t help that they lost Russia’s biggest prospect in Aleksandr Golovin to Monaco after a great World Cup performance. He seemed to be the one that made both his domestic and national teams just “click”. Although they have scored three goals in each of their last two games so that’s definitely a bright side. They have also been able to find the space to send through balls to get into scoring position. They seem to be getting better game by game and will look to continue finding the back of the net as they’ve shown they can the past two games. Coincidently, Plzen has played one more domestic game than CSKA having won seven times and lost once. They have found the back of the net fourteen times but have conceded six goals. This one is also looking like it can go either way. It’ll be interesting to see if any of the lower ranked clubs will be able to get past the group stage.

Prediction: Winner/Score: CSKA 2-1 Plzen

Player to look out for: Fyodor Chalov

CSKA seems to have all the best upcoming Russian talent. Since joining in the 2016 season, Fyodor has scored six goals in both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 season. Maybe you think that’s not all that impressive but hold up. So far this season in seven appearances, he has scored six times already! In 2016-17 & 2017-18 he made around 15-20 appearances each year. He’s definitely going to continue scoring and dwarf his past numbers. I’m looking forward to some great performances from him.

I hope you enjoyed reading the post, thanks for reading!