The most interesting club tournament 2018-19 UEFA Champions League is upon us.
PSG and Liverpool will be overwhelming favourites to come out of Group C. Can Napoli spring an upset?
PSG should be among the favourites in the Champions League with its ultra-explosive offensive core group of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Edinson Cavani. Adding the experience of Gianluigi Buffon could be a tremendous boost as this competition advances and gives Thomas Tuchel two very good options at goalkeeper with Alphonse Areola.
How did they qualify: PSG qualified directly into the Group Stage by winning the 2017-18 French Ligue 1.
The additions of Naby Keits, Xherdan Shaqiri, Fabinho and Alisson Becker during the summer transfer window have helped strengthen Liverpool’s depth; something that were quite short of in the latter stages of last season.
How did they qualify: Liverpool qualified directly into the Group Stage by finishing in fourth place in the 2017-18 English Premier League. They made hard work of it towards the end of the season, having to get a positive result on the final match-day against Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield. At the time, Chelsea were
breathing down their necks in the fifth spot
but had only taken a single point from their last two matches against Huddersfield Town and Newcastle United, putting Liverpool firmly in the driver’s seat for the fourth spot in the table. For Liverpool, their progression to the Champions League final did take it’s
toll on their league form towards the latter stages, but they were able to secure the 4th spot with that convincing 4-0 win over Brighton on Super Sunday.
Napoli’s high pressing, high energy style of play under Maurizio Sarri was quite something to watch, but their style is likely to be a bit different under new manager Carlo Ancelotti. Additionally, their midfield took a hit in the summer transfer window when Sarri brought Jorginho with him to Chelsea, so Allan, Piotr Zielinski, and Marek Hamšík will see the majority of the minutes in the centre of the pitch.
How did they qualify: SSC qualified directly into the Group Stage by finishing in second place in the 2017-18 Italian Serie A.
Red Star really couldn’t have asked for a worse group than Liverpool, Napoli, and Paris Saint-Germain. They lost their best player from last season Nemanja Radonjic, to Marseille for roughly €12 million.
How did they qualify: Red Star Belgrade qualified into the First Qualifying Round by winning the 2017-18 Serbian SuperLiga. They beat 2017 Latvian Higher League champions Spartaks Jurmala 2-0 on aggregate in the First Qualifying Round, 2017 Lithuanian A Lyga champions Suduva Marijampole 5-0 on aggregate in the Second Qualifying Round, 2017-18 Macedonian First Football League champions Shkendija 4-0 on aggregate in the Third Qualifying Round, and 2017-18 Austrian Football Bundesliga champion Red Bull Salzburg 2-2 (away goals) in the Playoff Round to advance to the Group Stage.
STANDINGS
