The most interesting club tournament 2018-19 UEFA Champions League is upon us.
Bayern Munich are
the clear favourites
to advance from Group E but who will join them in the Knockout Rounds? Will Benfica, Ajax, or AEK Athens make the jump?
The German champions will be expected to come first with a flawless win record — anything less than that, and expect the media’s attack dogs to descend on Niko Kovac. The trickiest fixture comes first — on matchday 1, Bayern travel to Lisbon to face Benfica. If Kovac can successfully navigate this fixture, then the rest of the group stage should be a formality.
How did they qualify: Bayern Munich qualified directly into the Group Stage by winning the 2017-18 German Bundesliga.
Benfica will be the favourites to follow Bayern Munich out of this group and into the knockout rounds
As for the summer transfer window, Benfica was as busy as they always are, bringing in talented players like Facunda Ferreyra and Nicolas Castillo.
How did they qualify: Benfica qualified directly into the Third Qualifying Round by finishing in second place in the 2017-18 Portuguese Premeira
Liga. They beat 2017-18 Turkish Super Lig second place finisher Fenerbahce 2-1 on aggregate in the Third Qualifying Round, and 2017-18 Superleague Greece second place finisher PAOK 5-2 in the Playoff Round to advance to the Group Stage.
19-year old Matthijs de Light is the key player to watch for Ajax as the youngster is considered one of the brightest defensive starlets in the world. 20-year-old Frankie de Jong is a midfielder, who also is worth watching compete. Ajax, however, will likely have its hands full in creating offence in this group and will need others to step up.
How did they qualify: Ajax qualified directly into the Second Qualifying Round by finishing in second place in the 2017-18 Dutch Eredivisie. They beat 2017-18 Austrian Football Bundesliga second place finisher Sturm Graz 5-1 on aggregate in the Second Qualifying Round, 2017–18 Belgian First Division A second-place
finisher Standard Liege 5-2 on aggregate in the Third Qualifying Round
and 2017–18 Ukrainian Premier League second place finisher Dynamo Kiev 3-1 in the Playoff Round to advance to the Group Stage.
The good news for AEK Athens is that they avoid Bayern Munich for their first two matches in Group E. The bad news for Athens is that games three and four are against Bayern. It’s very possible that they will enter Matchday 5 with anywhere from 0-3 points with no realistic shot at advancing.
How did they qualify: AEK Athens qualified directly into the Third Qualifying Round by winning the 2017-18 Superleague Greece. They beat 2017-18 Scottish Premiership champion Celtic 3-2 on aggregate in the Third Qualifying Round, and 2017-18 Hungarian 2017–18 Nemzeti Bajnokság I champion MOL Vidi 3-2 in the Playoff Round to advance to the Group Stage.
STANDINGS
