This Griup features Barcelona, Juventus, Olympiakos and Sporting CP. It features a rematch of the last year’s Quarter finals. It might seem to many that there are two battles going on here, one for top spot between Barcelona and Juventus and one for who gets into the Europa league between Sporting CP and Olympiakos.
The Greek Champions currently sit atop their table. They do possess players like Marko Marin and Fortounis but this group is of a different caliber altogether. Sporting CP on paper are the stronger of the two having won 5 out of their first 5 matches in the Portuguese League. They boast players like Patricio, Coentrao, Mattieu, Bas Dost and William Carvalho who might be a bit too much for Olympiakos but not enough to challenge the likes of Barcelona and Juventus.
Juventus seem like they keep losing key players but are just able to deal with it one way or another. They have lost the likes of Pogba, Pirlo, Vidal, Tevez and Morata in the past few years and have been able to replace them wiithout compromising on their team performance. Their manager, Max Allegri is a tough man who will not take any kind of nonsense from his players, regardless of their stature. The legendary defence of Juventus might look weak due to the departure of Alves and Bonucci but one must not doubt their new signings De Scglio and Howedes. They have also acquired players like Douglas Costa and Matuidi who will only add to an already impressive team. The likes of Dybala and Higuain can help the Old Lady find a way deep into this campaign’s Champions League.
The talk of the summer, Barcelona are also in this group and while they have worries off the pitch with their club president, on the field it seems like business as usual as Messi scored yet another Hat-trick this weekend to add to his already impressive tally. The headlines may have been stolen by Neymar departing and the club failing to capture Coutinho, but their performances under new boss Ernesto Valverde look promising. New boy Ousmane Dembele needs to fit in quickly as important matches in the CL near. Barcelona’s quality is undoubted but under Valverde, can they achieve success like they had under Pep? Time will tell.
This makes for an intriguing group simply because of the mouth-watering clash between Barcelona and Juventus.
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Dybala Image via Youtube
Dembele Image via 101greatgoals
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