18 Yard Box analyses Group G of the Champions League and gives its verdict as to who will go through and who will take a drop
After seeing the draws for the Groups, the Catalan Giants will consider themselves lucky enough as compared to their Spanish rivals Real Madrid after having been placed in Group G alongside Benfica, Spartak Moscow and Celtic.
18 Yard Box's Adwait Bhattacharya takes an indepth look at Group G and gives his verdict as to which two teams will advance to the Round of 16.
Group G
A. FC Barcelona
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B. SL Benfica
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C. Spartak Moscow
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D. Celtic FC
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FC Barcelona
Having been placed in a Group they will consider relatively easy as compared to the one Real Madrid are in, Barcelona will hope to come out of this group as winners so as to avoid bigger teams in the next stage. Pep Guardiola stepped down as Barcelona Manager at the end of last season and has been replaced by Tito Vilanova who is expected to bring great success to the club and winning back the UEFA Champions League trophy will be the major priority this season.
The club has brought in Jordi Alba from Valencia, who is a product of the La Masia academy, thus strengthening one weak point they had from last year’s side. The return of David Villa gives Vilanova more attacking options while Alexandre Song will provide added cover and quality to this side that is a favourite to not only win the group but lift the cup at Wembley.
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| Jordi Alba could strengthen Barca's defence by leaps and bounds |
With the quality the squad possesses, one can expect the likes of 21 year old Christian Tello to make his mark along with the youth players Barcelona draft into the squad each year. Six games in the group stage will give the manager to shuffle his pack regularly. Lionel Messi will again be the Player to watch out for. The least one would expect from the club is to reach the Finals.
SL Benfica
Benfica would surely consider themselves as second favourites to qualify from the Group. Last season they played a flamboyant style of attacking football that saw favourites Manchester United only finish third in their group and they along with FC Basel progressed to the knockout stages.
With a midfield that boasts of Nicolas Gaitan and Pablo Aimar, the Portuguese club is sure to cause the other group members a bit of a problem especially when they are at home.
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| Axel Witsel's departure could prove costly for Benfica |
The departure of Axel Witsel should not cause their game much of a problem as manager Jesus has added to the strength of his team’s midfield by bringing in promising 21 year old youngster Eduardo Salvio. Benfica will surely hope to see off the challenges posed by Celtic and Spartak Moscow, and will look to cause an upset when they face the Catalans eventually.
The least one could expect from Benfica is a knockout berth, but if they play as they did last year, they could go past the Quarter Finals this time around.
Celtic FC
The Scottish Giants are back and in some style. Two successive 2-0 victories against Swedish side Helsingborg have seen Celtic make it into the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2008. The Scottish Champions will look to spring up a surprise for the other group members and will realistically hope to clinch the second place in the group which would ensure their qualification to the next stage.
It’s a massive boost for the Bhoys, who will look to their keeper Forster to be at the top of his game like he was in the playoff round against Helsingborg along with the other top players in the club. We are in for a treat as Celtic always promise attacking football and three group games at Celtic Park are sure to be at its noise-piercing best with the supporters hoping that the club can secure maximum points from a possible 9 at Home.
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| Kris Commons- Man to Watch out for |
It’s a tough ask. But not an impossible one. One would expect Celtic to put up a fight against Benfica for the second place, but the best possible result for Celtic could be 3rd position which would ensure their entry into the Europa League.
Spartak Moscow
Spartak Moscow return to the Champions League having missed out on it last year. Spartak’s approach in the return leg away at Fenerbahce in the playoff round was impressive as they looked to attack the Turkish side from the word go despite sitting on a 2-1 advantage from first leg.
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| Will Premier League experience help the former Evertonian? |
The addition of Källström will give Emery a fine technician and his Champions League experience will help the club in many ways. Bilyaletdinov, who previously played at Everton along with Aiden McGeady will try to ensure atleast a 3rd place in the group if not qualification to the next stage of Champions League.
Qualification from the group to the next stage will be too much to ask from Spartak Moscow who look decent enough in paper but are not as strong as compared to other teams. It will go down to the wire between Celtic and them as to who gets the Europa League Spot
THE FINAL VERDICT-
FC Barcelona look clear favourites by a
certain mile to top the Group and advance comfortably into the next round. SL
Benfica could pose some trouble when these two sides meet. Benfica will have to
make their home games count against the other two teams if they are to have any
chance of cementing their place atleast in the 2nd position.
Celtic as I expect should head into the
Europa League via 3rd place spot as they are a bit superior to Spartak Moscow
but that will all come down to which teams come out on top when the two sides
meet.
Spartak Moscow have a huge task in their
hand but they could spring in a few surprises as we have seen from other clubs
in the past and from Apoel FC last season. All in all, this Group promises to
be an exciting one.
Written By,
Adwait Bhattacharya.
Adwait is a former Writer at Goal.com and is presently an Editor and Writer at 18 Yard Box.
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