Why Arsenal FC could win the Title this season?

18 Yard Box looks at why this could be Arsenal's year after a stellar 6-1 win over the Saints.

Its been four games played and the Gunners havent put a foot wrong this season so far. Good defensive performances against Sunderland and Stoke have been followed by attacking masterclass against Liverpool and Southampton. This sure is a sign of things to come and 18 Yard Box's Aman Arora thinks Arsenal can go the distance this year. Here are the reasons why.

Attacking prowess

An irresistible attack consisting of Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla coupled with the killer finishing of Oliver Giroud, this Arsenal attack could be the most settled as compared to  a couple of years before. Although, Giroud has failed to fire in the first three games of the season, his ability to get past stubborn defenses is proven as is his passing ability and his creation of chances for his team members. Along with this,the ability of Theo Walcott, Gervinho and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain cannot certainly be underestimated and they can be a handful on their day.

Podolski looks to have taken the 'play maker' mantle left by Fabregas and Persie

Departures not a problem

The departures of key players like Thierry Henry, Ljunberg, Reyes had left them a lot of gaps which were found difficult to be filed by youngsters such as Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky,  Alexander Hleb immediately who were work in progress and subsequently left in search of “trophies”. But for the first time in about 5 seasons, Arsenal looks to have a well settled midfield, having players who are well into their prime and probably enjoying the best period of their playing careers. The return of a young but irresistible Jack Wilshere will inject fresh blood into the squad and hoping he remains fit of the remainder of the season, they will have midfield capable of emulating the heroics of the 2004 season where they went through the entire season unbeaten. Although they have drawn 2 and won 1 this season, their defense looks solid with the return of marshal Steve Bould and the attack just about begins to settle as Poldi and Cazorla start to settle with life in England. A special mention to the tireless Mikel Arteta, who virtually controls the midfield every time he steps on to the field.

Giroud will have to get back to his scoring self soon

Return of Diaby

Remember the impact Diaby made during the 2009-2010 season which was the first time he had a proper pre-season for the first time with Arsenal, pitching in with regular goals and assists along with playing his regular box-to-box type game with relative ease? And this was when he was competing for his position with Song and Fabregas. Now, that they both have departed, it’s all Diaby’s to play for. Although the competition had reduced with Fabregas having departed last year, the season was his worst due to injuries forcing him to make only 4 appearances in the League. Now, once again he has had a pre-season and I expect him to dominate the defensive midfield role with ease marshalling the water tight defense they have.

Diaby needs to be fit and consistent if Arsenal are to succeed

Leading the line from the back

Although Vermaleen has been leading the backline for Arsenal since his arrival, naming him the captain of the side has proved to bring out the best in him. A strong character, Vermaleen has cherished captaining this side up till now which has been proved by the way he conducts himself and his team during a game. He has managed to make their defense a rock alongside Mertesacker.The German international has taken full advantage of Koscielny's injury and has not put a foot wrong. The arrival of Steve Bould adds to the advantage.

The duo have been brilliant at the back for Arsenal

Departure of Alex Song

Although one would argue that it was Song who had a good amount of assists for Van Persie last year, he could have been the ingredient that spoils the cake this season. With reports of him having a poor attitude on not getting a new contract with improved wages this season doing the rounds, and Wenger already having a fit Diaby, Wilshere, Arteta who can play in his position and probably better than him, it was certainly a right decision to cash in on him.

Having performed as an engine player for Arsenal, and been given the duty of a defensive midfielder, he often committed forward, neglecting his actual duties. Not only this, but lacking a personal discipline on the pitch with an irresponsible attitude, Wenger's decision to sell him is a blessing in disguise for Diaby, Rosicky and probably Wilshere.


Comment: 
After four games the Gunners sit pretty in the third position. The actual test will come in the following weeks when they will face Manchester City, Montepellier, Chelsea and Coventry City in a matter of two weeks. If they progress unscathed then they surely have the will and the grit to win the Premier League crown after seven years.

Written by,
Aman Arora.

Aman is a writer for 18 Yard Box and a contributor for Sportskeeda.com

The Return of Abou Diaby

18 Yard Box takes a look at the second homecoming of Arsenal's yet another French Star.

Vassiriki Abou Diaby, better known as Abou Diaby, is currently the talk of the town in London. Having started all the 3 games for Arsenal this season, the French midfielder, often blighted by injuries throughout his career, is making his presence felt in the side.

He is back with a bang!

Early Days                                                                 

Abou Diaby began his football career with his hometown club CM Aubervilliers later joining Paris St-Germain on a professional contract. From there he went Auxerre in 2002 and continued playing for them until he was roped in by Arsenal in 2006, for an undisclosed fee. While at Auxerre, he played for the France national team right from the Under-18 stage. One of his coaches described him as being “Fairly quite & quiet frail.” Indeed it was true, due to repetitive injuries Diaby was often on the treatment table instead of being on the pitch. Coming through the youth ranks, no wonder, it was Arsene Wenger who spotted this young lad and brought him to England in January 2006.

Wenger spotted the young lad

Style of Play

Diaby is not the usual work-horse midfielder; he is a passive yet elusive player. He is creative while going forward as well as very efficient while falling back to defend. His deft touches and ability to slide in slick passes to his team-mates are a pleasure to watch. Not the player who runs tirelessly, he is a player who makes the most of it when the ball is with him. A well-built physique & good height adds to his arsenal of being an aerial threat not only offensively but also while marking opposition players during set-pieces.

A complete midfielder!

What makes him better than Song?

With the departure of Alex Song it was much doubted as to whether Diaby would be able to replace the second best player of the Arsenal team last season. What makes Diaby better than Song is his hunger to win back the ball. Arsenal defence have often been accused of leaking in goals and last season was another example of that. Song was accused of being too offensive and hence could not recover in time to save the goal.  Although he is known for his surge forward, what makes Diaby better than his former team-mate Alex Song, is his ability to run all the way back to defend for the team. Not the fastest by any means, his long strides help him cover the ground quickly. Also, another aspect which stands out is the fact that he is a clean tackler, unlike Song, who was pretty brash while tackling getting him in danger of being sent off.  Height is an added advantage for Diaby as it helps the team defend set pieces. The difference is immediately seen as Arsenal last season, at this stage, had conceded 10 goals and scored only 2 whereas this season have conceded none.

Diaby or Song? Who is better?

The Next Patrick Vieira?

The great Patrick Vieira parted ways with Arsenal in 2005. A key ingredient of the Invincibles’ success story, his departure left a big void in Arsenal’s midfield. Diaby was signed by the Gunners in January 2006. Both French, both Center Midfielders, the comparisons were imminent. Vieira was more of the defensive type while Diaby is much better while going ahead. Arsene Wenger, himself, once said that, “His ability to win the ball back is just like Vieira.” Diaby is more of a box to box midfielder and is labelled as a 'complete midfielder' by Didier Deschamps. But then Diaby is still a long way to achieve what his French counterpart did in his playing days.

Viera in the making?

The Resurgence of Diaby

Always known as a player with great potential, Diaby has never been able to live up to the billing, not for the lack of trying, but its injuries which have kept him on the sidelines for weeks and months. Having not made a single start in the entire campaign last season, an injury-free Diaby was in the Starting XI right from Match day 1, this season. A Man of the Match performance in his last outing is probably just the start of repayment of the unwavering faith shown in him, by the Gunners boss. It’s been 6 years since he joined the club & Wenger has always stood by him and maintained the fact that when Diaby will be back, he’ll be a very good player. Wenger said, “When fit, Abou is the first name on the France team sheet.” He was fit last week, he was on the team sheet as well and if anyone had any questions on Wenger’s comment, Diaby answered them all by scoring the lone goal to help France win.With age on his side (Diaby is now just 26), and his will-power to comeback stronger after every injury, Abou Diaby can certainly bring glory to Arsenal FC and for himself in the years to come.

 

Written By,

Pranav Byatnal.

Pranav Byatnal is an Editor & Writer for 18 Yard Box.

Champions League Group Stage Preview: A look at all the Groups of the Champions League in detail and how your favourite teams will fare

The “ROAD TO WEMBLEY” has begun. UEFA Champions League kicks off on 18^th September, 2012 with heavy favourites Barcelona taking on Spartak Moscow at Camp Nou while European Champions Chelsea will hope to kickstart their title defence in style with a home tie against Italian Serie A Champions Juventus.

The team of 18 Yard Box has a look at all the groups in detail. Click on the pictures to check how your favourite teams will fare.

Group A Preview: Its PSG's time to shine

Group B Preview: Will Arsenal gun down their opponents?

Group C Preview: Will Milan live upto the expectations?

Group D Preview: Who will be the Champions of the Champions from this Group of Death?

Group E Preview: Defending Champions v/s The Invincibles! Who will prevail?

Group F Preview: Can Bayern go the distance?

Group G Preview: Barcelona's games to win

Group H Preview: Manchester United have it easy

Written By,
Team - 18 Yard Box

18 Yard Box is place where you can quench your thirst for football knowledge and also get unbiased analysis of all the top teams across the globe.

Champions League Group E Preview : Defending Champions v/s The Invincibles! Who will prevail?

18 Yard Box has a look at Group E of the Champions League in detail and determine who will go through to the Round of 16.

As the dawn of a new Champions League campaign rises from the ashes in the Allianz Arena, we analyse Group E which sees the Italian ‘invincibles’ Juventus pitted against the current European champions Chelsea, Ukranian giants Shakhtar Donetsk and Danish champions F.C. Nordsjælland

Group E

1.   Chelsea FC	3.   Juventus
2.   Shakhtar Donetsk	4.   FC Nordsjælland

CHELSEA FC

They say that it is extremely difficult and almost impossible to defend the champions league crown due to the sheer competitiveness at the highest levels in football and the fact that teams of the calibre of Barcelona and United have failed to hold on to their European crowns seems to be a validation of this very idea. But ‘impossible’ is a word Chelsea fans take a special liking to if last year’s semi-final and final were anything to go by. Since the days of the ‘Magic of Munich’, Chelsea have lost their talisman and legend Didier Drogba to China but have added considerably to their squad. In Eden Hazard, Marko Marin, Oscar and Victor Moses, the European champions have secured bundles of pace, trickery and innovation in the opponents third. Hazard has especially caught the eye with three Man of the Match awards in his first three games in the Premier League. However, despite the presence of such immense innovation and creativity, doubts still linger whether Fernando Torres will be able to fill in the gigantic shoes of Didier drogba and put away all the chances that his team-mates will invariably create. Also, with the sale of Raul Meireless and Michael Essien (on loan), Chelsea suddenly look fairly lightweight in the deeper-midfield positions and the grit, determination and doggedness which Meireles and Essien provided could be a telling absence specially when they play away from home in harsh conditions. Finally, their defence looks shaky at times and has a tendency to implode on occasions such as Falcao aptly displayed in the European Supercup.

 
Can the duo of Hazard and Torres fill the void left by Didier Drogba?

JUVENTUS

It would be an understatement to say that the club nicknamed “The Old Lady of Turin” had a stellar last season. They not only wrestled the Serie A title back but also went about doing that with panache, aplomb, a three defender system and Pirlo in the form of his life. Not to mention that they remained unbeaten in the league. In Buffon, Barzagli, Bonnuci and Chiellini, the Turin giants have a backline to fear. The fact that they usually play with three at the back might take a number of teams from the upper echelons of the Spanish, English and German league some tactical getting used to as it usually leaves their wing-backs with all sorts of space to run into from pin-point Pirlo passes. While the new arrivals of Bendtner and Pogba weren’t exactly the players that Juventus needed to recruit to launch an assault onto the Champions League, their midfield comprising of the likes of Pirlo, Marchisio and Pepe can be more than a handful even on their worst days. Their one major disadvantage lies in their experience. Although the players are highly experienced at the top levels, the team itself as a whole missed out on the rigors of champions league football last season and many Italian pundits claim that this year might have just come a bit too early for the Bianconeri.

 
Pirlo’s form will be crucial to the Italian champions’ chances.

SHAKHTAR DONETSK

The Ukrainian giants have won the domestic league thrice in a row now and are undoubtedly Turkey’s prized entry into the Champions League. With a heady mix of Brazilian and Turkish players, Shakhtar have a very technically talented squad with a decent amount of flare through the ranks. However, they will consider themselves very unlucky to have been drawn in the same group as the European and Italian champions when there were easier scalps to be had. Nonetheless they will ensure that Chelsea and Juventus face hostile atmospheres when they arrive in Ukraine and will try to shut up the crowd when they themselves travel to London and Turin. Their over-reliance on the Brazilian duo of Willian and Fernandinho and the Croatian duo of Eduardo and Srna will prove costly once November and December approaches and their squad gets stretched.

 
Over reliance on Eduardo to bang in the goals may hurt Shakhtar in the long run

Nordsjælland FC

Completing Group E are Danish minnows Nordsjælland who have been on an exceptional domestic run having won and successfully defended the Danish Cup before proceeding to win the Danish Super Liga last year. The ‘Wild Tigers’ are well known in Denmark for their brand of attacking, aggressive football and they might prove to be a refreshing addition to the Champions Ceague this year. However, for them it is a case of managing to make it till the Champions League more than anything else and they will be playing for Danish pride against the English and Italian giants of Chelsea and Juventus.

 
Can the Danish minnows spring a surprise?

FINAL VERDICT 

The combination, fluidity and inherent positional interchanging abilities of Hazard-Mata-Marin-Oscar-Torres will provide a stern test to any opposition defence and hence Chelsea are favourites to top the group. Juventus will be expected to give Chelsea a close fight for the top spot but will be satisfied with a second place finish given that they did not even get a crack at the tournament last year. Despite the burgeoning talent in the Shakhtar squad, they will have a better chance at the Europa league this year and are expected to finish third in the group while the Danish minnows are expected to be bottom of the table.

Written By,

Apratim Mukherjee

Apratim is a an Editor and Writer for 18 Yard Box

Champions League Group B Preview: Will Arsenal gun down their opponents?

The UEFA Champions League is just days away. The games are all set to begin. 18 Yard Box’s Pranav analyzes what’s in store for the fans from Group B.

Here is a look at Group B, which includes North Londoners Arsenal placed alongside French League Champions Montpellier, Greek Champions Olympiacos and German outfit FC Schalke 04.

Group B

A.     Arsenal FC	B.     FC Schalke04
C.     Montpellier FC	D.     Olympiacos

Arsenal FC

A 15^th consecutive appearance in Europe’s top club competition is an achievement in itself for any club. 3rd place finish last season in the League sees them enter directly into the Champions League group stages. This season, Arsenal are off to a steady start in their domestic campaign having kept a hat-trick of clean sheets in as many games. 

The arrivals of Lukas Podolski (from FC Köln), Santi Cazorla (from Malaga CF) and Olivier Giroud (from Montpellier FC) alongwith the return of Abou Diaby have given the fans something exciting to look forward to. Cazorla in particular has become an instant hit with fans after putting up impressive displays in all the matches played so far. It’s the goals upfront which are a cause of concern for the Gunners but with the defence holding tight at the back the historical 'One-Nil To The Arsenal' is something the fans won’t mind. Certainly the favourites to top the group.

Cazorla is surely the buy of the season for the Gunners

FC Schalke

The 2010-11 semi-finalists would have had mixed feelings about the group they are placed in. They will have to fight tooth & nail against their opponents if they are to come out of this group and qualify to the next round. A 3^rd place in the Bundesliga last season and a quarter-final exit in the Europa League is something they will surely look to better this time.

Germans Benedikt Höwedes (Captain), Lewis Holtby and Julian Draxler are some of the many talents Schalke can boast about.  Expectations are going to be high from Dutch Striker Klass Jan Huntelaar who has reinvented himself at Schalke after some below-par seasons at Real Madrid and AC Milan. Schalke fans shouldn’t be too confident, because Montpellier and Olympiacos both are more than capable of advancing to the Knockout stages.

Huntelaar is the MVP for Schalke

Montpellier FC

The new boys of the Champions’ League will get taste of what it is to play against Europe’s elite. Not much is known about the French Champions who powered their way to the Ligue 1 title last season thanks to Olivier Giroud who netted 21 times in the league for them.  But with his departure to group opponents Arsenal, comes a great responsibility on the shoulders of  Mapou Yanga –Mbiwa and Younus Belhanda to not let the fans down and put on a good show.

Surely, a great team to look forward to and even for the players it will be a new challenge altogether, even if they don’t make it to the next round.

It will be an early homecoming for Giroud

Olympiacos

The 39-Time Greek Champions are not at all new to this competition making their debut in UEFA European Cup way back in 1959-60. In fact they face Arsenal yet again in the group stages having met them in the same round last season.  Its one memory their fans will cherish having beaten the North Londoners 3-1 at home, and something Vito Mannone would love to forget.

Olympiacos have a strong home record and it won’t be easy to pull them down. Captain Torosidis and Fetfatzidis are the players to watch out for. Not the fancied team to progress, yet they will put in a tough challenge for sure.

Captain fantastic

FINAL VERDICT-

This group is certainly not going to be as easy as it seems. Arsenal will have to work hard and get their home games counted if they are to secure safe passage into the Round of 16. First timers Montpellier will have something new to offer & might just pull out an upset while Schalke and Olympiacos have to really put their best foot forward.

Arsenal at the top with Schalke joning them in the Round of 16 courtesy of their European experience is what I feel. Montpellier are favourites to scrape through to the Europa League.

Written By,

Pranav Byatnal.

Pranav is an Editor & Writer for 18 Yard Box.

Champions League Group H Preview: Manchester United have it easy

18 Yard Box's Pranav Shenoy has a close look at the teams involved in the Group H of this season's UEFA Champions League.

After the much awaited start of the new season of the Premier League its time to focus on Europe’s elite club competition i.e The UEFA Champions League. 18 Yard Box has a look at Group H which includes the likes of 19 times Premier League champions Manchester United, Turkish Champions Galatasaray AS, Sporting Braga from Portugal and Romanian Champions CFR 1907 Cluj.

Manchester United F.C

A team that needs no introduction, the Red Devils have won the cup in 1999 and 2008 while finishing runners up in 2009 and 2011 under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson. However, the disappointment of not crossing the group stages last year would haunt the team. With the addition of Shinji Kagawa and Robin Van Persie to an already potent strike force of Wayne Rooney, Nani and Antonio Valencia, United would look for nothing short of a semi-finals berth. If the team learned anything from the previous edition it is to never underestimate the opposition (FC Basel).

Robin Van Persie's arrival has made United one of the contenders

Galatasaray SK

A team that has produced quality players like Gheorge Hagi, Hakan Sukur and Arda Turan, Galatasaray have always underperformed in Europe. A squad that boasts of talented young Turkish players such as Aydin Yilmaz and Hamit Altintop and experienced veterans like Felipe Melo, Tomas Ujfalusi and Milan Baros, Galatasaray have a fair chance to progress to the next stage of the competition. Coach Fatih Terim and his men may not get a better opportunity than this to restore Galatasaray to its former glory.

Can Hamit lead Galatasaray to glory?

CFR 1907 Cluj

The Romanian champions make just their 2^nd appearance in the biggest European Championship after defeating the likes of FC Basel and Slovan Liberec in qualification. CFR Cluj are the unknown entity in this group who can provide us with the element of surprise. Striker Modou Sougou had an instant impact since his arrival at the club but can he compete against the big boys of Europe. With the recent acquisition of Jorge Martinez from Juventus, Cluj have added finesse to their squad.

Can CFR cluj make an impact in this edition or will they be the whipping boys of this group like fellow Romanian club Otelul Galati was in the previous season remains to be see.

Martinez will be the man to watch

Sporting club Braga

Possibly the only side outside the big three of Portugal which has competed in Europe earlier, and former Europa League finalist, Braga will be no pushovers in this year’s edition. Braga coach Jose Peseiro has a gifted squad full of Poruguese and Brazilian talent like Douglao, Hugo Viana, Eder and experienced goal keeper Quim to choose from. Braga might consider qualification as another step in their journey towards developing as a European power. This team might have those potential superstars which the Portuguese League has the tendency to produce time and time again.

Quim has to be on his toes all the way

The Final Verdict

This group is Manchester United’s easiest and quickest route to qualify for the next round. It seems Sir Alex Ferguson will fulfill his promise of qualifying throught the group stages if all goes well. United's strike force might be too much for the other teams to handle.

On paper the second team to go through will be Galatasaray but games are not won on paper.

Sporting Braga or Cluj can also go through to the next stage with some match-winning displays or ‘big’ upsets. For now this group promises to be a 3 horse race for 2^nd spot with United qualifying comfortably at the top of the table. 

Written By, 
Pranav Shenoy

Pranav is an Editor and writer for 18 Yard Box.

Champions League Group G Preview: Barcelona's games to win

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	B.     SL Benfica
C.     Spartak Moscow	D.     Celtic FC

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.

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.

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. 

Kris Commons- Man to Watch out for

Georgios Samaras will always steal the limelight as far as Celtic is concerned but the Man of the Playoff Round Kris Commons is the man to watch out for in the group stages as he contributed with a goal and an assist in either leg.

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.

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 3^rd 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.