Champions League: New seeding system makes group stages much less predictable

Juventus, Man City, Sevilla and Borussia Mönchengladbach in group of death


Reuters August 28, 2015
Holders Barcelona should cruise through Group E but there is likely to be a fascinating battle for second place between Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma. PHOTO: AFP

MONACO: The Champions League group stages took on a less predictable look after Thursday’s draw, helped by UEFA’s decision to tweak the seeding system.

Only Group A, where Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid should steam through, and Group F, set to be dominated by Bayern Munich and Arsenal, appear to be foregone conclusions.

Even those two groups should include some fascinating battles. “It is nice to face Arsenal and two old friends from the national team, Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil. It will be tense but we are the group favourites,” said Bayern skipper Philipp Lahm.

Other sections looked far more difficult to call, particularly Group D where anything could happen between Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla and Borussia Mönchengladbach. “Our opponents could not be more illustrious. This is a huge challenge but we are looking forward to it,” said Mönchengladbach sporting director Max Eberl.

Serie A champions and last year’s losing finalists Juventus are confident despite the difficult group. “We are Juventus and must not fear anything or anyone,” said Juve chief executive Giuseppe Marotta.

In the past years UEFA have based their seeding system for the draw on club coefficients, a complex ranking based on results in European competition. This time the governing body brought in a change; the top seeds were the champions of the eight most successful nations in club competition.

Real Madrid, who lead the club coefficients but were not La Liga winners last season, were one of the eight second seeds while Dutch league champions PSV Eindhoven, 37th in the coefficients, were one of the eight top seeds.

The draw could pump a little more excitement into a competition that has been short on romance and shock results in the group stages. Last season all but five knockout places were taken before the final round of group matches. In addition, 11 teams have reached the round of 16 for the last two seasons in a row.

This time the thrills could also start in Group B, featuring Manchester United, VfL Wolfsburg, CSKA Moscow and PSV. “We are satisfied with our draw. The group is tough but it could have been worse,” said Wolfsburg winger Andre Schurrle.

Atletico Madrid should progress from Group C, leaving Galatasaray and Benfica to scrap for second place with Kazakh outsiders Astana adding an exotic touch.

Meanwhile, holders Barcelona should cruise through Group E but there is likely to be a fascinating battle for second place between Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma.  BATE Borisov are unlikely to qualify but have beaten Bayern Munich and Athletic Bilbao in recent years.

Chelsea should dominate Group G although Porto and Dynamo Kiev can prove tricky opponents. “It’s a tough group with good teams that won their respective league titles, one of them the English Premier League,” said Porto coach Julen Lopetegui. “Chelsea are a great team and they have a coach [Jose Mourinho] who knows our club and Portuguese football inside out.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th,  2015.

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