The first tournament without Messi and Ronaldo after many years.

Erling and Kilian begin battle

For the first time in 20 years, Cristiano or Lionel, the tournament’s leading snipers in history, will not play in the Champions League. There are four favorites in the fight for the title of best scorer of the season: Haaland, Mbappe, Kane and Lewandowski. Robert has aged, but since then he is the only experienced sniper Champions League after the departure of Benzema, Ronaldo and Messi to other continents, the Pole is given an honorable role in the predictions alongside Bayern newcomer Kane.

Xavi makes no secret that he intends to achieve success Champions League, for him this tournament is a priority, dear and significant, especially after old failures. But the battle between Haaland and Mbappe heats up in the foreground. Manchester City were beaten in the group by Young Boys, Crvena Zvezda and Leipzig. Erling can score against all his opponents, because the Champions League is his favorite tournament. Record nuclear submarine it distracted attention from the Norwegian’s program in Europe.

Haaland scored 35 goals Champions League, and Mbappe has 40 accurate shots. Ronaldo and Messi are much ahead, but the young attackers have already begun to compete with each other, because they understand that in the coming years there is a fight for the new Ballon d’Or. And this season will be difficult for Mbappe. PSG he went to the “group of death”, where Milan, Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund. If the unstable Parisians manage not to advance from the group, Haaland will gain an advantage in the sniper race.

Luis Enrique’s team, also in France, failed to start the season with a series of consecutive victories, is in fifth place in the table, and Golovin’s Monaco is at the top of Ligue 1. The Parisians will certainly have a stake in up for grabs for the European Cup, but it’s easier for Haaland. Alvarez, Daku and Grealish will provide him with the final passes even without the injured De Bruyne. Manchester City is the favorite for the new season Champions LeagueReal’s serial victories convinced the public that it was possible to win the one with the big ears twice in a row.

One of the greats risks being captured THE

Last season, Atlético finished fourth in the group with Porto and Club Brugge. Barcelona gave way to Bayern and Inter. Sevilla traditionally did not qualify for the playoffs Champions Leagueto win your favorite Europa League. Juventus, like Simeone’s team, finished in fourth place in a quartet with Benfica and PSG. An Israeli club was also ahead of the Italians. The Champions League can be merciless, because the surprises of the penultimate season are memorable.

Then Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona were left without the main thing: the spring playoffs. When Guardiola says his aim is to qualify from the Champions League group, he is a bit flirtatious. But other rich and famous clubs should take into account the experience of the teams listed above. Nobody thought that Barcelona would fail to exit the Champions League group twice in a row. If you look at the quartet lineups, many of them have two favorites, everything seems simple.

Furthermore, some famous clubs such as Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus, Ajax and Tottenham were not included in the list of 32 lucky winners. Therefore, the composition of the groups does not appear as representative as usual. But who said that troubled Manchester United will surely easily beat stubborn Copenhagen and Galatasaray, who strengthened their squad in the summer? Bayern could also hurt Ten Hag on Wednesday, setting the tone for the entire difficult group stage.

Arsenal found themselves in an even group and in the spring Arteta failed to qualify for the Europa League final. In international matches, Havertz and company can easily get weird. Real Sociedad and Zakharyan have an interesting task: they have to eliminate the strong Benfica and Salzburg from the playoffs Champions League. Even if there are fewer sensations than in previous seasons, at least one giant will make the deadly somersault towards the Europa League. Collapses in form are inevitable and the underdogs are stronger than before.

Goodbye to the usual format Champions League

For the last time in history, officials of UEFA divided 32 teams into eight groups by draw and allows representatives from fifteen different countries to play each other without the new Swiss format. Next season there will be 36 participants Champions League. There will be a common group for everyone, but each team will have eight different opponents. Four matches will be played away and four at home. It will be important to play at home against strong teams.

The results will depend even more on the draw than now. Based on the results of the overall group stage, the top eight teams will advance to the playoffs. Then the participants from ninth to twenty-fourth place – sixteen clubs – will compete for another eight tickets to the Champions League playoffs. Already in the phase of division into baskets to determine the eight opponents there will be something new, each team will play with two clubs for each group of opponents.

The point is that the giants meet more often, even if only once in the autumn during the group stage. Only representatives of one association will be separated, as now. Meanwhile, the farewell season is in the old format without exceeding the added minutes. Although for many fans the real Champions League will begin in the spring, the current format is clearer to the public. Modest clubs like Antwerp will have the opportunity to test themselves against the defeated Wolves.

The Belgians will compete with Porto, Shakhterm and Barcelona. Napoli will meet Real Madrid, Kvaratskhelia will play against his favorite team. Manchester United and Bayern will repeat the 1999 final, and will also remember the results of numerous direct clashes in the playoffs of the tournament. All the matches PSG in the group it will be interesting, because Mbappe’s opponents are very strong. The Champions League has for years cheered up the approach of the inevitable winter; Let’s hope that great football doesn’t disappoint us this time too.