The most competitive group in the UEFA Champions League group stage is going to be Group C, which has no superpower and no minnow. Every single team in the group has the ability to finish top or finish last. Predicting what’s going to happen based on knowledge of these teams isn’t going to be much more helpful than just picking the names out of a hat.
UEFA Champions League draw results: Bayer Leverkusen the front-runners in Group C
Group C is the most evenly balanced in the UEFA Champions League, and the teams could finish in any order.
Topping the group - Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer were slightly disappointing in last year's Champions League, barely scraping through a group with a weak Manchester United side before getting demolished by Paris Saint-Germain. They're the strongest team in this group, though, and will have high hopes for this season after defeating Borussia Dortmund in their Bundesliga season opener.
Emre Can and Sidney Sam are gone, but Hakan Calhanoglu looks like a great replacement, youngster Levin Öztunali is breaking into the first team and Josip Drmic bolsters their attack up front. They're also improved along the back line, while Heung-Min Son and Bernd Leno are only getting better with each year that goes by.
Sitting second - Zenit St. Petersburg
Last season’s disappointing campaign led to a change in managers for Zenit St. Petersburg, and so far, it’s been a positive change. Andre Villas-Boas got off to a great start with his new club last season, guided them to a Champions League place and currently has them top of the table in Russia. Zenit’s most recognizable stars are back, and they’re joined by new recruits Javi Garcia and Ezequiel Garay, who should both improve them defensively.
Hulk hasn’t quite lived up to expectations yet, and Danny and Andrey Arshavin can’t be counted on to stay healthy, but Zenit have a good squad at their best.
Heading for Europa League - SL Benfica
As usual, Benfica have to reload after making a number of big sales. Stars Lazar Markovic, Ezequiel Garay and Jan Oblak are all gone, along with a handful of other useful fringe players. They’ve replaced them, as usual, with a handful of value signings and returning loanees. This team probably isn’t quite as talented as last year’s group that got 10 points in the Champions League and made a deep run in Europa League, but they’re still a solid side that will give the rest of the group a run for their money.
Finishing last - AS Monaco
Whether he’s scared of Financial Fair Play or decided that setting piles of money on fire is a bad idea, AS Monaco owner Dmitry Rybolovlev has backed off his campaign to build the club into a superpower. Some great players have stuck around, but James Rodriguez is gone and there are rumors about Radamel Falcao jumping ship too. Monaco will be competitive, but on the evidence of their poor start to the Ligue 1 season and their reformed transfer policy, they’re the worst team in this group.
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