Champions League draw results 2016: Juventus, Sevilla favored in a fun Group H

Without a doubt, Juventus will be big favorites to win Group H. And honestly, there’s a clear pecking order behind them too -- Sevilla, then Lyon, then Dinamo. But these are all good teams with good players who have been on an upward trajectory recently. No one’s limped their way into this group. These games should all be entertaining.

Juve’s luck has varied since their re-entry to the Champions League. They were quarterfinalists four years ago, then missed the knockout stage, then made the final, then last season lost in the Round of 16. By this pattern, they should be much improved and ready to make a deep run this season. Their draw should enable that, as they’re big favorites to finish in first place. Paul Pogba has exited, but Gonzalo Higuaín and Miralem Pjanic have signed up, while the Bianconeri are expected to make more signings in the final week of the transfer window.

Sevilla has endured another wild offseason with major turnover. Unai Emery, who led them to multiple Europa League titles, has left for Paris Saint-Germain. Arriving in his place is Jorge Sampaoli, who wasted no time implementing his favored attacking back-three system, resulting in a 6-4 victory in his team’s La Liga opener. Stars like Kévin Gameiro, Éver Banega and Grzegorz Krychowiak are gone, but transfer guru Monchi has brought in more replacements than we can reasonably list. Nine senior players have left and nine new ones have arrived. And despite the new faces and new tactics, Sevilla looks the same as they ever did -- talented, entertaining and ready to compete with richer clubs.

Though Lyon lost Samuel Umtiti to Barcelona this summer and captured Nicolas Nkoulou on a free transfer, their biggest piece of business might be one they didn’t do. Despite being linked to Arsenal and other big clubs, star striker Alexandre Lacazette appears to be staying put. They’re also getting Nabil Fekir back from injury after finishing top three in Ligue 1 without him, which might as well be a new signing. Lyon can’t quite match Juve or Sevilla for talent, but they’re a decent side with good players in all position groups, and they won’t be a pushover.

Had Dinamo Zagreb kept all of their top players this summer and been drawn into in easier group, they might have been a common dark horse pick to scrape second place. Instead, they’ve lost Marko Pjaca (to Juventus, of all teams), will almost certainly lose Marko Rog in the next week, and could lose Ante Ćorić too. The vultures are circling Dinamo and picking off their stars one by one. In the event Rog or Ćorić sticks around, you should try to catch Dinamo’s games. And if they leave, well, definitely check out their new teams.

While Higuaín is grabbing all the headlines, he might not be Juve’s best attacking player. Dybala, just 22, was incredible in his first season for Juve last year, which was just his second as a starter in Serie A. He’s one of the best young players on Earth and is already drawing comparisons to his countryman Sergio Agüero. This could be the year Dybala goes from promising young star to global megastar.

Lyon hosts Sevilla on the final matchday, but that game could be irrelevant if the French side doesn’t pick up some points earlier in the group stage. Lyon travels to Seville on the second matchday, and might feel like they have to get a result in that game to have a good chance of progressing to the knockout stage.