Champions League 2023-24 Groups

The UEFA Champions League never fails to captivate the footballing world, and the anticipation for the 2023-24 season has reached fever pitch with the recent draw unveiling some truly great matchups. As football fans across the globe eagerly await the start of the competition, the draw has set the stage for what promises to be a thrilling season of European football.

Below we cover the full draw of the Champions League 2023-24 Group Stage and there are definitely some exciting soccer matches to look forward too. Of course you can bet on all of them at pridebet.com.gh!

Last season, Pep Guardiola’s team achieved historic success. Manchester City became just the second English club ever to secure the treble, following their triumph in Istanbul. This year they face RB Leipzig again in Group G.

Harry Kane, now playing for Bayern Munich, is set for a quick return to England as his new club has been drawn into Group A alongside Manchester United, FC Copenhagen (formerly managed by Rasmus Hojlund), and Galatasaray.

Arsenal is making a comeback to the competition after a six-season hiatus. They are set to face off against the reigning Europa League champions, Sevilla, renewing their acquaintance with PSV Eindhoven, whom they encountered in European competitions last season, and taking on RC Lens, the runners-up of Ligue 1.

Champions League 2023-24 group stage draw overview and predictions

Below we give the full overview over the 32 teams in the 8 groups of this Champions League 2023-24 season and moreover our personal opinion of who will proceed to the last 16.

Group A

Bayern Munich (GER)
Manchester United (ENG)
FC Copenhagen (DEN)
Galatasaray (TUR)

Bayern Munich’s record-signing Harry Kane is set to make a quick comeback to England. His new team has been drawn into Group A, alongside Manchester United, FC Copenhagen and moreover Galatasaray. Bayern Munich vs. Manchester United is obviously a must-see match and they face each other already on Matchday 1.

It’s highly probable that Bayern will assert their dominance within the group, we expect them to win all of their games. The real excitement, however, lies in the battle for the second spot. While Manchester United should possess the necessary quality to secure qualification alongside Bayern, their inconsistency remains a worrisome issue for their coach Ten Hag.

Group B

Sevilla (ESP)
Arsenal (ENG)
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
RC Lens (FRA)

Arsenal returns to the Champions League after a six-year hiatus and Mikel Arteta’s team seems to have landed in a relatively easy group alongside Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven, and Lens. Sevilla, despite their consistent success in the Europa League, had a mediocre 12th-place finish in La Liga. PSV and Lens also failed to secure their domestic league titles. The latter only narrowly missed winning Ligue 1 last season, falling just one point behind champions Paris Saint-Germain. But Lens has lost their top scorer from last season, Loïs Openda, to RB Leipzig this summer. If Arsenal performs close to their potential, they should progress with possibly Sevilla finish second in Group B.

Group C

Napoli (ITA)
Real Madrid (ESP)
SC Braga (POR)
Union Berlin (GER)

This group appears to be notably uneven, as Italian champions Napoli and Real Madrid are expected to be considerably stronger than Braga and Union Berlin. The latter are making their debut in the competition after they finished fourth in the Bundesliga only four years after their promotion to Germany’s top division. Braga secured a third-place finish in the Primera Liga last season, trailing behind Benfica and Porto. Still, they managed to clinch Portugal’s final Champions League spot, edging out Sporting. When facing European giants like Real and Napoli, it’s likely that Braga and Berlin will be competing only for the third spot in Group C and therefore the opportunity to advance to the knockout stages of the Europa League. Although Real Madrid has lost Karim Benzema to Al Ittihad and Vinícius Júnior might miss the early stage of the group due to injury we expect them to progress alongside Napoli.

Group D

Benfica (POR)
Inter Milan (ITA)
Red Bull Salzburg (AUS)
Real Sociedad (ESP)

In this group any of the four teams could potentially finish at the top 2, earning a spot in the round of 16. Despite their journey to last season’s final in Istanbul, which they lost to Manchester City, Inter has seen a significant weakening of their squad during the summer transfer window. Departures of key players like goalkeeper André Onana and strikers Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku makes them less strong compared to 1 year ago. That could mean Benfica, who were eliminated by Inter in the quarterfinals last season, to become the favourite in the group. However, the Portuguese champions face a challenging path, with Salzburg showcasing their strength as consistent group stage competitors, particularly on their home turf. Real Sociedad, too, possesses the capability to overcome any team in the group. Nevertheless we expect Inter and Benfica to top this group.

Group E

Feyenoord (NED)
Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Lazio (ITA)
Celtic (SCO)

Despite occasional glimpses of promise, Celtic failed to secure a victory in the Champions League last season. Their last triumph in the group stage dated back to 2017 when Brendan Rodgers was at the helm. With Rodgers’ return during the summer, Celtic now hold a reasonable chance not only to improve upon this statistic but also to progress further. Feyenoord have retained Arne Slot as their coach after clinching their first Eredivisie title in six years. While they have kept most of their squad intact, the departure of Orkun Kokcu to Benfica has weakened their central midfield.

Also in Group E is Lazio Rome who secured a respectable second place in Serie A last season. However, since then, they have sold Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and their performance in the current season, under Maurizio Sarri’s management, has been disappointing.

Lastly, there is Atlético Madrid a team perpetually seen as battling against perceived decline but always up for a challenge. Given current performance we think that Atletico Madrid and Feyenoord will progress.

Group F, the group of death of the Champions League 2023/24 season

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
AC Milan (ITA)
Newcastle (ENG)

Every Champions League season features a “Group of Death,” and this year is no exception. Group F has earned that title, with four formidable teams that will undoubtedly provide fireworks throughout the group stage. Newcastle United faces an incredibly tough return to the Champions League, going up against Kylian Mbappé’s Paris Saint-Germain, Bundesliga powerhouses Borussia Dortmund, and AC Milan. The later were semi-finalists last year and have claimed the title seven times before We will surely see great soccer matches in the battle for two spots in the knockout rounds. With an abundance of star power and rich footballing history among these clubs, Group F is poised to be one of the most closely watched groups of the tournament. The PrideBet team think that at the end PSG and furthermore Dortmund will progress.

Group G

Manchester City (ENG)
RB Leipzig (GER)
Red Star Belgrade (SRB)
Young Boys (SUI)

Pep Guardiola’s pursuit of a record fifth Champions League title should be relatively straightforward, at least for reaching the knock-out stage. They will face RB Leipzig again. In their two encounters in Germany, they RB Leipzig managed to defeat Manchester City once and played to a draw in the other match. However, when facing City at the Etihad Stadium, they suffered substantial defeats, losing 7-0 and 6-3. Red Star Belgrade hasn’t won a game in the Champions League group stage for 4 years, and it’s been 31 years since they last progressed to the last 16 or beyond. Although they’ve scored 18 goals in their first five league games this season, this may not necessarily translate to success in the Champions League. The fourth team in Group G is Young Boys who dominated the Swiss league last season We think that Manchester City as well as RB Leipzig will progress.

Group H

Barcelona (ESP)
Porto (POR)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
Royal Antwerp (BEL)

In the previous campaign Barcelona suffered two convincing defeats against Bayern and earned a mere single point against Inter. This overall resulted in a premature group-stage exit. This year they want to do better. Barca bolstered their midfield with Ilkay Gündogan and Oriol Romeu and hopefully has more success in this years group stage. Meanwhile Shakhtar is still grappling with the consequences of the war. The team has seen numerous departures and moreover can’t count on home supports as they will play their home games in Hamburg. Lastly, there is Porto who managed to surprise by defeating Atlético in the group stage last season, as well as Antwerp who celebrated their first league title in 66 years during the previous season, thanks to a stoppage-time goal by Toby Alderweireld. Overall we believe that Barcelona as well as Porto will make it to the last 16.