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Champions League group stage predictions: City to struggle, Napoli poised

Reuters

Most of England's biggest clubs should be happy with Thursday's Champions League draw in Monaco.

Arsenal and Tottenham have every chance of topping their groups, while Leicester City has a convenient route to the Round of 16.

The odd club out is Manchester City, with Barcelona, Borussia Monchengladbach, and Celtic pitted against Pep Guardiola's side. It is easily this year's group of death.

Related: How England's 4 teams will fare in the Champions League group stage

Across Europe, the likes of Juventus and Napoli are firm favourites to progress, as are Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. The potential for a real upset is low, but the group stage is where most of the drama happens.

Here's how each quartet is expected to look after six matchdays:

Group A

This is the year Arsenal finally heads into the knockouts as a group winner.

The Gunners haven't finished in first position since the 2011-12 campaign, trailing German opposition in every season since.

Schalke, Borussia Dortmund (twice), and Bayern Munich all forced Arsenal to take a harder route into the elimination rounds, and it's resulted in six straight exits at the Round of 16 stage.

Predicted finish:

  1. Arsenal
  2. PSG
  3. FC Basel
  4. Ludogorets

Group B

Napoli is back in the Champions League after a one-year hiatus, and even though Gonzalo Higuain is no longer with the team, the Partenopei should pip Benfica to the top.

Considering Napoli could've been drawn with Bayern Munich or Barcelona, the Portuguese champion is a much more manageable foe. Trips to Istanbul and Kyiv are nothing to dismiss, but Maurizio Sarri's side has the depth to lead the way.

Predicted finish:

  1. Napoli
  2. Benfica
  3. Besiktas
  4. Dynamo Kyiv

Group C

Guardiola will return to Camp Nou to face Barcelona, the club that sculpted his philosophy and the one he transformed into the behemoth it is today.

It's another brutal draw for City, which faced Juventus and Bayern Munich in the last two group stages. Barcelona is obviously the clear front-runner, with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar set to break the 100-goal barrier for a third consecutive season.

Monchengladbach proved it belongs in Europe with a 9-2 aggregate shellacking of Young Boys, and although Celtic is still transforming under Brendan Rogers, Parkhead is always intimidating. City cannot afford to have any bad games, or else Guardiola's first season in charge will end in the Europa League.

Predicted finish:

  1. Barcelona
  2. Manchester City
  3. Monchengladbach
  4. Celtic

Group D

This group is essentially cut in two. Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid are going to battle for first, while PSV and Rostov face off for third place.

Predicted finish:

  1. Bayern Munich
  2. Atletico Madrid
  3. PSV
  4. Rostov

Group E

Tottenham - which spent the past five seasons grinding it out in the Europa League - will enjoy a few more million euros in the continent's premier competition. An extended run to the Round of 16 is the least Spurs should accomplish after they were pitted with AS Monaco, Bayer Leverkusen, and CSKA Moscow. Mauricio Pochettino's side has the firepower to outgun each opponent.

Predicted finish:

  1. Tottenham
  2. AS Monaco
  3. Bayer Leverkusen
  4. CSKA Moscow

Group F

Real Madrid and Dortmund met each other six times between 2012 and 2014, and they will reunite again in September and December.

Dortmund's a much different team than the one that beat Madrid 4-1 in 2013, the obvious absence being Robert Lewandowski. But BVB manager Thomas Tuchel has built a side that's deep in every outfield position, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will have the opportunity to prove his goal-scoring credentials against the club he could well represent in the future.

Predicted finish:

  1. Real Madrid
  2. Borussia Dortmund
  3. Sporting Lisbon
  4. Legia Warsaw

Group G

Leicester's maiden Champions League voyage will take it to some of Europe's most enjoyable cities, from Brugge to Copenhagen and finally Porto.

Manager Claudio Ranieri did a fine job keeping the majority of his Premier League-winning team together, losing only N'Golo Kante, but even as the Foxes won their first top-flight title, they struggled in the cup competitions.

Leicester will need some time to adjust to European football and officiating, although the group is forgiving enough to secure passage as the second-place finisher.

Predicted finish:

  1. Porto
  2. Leicester City
  3. Club Brugge
  4. Copenhagen

Group H

There's no reason why the Bianconeri won't top the group.

The Higuain signing was made with this tournament in mind.

Juventus will get goals from the €90-million man and compatriot Paulo Dybala. Plus there's Miralem Pjanic, the former Lyon midfielder who's emerged as one of Europe's finest free-kick takers. The time is now for Massimiliano Allegri's side to mount a serious challenge for the Champions League title, and it's not going to face many problems in the first six matches of the campaign.

Predicted finish:

  1. Juventus
  2. Lyon
  3. Sevilla
  4. Dinamo Zagreb

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