Champions League draw, Group H: Valencia highlights group of middleweight outfits
Fans of Spanish club Valencia, French team Olympique Lyon, Russian outfit Zenit St. Petersburg, and even Belgian champion KAA Gent, are all thinking the same thing: Group H gives us a chance.
That's how it goes for the final bunch selected in the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League group stage, as these four evenly-matched sides will take each other on and let the chips fall where they may.
There are no clear favorites and no clear underdogs. Valencia and Lyon are, historically speaking, more experienced, and perhaps a touch stronger, but Zenit and Gent are built to compete, too. As such, there is a sense of spirited competition in this group that perhaps doesn't exist in some of the more straightforward foursomes.
In breaking things down, let's look at Valencia and Lyon first. These two sides are constant contenders in La Liga and Ligue 1, respectively, and have won those domestic competitions. They seem to be the easy choices, each led by a young, hungry striker.
Valencia's Paco Alcacer and Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette will be at the forefront for each team, and their clubs' successes and failures will ultimately come down to how influential they can be on a given match. As strong as these two outfits are across the pitch, these two players are the ones expected to score goals.
Zenit, meanwhile, plays a team-oriented style that benefits the skills of players like Brazilian international winger Hulk and Portuguese midfielder Danny. Gent will be seen as easy points by the rest of the group, but the Belgian team has a knockout or two in them, too.
Group H will produce little in the way of actual contenders for the UEFA Champions League title. None of the four teams possess the quality needed to beat the likes of Bayern Munich or Barcelona at the end.
Still, there will be some interesting and exciting football out of Group H, and for fans of neutral Champions League action, this group may well be one to watch.
Predicted Finish
- Valencia CF
- Olympique Lyon
- Zenit St. Petersburg
- KAA Gent