The UEFA Champions League has just completed matchday 3 of the Group Stage. That puts them at the halfway point of the Group Stage slated for comletion on December 6th and 7th. The draw for knockout stage for the final 16 will be held on December 12 with play for that round starting back up in February. Last month, prior to the first matches in this stage I wrote a synopsis of how I saw the Groups shaking out. So at the midway point just how are things looking?

(You can discuss the UEFA Champions League on the BSL Board here.)

Group A

Arsenal and Paris Saint Germain are clearly the class of the group each having garnered 7 points with two wins and then a draw for the game between them. Basel and Ludogorets are trailing far behind with only one point each, a draw in their match. Arsenal and PSG are safely on their way to the Round of 16.

My prediction in September – Arsenal and PSG

Group B

Three teams are in the mix in this group. Napoli leads with 6 points followed closely by Besiktas and Benfica with 5 and 4 points respectively. Dynamo Kiev is at the bottom managing only a draw out of three matches.

My prediction in September – Napoli followed by Benfica but close with Besiktas

Group C

Barcelona is on top with the maximum 9 points followed by Manchester City with 4 and Borussia Monchengladbach with 3 and Celtic with a single point. Barca is clearly the class and will move on easily. Man City has the advantage with two home matches remaining and Monchengladbach only having one and lagging a point. Celtic for all practical purposes are done.

My prediction in September – Barca and Man City 

This group hasn’t turned out quite as tough as predicted so far with the weak showing by Celtic. But they could still cause some problems in the second half

Group D

Atletico Madrid is running away with this Group having earned the maximum 9 points with three 1-0 games. However, Bayern Munich is second with 6 points but a much better goal differential at plus 7. Rostov and Eindhoven are at the bottom each having earned a single point in their draw. Atletico and Bayern will both advance. But Bayern is hosting Atletico on the last match day and will likely be in a position to overtake first in the group unless Atletico starts finding the net more consistently.

My prediction in September – Aletico and Bayern.

Group E

A bit of  a surprise so far in this group with Monaco leading with 5 points. Tottenham is in second with 4 points with Bayern Leverkusen with 3 points and Moscow with 2 points. Realistically any of the top three could still advance. Moscow has a very tough road ahead.

My prediction in September – Tottenham and Leverkusen

Group F

Dortmund and Real Madrid are tied atop the group with 7 points each. Sporting Portugal has 3 points and poor Warsaw has a big fat 0 having scored a paltry single goal and allowing 13. Bye Bye Warsaw and most likely Sporting.

My prediction in September – Real and Dortmund

By the way for fans of the US MNT – Christian Pulisic has become a mainstay for Dortmun in both CL and the Bundesliga. Christian didn’t start in the Bundesliga match today having played the full match in the CL game earlier this week. However, with his team down 2-0 at the half Dortmund brought in Christian to start the second and he had a goal and an assist to lead his team to a 3-3 draw. Kid is special.

Group G

Leicester City has a commanding lead in this group having earned the maximum 9 points. Porto and Copenahgen are tied with 4 points each and Brugge is in last with 0.  Somewhat of a surprise in this group with Copenhagen fairing better than expected and Brugge floundering (one goal in 3 matches if pretty weak).

My prediction in September – Porto followed by Leicester City or Brugge.

Group H

Juventus and Sevilla are tied on top with 7 points followed by Lyon with 3 points. At the bottom, and joining Brugga and Warsaw as the only teams with nothing to show for the first three matches, is Zagreb.

My prediction in September – Juventus followed by Sevilla or Lyon.

The next three rounds will be completed over the next two months then it gets tougher. A lot tougher. Looking back on my prediction, I am actually doing quite well and can still end up correct on all the advancing teams. However, Group G, at least so far, has been an outlier. But this has also been the easy part. Once the Group Stage is complete I’ll do a synopsis of the Round of 16 and that is much much tougher to predict. By and large all the teams that make it out of the Group Stage are playing top notch soccer and have the ability to win

Steve Birrer
Steve Birrer

Soccer Analyst

Steve is an avid fan of all things soccer and the O’s. Originally from the west, he grew up in the Baltimore area. He returned to the west for college where he earned a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Montana State University and spent 36 years working at the Idaho National Laboratory prior to retiring in 2013. It was during his school years in Baltimore where he learned to play soccer and that developed into a life long passion. He played competitively for over 40 years and was a four year starting goalkeeper at MSU. He also coached and refereed in the Idaho premier soccer and High School programs for many years.

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