A SUPERCOMPUTER has predicted the entire Champions League group stage and knockout fixtures.
But there are some shock results with Liverpool tipped to finish a lowly 18th and Arsenal to ultimately suffer a familiar tale of woe.
The new European season kicks off tonight as giants like Real Madrid, Man City and Barcelona look to make their mark.
It also features a bold fresh format, with no less than 36 teams in action.
Each side now plays eight matches instead of six, with NO return fixtures – meaning there is a different opponent every time.
The top eight go through to the quarters automatically, while 9th-24th battle it out for the remaining fixtures in a special knockout round.
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And Grosvenor Sport’s supercomputer has now predicted who will qualify from the group stage and which side will go all the way to win this season’s competition.
Man City and Aston Villa are both tipped to finish in the top eight, with Atalanta a shock name in there too.
It means big names like Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen will have to play an extra round.
While Slovan Bratislava are set to finish dead last with eight straight defeats.
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Meanwhile, Arsenal are backed for the knockouts with a 10th-place finish.
And Liverpool will also have to go the long way round as they are expected to finish 18th.
Both English sides are expected to eventually make it to the last-16 though.
And they will join Man City in the quarters, but Aston Villa will fail to make the last eight.
City are then backed to beat Barcelona and set up a semi-final against RB Leipzig.
While Arsenal are tipped for another quarter-final KO, this time against Liverpool.
KNOCKOUT PHASE PREDICTIONS
- Monaco 0 Liverpool 0; Liverpool 1 Monaco 0 – LIVERPOOL
- Arsenal 3 Sparta Prague 0; Sparta Prague 1 Arsenal 2 – ARSENAL
- Borussia Dortmund 2 Girona 0; Girona 1 Borussia Dortmund 2 – BORUSSIA DORTMUND
- PSV Eindhoven 2 Celtic 1; Celtic 2 PSV Eindhoven 2 – PSV EINDHOVEN
- AC Milan 1 Benfica 0; Benfica 1 AC Milan 3 – AC MILAN
- Feyenoord 1 Juventus 2; Juventus 0 Feyenoord 0 – JUVENTUS
- Bayer Leverkusen 0 Paris Saint-Germain 2; Paris Saint-Germain 1 Bayer Leverkusen 1 – PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
- Stuttgart 1 RB Leipzig 1; RB Leipzig 3 Stuttgart 2 – RB LEIPZIG
The Reds are then expected to lose to Real Madrid in the semis, with the reigning champs taking on City in the final.
But Pep Guardiola is backed to win his second Champions League trophy by defeating Los Blancos with a 2-0 win.
Meanwhile, two-time Champions League winner Owen Hargreaves has delivered some interesting predictions regarding this season’s competition.
Deciding on his dark horses, he said: “PSG, just in the way Luis Enrique plays. He plays such aggressive football and they’ve got so many really good ball players.
ROUND OF 16 PREDICTIONS
- Real Madrid 2 AC Milan 0; AC Milan 2 Real Madrid 2 – REAL MADRID
- Inter Milan 2 Borussia Dortmund 2; Borussia Dortmund 0 Inter Milan 1 – INTER MILAN
- Bayern Munich 2 PSV Eindhoven 0; PSV Eindhoven 1 Bayern Munich 0 – BAYERN MUNICH
- Barcelona 2 Juventus 0; Juventus 1 Barcelona 2 – BARCELONA
- Man City 2 Paris Saint-Germain 2; Paris Saint-Germain 1 Man City 1 – MAN CITY (PENS)
- Atletico Madrid 0 Arsenal 2; Arsenal 2 Atletico Madrid 1 – ARSENAL
- Aston Villa 2 RB Leizpig 2; RB Leipzig 3 Aston Villa 2 – RB LEIPZIG
- Atalanta 1 Liverpool 1; Liverpool 0 Atalanta 0 – LIVERPOOL (PENS)
“I’m happy to see they’re focused on young French players. That’s probably what they should have done long ago.
“Inter are really good. They’ve got a clear identity to how they play under Simone Inzaghi.
“Marcus Thuram came on a free, it’s amazing no one else picked him up.
“They’re not the most offensive team but often those teams do really well in the Champions League.
QUARTERS, SEMIS & FINAL PREDICTIONS
QUARTER-FINALS
- Real Madrid 3 Bayern Munich 1; Bayern Munich 2 Real Madrid 1 – REAL MADRID
- RB Leipzig 1 Inter Milan 1; Inter Milan 2 RB Leipzig 2 – RB LEIPZIG (PENS)
- Barcelona 2 Man City 2; Man City 3 Barcelona 0 – MAN CITY
- Arsenal 2 Liverpool 2; Liverpool 2 Arsenal 0 – LIVERPOOL
SEMI-FINALS
- RB Leipzig 0 Man City 2; Man City 2 RB Leipzig 2 – MAN CITY
- Liverpool 1 Real Madrid 2; Real Madrid 2 Liverpool 2 – REAL MADRID
FINAL
- Man City 2 Real Madrid 0 – MAN CITY
“They don’t make mistakes in silly moments.”
On the chances of England’s quartet, he added: “Man City have the best squad and they’re using four centre-backs so defensively they’re a bit more stable.
“Arsenal need a little bit more experience in the Champions League.
“To win the Champions League might take a little bit more time in the transfer windows. But they’re going to win trophies, it’s a question of when.
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“Liverpool have crazy firepower. Federico Chiesa is an amazing player and he’ll suit the Premier League because he’s crazy explosive.
“I’m excited for Aston Villa as Villa Park is going to be one of the best atmospheres in Europe this season.”
New Champions League format
Each club will play eight matches in the opening phase – against seeded opposition, in a system designed to ensure that teams play opponents of similar difficulty.
The top eight teams in the “final” table will automatically go through to the last 16, where they will be joined by the eight play-off winners of ties between the sides placed ninth to 24th in the table.
Despite there being just eight matches in the opening phase, European matches will be spread over 10 midweek slots.
The new Champions League format also sees the implication of two additional qualifying spots.
They will be awarded to the nations that are top of the “country coefficient” chart each season.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
