Champions League

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.Liverpool have been tipped to finish 18th in the new-look Champions League group stageCredit: GettyMan City are hoping to win their second European title under Pep GuardiolaCredit: GettyArsenal and Aston Villa are also out to impress this seasonCredit: GettyThe 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.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLAnd 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.Most read in Champions LeagueFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSMeanwhile, 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.Champions League releases new anthem as fuming fans say ‘the beautiful game has died’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 PREDICTIONSMonaco 0 Liverpool 0; Liverpool 1 Monaco 0 – LIVERPOOLArsenal 3 Sparta Prague 0; Sparta Prague 1 Arsenal 2 – ARSENALBorussia Dortmund 2 Girona 0; Girona 1 Borussia Dortmund 2 – BORUSSIA DORTMUNDPSV Eindhoven 2 Celtic 1; Celtic 2 PSV Eindhoven 2 – PSV EINDHOVENAC Milan 1 Benfica 0; Benfica 1 AC Milan 3 – AC MILANFeyenoord 1 Juventus 2; Juventus 0 Feyenoord 0 – JUVENTUSBayer Leverkusen 0 Paris Saint-Germain 2; Paris Saint-Germain 1 Bayer Leverkusen 1 – PARIS SAINT-GERMAINStuttgart 1 RB Leipzig 1; RB Leipzig 3 Stuttgart 2 – RB LEIPZIGThe 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 PREDICTIONSReal Madrid 2 AC Milan 0; AC Milan 2 Real Madrid 2 – REAL MADRIDInter Milan 2 Borussia Dortmund 2; Borussia Dortmund 0 Inter Milan 1 – INTER MILANBayern Munich 2 PSV Eindhoven 0; PSV Eindhoven 1 Bayern Munich 0 – BAYERN MUNICHBarcelona 2 Juventus 0; Juventus 1 Barcelona 2 – BARCELONAMan 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 – ARSENALAston Villa 2 RB Leizpig 2; RB Leipzig 3 Aston Villa 2 – RB LEIPZIGAtalanta 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 PREDICTIONSQUARTER-FINALSReal Madrid 3 Bayern Munich 1; Bayern Munich 2 Real Madrid 1 – REAL MADRIDRB 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 CITYArsenal 2 Liverpool 2; Liverpool 2 Arsenal 0 – LIVERPOOLSEMI-FINALSRB Leipzig 0 Man City 2; Man City 2 RB Leipzig 2 – MAN CITYLiverpool 1 Real Madrid 2; Real Madrid 2 Liverpool 2 – REAL MADRIDFINALMan 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.READ MORE SUN STORIES“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 formatEach 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. More

THE new-look Champions League begins with Liverpool meeting AC Milan in the San Siro and Aston Villa at Switzerland’s Young Boys.SunSport explains how it now works:Every team will play eight games in the first stage of the expanded Champions LeagueCredit: GettyNewcomers Aston Villa get their campaign underway on TuesdayCredit: APUefa agreed to expand the Champions League from 32 teams to 36 and scrap the long-standing group stage.Instead, all teams will play eight matches in the initial stage as part of a single 36-team league competition.Unlike in previous seasons, where the group games were completed before Christmas, the league stage will now run through to the end of January.This week’s games will be split over three nights before the next six match days are played on just Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with two matches on each day starting at 5.45pm and the rest at 8pm.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLBut the final set of 18 matches will be played simultaneously with an 8pm kick-off on January 29.After eight matches, the top eight sides in the table will automatically go through to the last 16.The teams ranked from ninth to 24th will play off over two legs to join them. The bottom eight clubs are out of Europe and teams no longer drop into the Europa League.Uefa had previously drawn the knock-out games at each stage but now a Wimbledon-style seeded draw will be conducted after the league stage meaning the top two sides in the initial table cannot meet until the final.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSOwen Hargreaves Season PredictionsHARGREAVES ON BELLINGHAM“I SAW the Super Cup and Jude Bellingham played the best game of his life.“He’s playing a bit more in his natural position, a little bit deeper. He’s the perfect midfield player.“Jude is just going to get better and better with Kylian Mbappe and Endrick.“I know a lot of people have not seen much of Endrick but to go with him and Rodrygo, Valverde, Modric, Courtois and Alaba, Rudiger, Carvajal . . .“That is some collection of players, it’s amazing.”HARGREAVES ON CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DARK HORSES“PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN, just in the way Luis Enrique plays. He plays such aggressive football and they’ve got so many really good ball players.“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.“They don’t make mistakes in silly moments.”HARGREAVES ON PREM CONTENDERS“MANCHESTER 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.“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.”HARGREAVES ON PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR“MICHAEL OLISE is going to be great at Bayern Munich.“Playing at Crystal Palace he probably didn’t get the notoriety he deserved but he’s such a good finisher and technically really good.“Endrick at Real Madrid is cool because people don’t know a lot about him. He’s still so young but he’s just got it.“Florian Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen is an amazing player with a really unique style. His numbers from last season were crazy.“As a young kid, putting himself in the Ballon d’Or conversation is rare. He’ll be playing at Real Madrid or Man City in a couple of years.Prem clubs can meet each other at any point in the knock-out stage of the competition.Champions League newcomers Aston Villa get their campaign underway against Young Boys on Tuesday.Champions League releases new anthem as fuming fans say ‘the beautiful game has died’While Manchester City meet Inter Milan on Wednesday and Arsenal face a trip to Atalanta on Thursday. More