The pathway to Berlin has been paved as FC Barcelona were drawn one of the most exciting-looking groups to come out of the Champions League draw, with Barcelona, Paris-Saint Germain and Ajax all set to meet. You have to pity the unfortunate fourth team, Cypriot minnows APOEL.
The Blaugranas are all too familiar with their French friends as they met in a 2012/13 quarter-final clash in which the teams seemed equally matched. Both legs of the quarter-final finished a draw but Barcelona proceeded to the semi final due to the away goal rule. With PSG now one of the richest clubs in the world, Laurent Blanc’s side have all the ingredients to be a genuine challenger in this seasons Champions League. With the Spanish side having to face the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimović, Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani, it wouldn't be surprising to see their journey made slightly rocky.
From the third pot the team that has regularly been compared to Barcelona throughout the clubs history, and vice versa, Ajax, was allocated to Group F. Ajax, identical to Barca, have won the Champions League four times, although not as recently as their Spanish rivals. Their last taste of European victory was in 1995, and they no longer look like a serious challenger but their influx of young talent may bring an upset to Group F.
Pot 4, the last group of eight teams, also presented some potential challenges, most notably AS Roma, but Luis Enrique's men were luckily drawn APOEL. All four teams in Group F were winners in their national leagues, but only APOEL needed to go through the qualifying round in order to secure a place in the group stage. Back in 2012 they defied all odds and overcame any expectations to reach the quarterfinals, only to be knocked out by Real Madrid. Since then they have lost coach Ivan Jovanović and several star players, and have struggled to make an impact in any continental competition meaning they will perhaps be lucky to pick up any points.
Undoubtebly, the two clear favourites for the top spot of Group F are Barcelona and PSG. However, APOEL and especially Ajax cannot be discounted entirely as teams that are able to make it into the top 32 clubs in Europe surely have the ability to surprise anyone, particulary on a magical Champions League night.
