UEFA Champion’s League: Olympiacos, Atletico, Juventus, Malmö are ready

Olympiacos, not seen as a powerhouse, with the favorites being Atletico Madrid and Juventus

The two European giants in Group A are the reigning champions Atletico Madrid that are set to face reigning Italian champions Juventus. The reigning Greek champion Olympiacos is not seen as a serious threat by the international media, however that didn’t stop the team from pulling off an upset to finish ahead of Benfica and Anderlecht to progress to the knockout stage last season.

Olympiacos’ coach Miguel Gonzalez said: “I am familiar with Malmö, not so much at this point though. It has players who have played in the Spanish league. Atletico is the group favorite, based on its course so far, and I believe we will fight to qualify for the next round. It remains a good team, either if they perform a little better or a little worse, compared to last year. Of course, Juventus is strong as well but we will also have to see the schedule because they will only have one official match on their feet at the Champions League premiere. I hope our premiere will be at our home stadium.”

The full draw for the 2014/15 Champions League group stage:

Group A:
Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Olympiacos, Malmö
Group B:
Real Madrid, Basel, Liverpool, Ludogorets
Group C:
Benfica, Zenit, Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco

Group D:
Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, Anderlecht
Group E:
Bayern Munich, Manchester City, CSKA Moscow, Roma
Group F:
Barcelona, PSG, Ajax, Apoel
Group G:
Chelsea, Schalke, Sporting Lisbon, Maribor

Group H:
Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Athletic Bilbao, Bate Borisov