The Champions League draw taken place in Nice decided that Real Madrid will play in the group H together with Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur and APOEL. Therefore, Los Blancos will start defending their crown against three competitive teams.
For second year in a row, Zidane’s side will face Borussia Dortmund. Last season, the German team was able to win the group drawing both games against Los Blancos. For this reason, it won’t be easy for Real Madrid to beat Borussia, although they could still lose important players in the summer transfer window like Aubameyang. Dembelé is already gone as he signed by FC Barcelona.
Besides, Los Blancos have to travel to London to face the Premier League runner up. Tottenham Hotspur will host Real Madrid at Wembley Stadium and last season they weren’t able to go through the group stage despite facing weak teams. In 2011, Los Blancos beat Tottenham in the Champions League quarter-finals after thrashing 4-0 the Spurs at home.
The third rival is APOEL from Cyprus, the weakest team in the group. Real Madrid will travel again to the Mediterranean island, as they did in the quarter-finals in 2012. There are some players with experience in the Spanish League, but Los Blancos should be able to get the 6 points in these fixtures.
Overall, it’s not an easy draw for Los Blancos as they have to face two top notch rivals in the first stage. However, as the title host, Real Madrid should go through the group and let Borussia and Tottenham to fight for the second position.
The Groups of the Champions League are:
Group A: Manchester United, Benfica, Basel, CSKA Moscow
Group B: PSG, Bayern Munich, Celtic Glasgow, Anderlecht
Group C: Chelsea, Atlético Madrid, Roma, Qarabag
Group D: Juventus, Barcelona, Olympiakos, Sporting Portugal
Group E: Sevilla, Spartak Moscow, Liverpool, Maribor
Group F:Shakhtar Donetsk, Manchester City, Napoli, Feyenoord
Group H: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur, APOEL
Group G: Monaco, Porto, Besiktas, Leipzig
