Predicting The Last 16 Of The Champions League 2014/15

Group A

Predicted Table: 1. Atletico Madrid 2. Juventus 3. Olympiakos 4. Malmo FF After a phenomenal season last year that saw them lift the La Liga title and finish runners-up in the Champions League final, Atletico Madrid will do well to replicate the feats of last season. They lost their talismanic striker Diego Costa to Chelsea in the transfer window but have since brought in the experienced Mario Mandzukic from Bayern Munich to strengthen their attacking line. The Spanish champions have started the domestic season well, beating Real Madrid at the Bernabeu for the second season running and for the first time in their history. Despite a tough away loss at Olympiakos in the opening fixture they will be strong in this group and should be looking to top it at the end of the six games. Juventus have had to embark on a long road to recovery following their demise a few seasons ago. They have come back strong and now look set to once again re-join the big names in European football. They failed to progress out of the group stages last season despite some impressive performances. However, striker Carlos Tevez looks to be returning to form and midfield ace Paul Pogba received Young Player of the Tournament at the World Cup. Olympiakos are a bit of an enigma when it comes to Champions League football. They often struggle in the group stages but also pose a great threat to the teams at the top end of the group. Having managed to progress last season they faced Manchester United in the last-16 and won 2-0 at home in the first leg only to lost 3-0 at Old Trafford. It is performances like those last season and the one against Atletico on the opening night that make them a potential wild card in this group. Malmo FF will be the whipping boys of this group. The Swedish champions have failed to make it out of the group stages since the tournament€™s rebranding and they will struggle to do it this time around. The fans will have to hark back to the glory days of the 1970s where they lost to Nottingham Forest in the 1979 final.