With the group stage of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) in full swing, 64 games have been played and a great deal has happened. Let’s break it down.

Tournament Format:
The UCL is structured very uniquely. Like other tournaments, teams play qualifiers and eventually, 32 teams are selected and divided randomly into eight groups of four teams. The groups play a total of six matches in a double round-robin format, and the winner and runner-up of each group advance into the knockout stage of the tournament. Unlike other tournaments, where a loss in the knockout stage will immediately send the losing team home, teams play two matches per knockout stage. Whichever team scores the most total goals between the two matches advances to the next round. If two teams tie, the team with the most goals at the opponent’s stadium wins. However, the final of the UCL is only one match and there are no second chances.

2023/2024 UCL Groups to watch:
Group A: Bayern Munich, Galatasaray, Manchester United and Copenhagen
After matchday four, Bayern Munich is currently first in Group A and dominating with four wins, 11 goals and 12 points. They’re almost guaranteed to advance and you should be sure to hear more from them soon.

With an unbelievable comeback, Copenhagen trails Munich in second place. This Danish team from the Superliga came from last place in the group to second place after stunning Manchester United in an intense 4-3 win. They currently have one win, one draw and two losses. Tied with Galatasaray with four points, they rank higher due to their higher goal differential.

Falling close behind Copenhagen, Galatasaray lies in third with one win, one draw and two losses. Following their loss against Bayern Munich on matchday four, they dropped from second place to third place. However, don’t count them out just yet. Tied with Copenhagen at four points, the gap between the two is unbelievably close and anything can happen.

Manchester United struggles to keep up as they come in last with one win, three losses and a total of three points. However, only four matches have been played so there is more than enough chance that United can bounce back.

Be sure to expect some intense matches between United, Copenhagen and Galatasaray for the second-place spot.

Group B: Arsenal, Lens, Sevilla and Philips Sport Vereniging (PSV)
Arsenal leads Group B with three wins, one loss and nine points. A major Premier League team with a huge history and major players, their performance is as expected and there’s a high probability that they will advance.

Philips Sport Vereniging (PSV) follows in second place with a massive win over Lens on matchday four. With one win, two draws and one loss, PSV takes control of the second place position with a total of five points. Because they beat Lens head-to-head, they remain in a higher position than Lens even though their goal differential is worse.

Following a disappointing loss against PSV, Lens dropped from the second place position to the third place position. With one win, two draws, and one loss, they are tied with PSV with five points. Hungry for a win, Lens will surely fight hard and it won’t be a surprise if they advance to the knockout stages.

Sevilla comes in last with zero wins, two draws and two losses. With only two points, this Spanish club needs to pull off a miracle to qualify for the knockout stages.

Group E: Atlético de Madrid, Lazio, Feyenoord and Celtic
Atlético de Madrid pulls ahead to first place after a win against Celtic on matchday four. The team currently leads with two wins, two draws, zero losses and a total of eight points. The performances of this Spanish club have been phenomenal, and they are tied for the most goals scored in the entire tournament of 12.

Lazio comes in hot at second place after a huge win against Feyenoord on matchday four. From third place, they took the second-place spot from Feyenoord with two wins, one draw and one loss. With seven points, they are incredibly close to gaining on Atlético de Madrid, and you should look out for some intense upcoming matches.

Feyenoord trails Lazio in third place after a disappointing loss to them on matchday four. However, with two wins, zero draws, two losses and six points, they are unbelievably close to Lazio and you should expect them to fight hard to win back the second place spot to qualify for the knockout stages.

Celtic is last in Group E following matchday four. With zero wins, one draw and three losses, the team only has one point and it’s highly unlikely they will win the second place spot and qualify.

With the three leading teams of Group E only ahead of each other by 1 point, Atletico de Madrid, Lazio and Feyenoord will do whatever it takes to win and advance to the knockout stage.

Group F: Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), AC Milan and Newcastle United.
If you only want to watch one group of the UCL, this is the group to watch. Perhaps the closest, most entertaining group of the entire Champions League this season, Group F is packed with massive clubs and stellar players, and the matches have not disappointed.

Dortmund leads Group F with two wins, one draw, one loss and a total of seven points. After an important win against Newcastle on matchday four, Dortmund took the first place position from PSG. However, points are extremely close within this group, and one mistake from Dortmund could cost them from advancing into the knockout stages.

PSG follows behind Dortmund with two wins, zero draws, two losses and a total of six points. After a crushing loss against AC Milan on matchday four, PSG lost their first-place position to Dortmund and dropped to second place. In addition, they gave AC Milan a needed win to put them hot on PSG’s trail. PSG has to come back hungry for a win, because otherwise, this UCL might fall through their grasp.

After what might be the biggest win for AC Milan in this UCL so far, they fall into a tight third place position with five points. After beating PSG 2-1 on matchday four, they rose from last place to third. Only trailing behind PSG by one point now, there is a huge chance that AC Milan can turn things around and advance to the knockout stage.

After a tragic loss against Dortmund on matchday four, Newcastle fell from second place to last place in Group F. With one win, one draw, two losses and four points, you can’t count out Newcastle just yet. Only two points behind second place, Newcastle can turn things around with just one win.

Be sure to stay updated with this group because with how close these four teams are in points, anybody can advance.

UCL Players to Watch:
Álvaro Morata (Atlético de Madrid)
Morata is tied with Manchester’s United’s Rasmus Højlund with five goals as the leading goal scorer. He plays a key role in Atlético de Madrid, playing 342 minutes and completing 56 passes. He is a major reason why Atlético de Madrid is first in their group.

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Haaland was debated for last season’s best player, and placed second in the Ballon d’Or nominations. With four goals, Haaland is tied for second with the most goals scored in the UCL and it’s fair to say that he has not disappointed this season. In addition, the Norwegian has 24 total attempts on target and one assist, making him one of the most dominant forwards in the competition so far.

Antoine Griezman (Atlético de Madrid)
A Ballon d’Or winner, Griezman had gone under the radar for the past few seasons until now. He is tied with Morata and Haaland with four goals, however, his role in Atlético de Madrid is not to score goals. With a whopping 185 passes completed, Griezman is amongst the best distributors in the competition.

Minjae Kim (Bayern Munich)
A center-back known for his aggression, strength and ability to read opponents, Kim leads the competition with 40 balls recovered. In addition, he’s successfully blocked three chances and won three tackles. And with 15 total clearances, Kim is in new form for this competition.

UCL Winner Predictions:
The English Premier League team Manchester City is the most likely winner of this season’s UCL. This club not only leads in goals scored but also leads the competition for possession and passing accuracy. With an average of 69% possession and 94.3% passing accuracy after four matches, they dominate the competition in terms of attack. In addition, the club’s offense is such a threat that Manchester City leads the competition in the total number of attempts with 108, 28 more than second place.

Other clubs to look out for include Bayern Munich, Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid. Each of these clubs ranks high in aspects of goals, possession, passing accuracy and distribution. In addition, all three clubs are currently ranked first in their respective groups, meaning that it’s more than likely that you’ll hear more of them during the knockout stages.