UEFA Champions League Preview – Group F

Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United will have interesting challenges in Group F of the UEFA Champions League. The Red Devils will play against Atalanta, Young Boys, and Villarreal, against whom they recently lost in the Europa League finals, after an amazing penalty shootout. This is a chance for them to get even with the Spaniards, but also to start the quest for the UCL title.

Manchester United

Ole Gunnar Solskajer has a team that has the potential to win every competition. However, our humble impression, in this case, is that the Norwegian manager doesn’t have the skill nor the knowledge to guide this unit, and that he is, in fact, the weakest link in the entire chain. Let’s put it like this. Imagine Manchester United with Zinedine Zidane or Carlo Ancelotti in charge. Enough said.

Ronaldo landed at Trafford, the same as Jadon Sancho, which gives the Red Devils arguably the best pair of wingers in the world. Raphael Varane is the new center-back which should make United’s defense top three in Europe, and that immediately makes them a solid contender for the UCL title.

However, we believe that Solskajer will copy/paste Gareth Southgate and his defense-and-wait tactics in all the important matches. United needs to control and lead the game to fully use its potential, not wait for the rivals and their moves.

Atalanta

La Dea is the most romantic story in football over the past few years. They are playing total football, with plenty of goals, and win or lose, the hears of all the neutral fans are on their side. The Italians have been the most efficient team in the top five leagues in the last three years, and even though they still didn’t win any trophies, Atalanta is one of the nastiest possible opponents you can get.

When they appear on the court, do know that over 2.5 goals and both teams to score is pretty much inevitable, which is superb info for us bettors. Many of those who followed Atalanta had the opportunity to earn nice money.

La Dea is an experienced team, with the majority of its players having between 26 and 30 years, meaning that they are at the peak of their careers. Robin Gosens, Duvan Zapata, Luis Muriel, Ruslan Malonovskyi, Remo Freuler are just some of the names Gasperini has at his disposal.

Villarreal

The Yellow Submarine won the Europa League, which was their biggest success ever, and also the first prominent trophy. A legion of old veterans, guided by Unai Emery, one of the most disrespected and underestimated coaches of today, amazed everyone going all the way in the second most prominent European club competition.

When playing against Villarreal, the rivals have a feeling that they face a stone wall, against whom they can’t make any progress whatsoever. This team plays dull and boring football for watching, but they always end up on top, scoring one goal and snatching a win. Those who like to bet on high-scoring should avoid the Spanish representative.

Raul Albiol, the former Real Madrid center back is the biggest name of the team, the same as Alberto Moreno, who used to play in Liverpool. Gerard Moreno is the best player, with the fantastic striker being involved in at least 60% of all the goals scored by this crew.

Young Boys

The Swiss team is a regular member of the European competitions in the last few seasons, and they already played a few times in the UCL recently. This year, they went through the qualifiers, eliminating Slovan, Cluj, and Ferencvaros, earning the spot in the group stage without any remarks.

The Youngsters are playing fast and dynamic football and want to score no matter the result. Pacey wings and attacks down the flanks have been their trademark for quite some time, and they aren’t willing to let go of it.

To be honest, Swiss champions don’t have chances to finish above the last place in the group, but they can make someone’s life harder.

Here are the peviews for other UEFA Champions League groups:

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group G

Group H