And it might just be the widest group of contenders seen for some years, thanks to the shifting sands of the European football landscape. Let's take a closer look.
1. Has the sun finally set on Real Madrid and Barcelona?
Since 2009, Real Madrid have won four titles and Barcelona three, stamping Spain as the unchallenged force in European football – not least when one considers the nation’s equally dominant displays in the Europa League.
But all good things must come to an end. With Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid in the off-season and Andres Iniesta swapping Barcelona for Japan, it does feel as though the end of an era is upon us. Nobody will be writing off Leo Messi, for at 31, he still has much to give – albeit his very best may be a fraction behind him.
Of course Real Madrid, looking for a fourth-straight title, and Barcelona – the defending Spanish champions – will be right in contention. But their aura of invincibility has waned. The question is: by how much?
2. But could their biggest rival also be from Spain?
Quite possibly. If there’s a team from La Liga that looks poised to strike, it’s Atletico Madrid. They look in fantastic shape – despite a patchy league start – and have a team that balances youth, experience, a winning mentality and a determination to succeed.
They get a nice mix of tests in the group stage in the form of Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and Club Brugge. Winners of the Europa League last season, they’ve kept the mercurial Antoine Griezmann, have the bullish Diego Costa in attack, Diego Godin in defence and perhaps the world’s top goalkeeper, Jan Oblak.
Add in midfield magician Saul Niguez, and the newly arrived Thomas Lemar, plus Diego Simeone on the touchline, and you have the makings of a team that couldn’t be more ready. And the location of the final? It’s in their newly-minted stadium, the Estadio Metropolitano.
3. What about Paris Saint-Germain. Isn’t it time they shrugged off their nearly-men tag?
Absolutely. As part of the tastiest quartet in this season’s group stages, Paris Saint-German will visit three of the most hostile venues in European football: Napoli’s passionate San Paolo, Liverpool’s history-laden Anfield and Red Star Belgrade’s infamous Marakana.
Those three clubs will be dying to serve it up to the Qatari-backed upstarts from Paris, who are developing a bad reputation for failing under pressure.
However, if PSG are going to make their European breakthrough, they have to learn to do it by winning in hostile venues, especially in the knockout phases. It may look hard, but these early tests are exactly what they need to prepare them for the later stages. It will give them real belief to go further.
It will only take a moment of magic from Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria or Julian Draxler to blunt most crowds, anyway. Given they’ve exited the competition at either the round of 16 or quarter-final stage every year since 2012-13, the time has come for a deeper run.
4. Are Man City doomed to fall short or can they go all the way?
City’s travails in the Champions League have mirrored the fortunes of PSG – clubs backed by big money from the Middle East who have conquered the domestic scene but so far failed to land the holy grail of European football.
Pep Guardiola is in his third season at Manchester City and now has them playing exactly the type of football he likes, furnished by the group of players he himself has chosen by hand. No expense has been spared and the end result was the deliverance of the English Premier League title.
But City again went off the rails in Europe last season, despite the great expectations. In the end, another of the game’s traditional giants – Liverpool – cut them down. That was a serious embarrassment for a club that has the highest of ambitions. Unquestionably, having won a title under Guardiola, they are better placed to succeed this time around.
5. Is Ronaldo’s arrival the missing link in Juve’s European puzzle?
He’s certainly the world class player they’ve lacked. Only one player in history – Clarence Seedorf – has won the Champions League with three different clubs. Don’t worry, Ronaldo firmly has that mantle in his sights.
Juventus have exceeded all expectations in the past few seasons, making the final of the 2017 edition and then cracking the quarter-finals last year. In that time span, they’ve downed Barcelona, Real Madrid, Porto, Monaco and Tottenham, so they can’t be written off.
The Bianconeri now stake so much of their identity on European success; the sight of AC Milan and their seven European titles is cause for rage. Winning Serie A has become expected rather than celebrated now, but at least by adding Ronaldo, they now have reason to be considered one of the genuine contenders.
