Atlético Madrid

Champions League 2022/23 Group B Preview: Atletico Madrid the favourites in a tight group

by
charliestewart
5 September 2022

With the opening day of the Champions League just around the corner, Group B is expected to be one of the tightest groups in the competition.

Atletico Madrid are touted to progress, but the likes of Porto, Bayer Leverkusen, and Club Brugge are not to be underestimated. Here is our preview:

Champions League Group B Fixtures

Matchday 1 – September 7

Atletico Madrid vs Porto
Club Brugge vs Bayer Leverkusen

Matchday 2 – September 13

Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid
Porto vs Club Brugge

Matchday 3 – October 4

Club Brugge vs Atletico Madrid
Porto vs Bayer Leverkusen

Matchday 4 – October 12

Atletico Madrid vs Club Brugge
Bayer Leverkusen vs Porto

Matchday 5 – October 26

Club Brugge vs Porto
Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen

Matchday 6 – November 1

Bayer Leverkusen vs Club Brugge
Porto vs Atletico Madrid

Champions League Group B Preview

From this group, only Atletico Madrid featured in last season’s knockout stage. Diego Simeone’s men will be expected to repeat the feat this year, although the departures of several first team players could have an impact.

Their progression through the group stages came at the expense of Porto, who finished a point behind Los Rojiblancos in third place. The most recent meeting between the two was explosive, giving us three injury-time goals and three red cards.

Club Brugge had their work cut out last term, being drawn up against Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and RB Leipzig. The Belgian side picked up a respectable four points, but this was far from enough to see them through.

As for Bayer Leverkusen, they make their return to Europe’s biggest club competition after two seasons out. They cruised through their Europa League group last year, but were eliminated in the first knockout round by Atalanta.

Die Werkself have had a tough start to the campaign, losing four of their opening five in all competitions. They will need to turn this around as soon as possible if they wish to stand a chance of qualifying for the next round.

Atletico Madrid are the favourites to top the group, while Porto will fancy themselves to claim second place. We expect that this will probably be the case. However, with no obvious standout, it’s a difficult one to call.