Champions League is Back!

The greatest club cup competition is back tonight! It seems to have been an eternity since that exciting Final at Wembley Stadium in May but after such a long wait, the UEFA Champions League is finally back to enthrall our evening viewing.

Once again, there is much to look forward to with plenty of sexy and attractive match-ups. The prize at the end of this is of course a place in the Champions League final at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon next May.

Estadio da Luz - Lisbon's Stadium of Light

The last time the final of Europe's premier cup competition was played in Portugal's beautiful capital, Celtic were the champions against Internazionale.

Can Celtic recapture scenes like this against Karagandy last month?

Unfortunately for Celtic, football has definitely changed a lot since 1967 and there is certainly a great bias financially towards the big clubs of England, Germany, Spain and Italy, even if Michel Platini has tried to open up the competition by making it easier for the champions of the lesser leagues to qualify for the lucrative group stages. Hence, the likes of Viktoria Plzen, BATE Borisov, Cluj etc.

Speaking of Celtic, they are drawn in one of the more attractive groups of the Champions League although it will be quite tough to expect the Scottish champions to progress with the quality in the group. However, Lionel Messi's Barcelona, Mario Balotelli's AC Milan and former champions, Ajax Amsterdam will all pay Parkhead a visit, which will please Celtic fans to no end.

Messi himself has said that Parkhead is possibly the best ground to watch football in Europe.

One thing in favour of Celtic - they have beaten Barca and Milan at Parkhead in recent times.

So who are the teams to look out for this season? 

How about champions, Bayern Munich? Now with super coach Pep Guardiola, Bayern Munich should be expected to go from strength to strength. Let's not forget that under outgoing coach, Jupp Heyneckes, Bayern had one of their greatest seasons, winning the unprecedented German league-cup-European Cup treble, so Pep has already got quite a bit to to do to at least match his predecessor's achievements.

Nevertheless, with Bayern's squad stronger than ever - Mario Gotze has controversially joined from Bayern's big rivals, Borussia Dortmund and once back from injury, should compliment the talents of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Thomas Mueller and Mario Mandzukic at the Allianz Arena, and they should top the group easily.

City have struggled so far this season 

Their toughest challenge could be Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City who must be expected to qualify for the 2nd round for the first time in their history given that the only other teams to worry about in their group are CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzen. Even with City's apparent defensive deficiencies due to Vincent Kompany's injury, City's quality should be too much for CSKA and Plzen if not quite enough to beat the might of Bayern.

Can Rooney and RVP help Moyes guide United to glory in Lisbon?

City's big rivals, Manchester United, should be thereabouts with the quality they have in Rooney and van Persie - they are in yet another group where they are clear favourites with Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen and Real Sociedad expected to compete for a place behind them. It'll be quite a bit to expect new boss, David Moyes to deliver on Europe's biggest stage - it's the first time he will be managing a club in the Group Stages (his Everton side did make the qualifying rounds in 2005 of course).

One wonders if being drawn in such an easy group is beneficial for United's progression in the competition - last season they were drawn in a piss easy group but got eliminated by Real Madrid early in the knockouts.

Did Ivanovic and Luiz have their minds elsewhere at Goodison Park? 

At least, Chelsea should be able to avoid the disaster of being the first champions to be eliminated in the first round last season - Roberto di Matteo lost his job as a result. They are in a fairly easy group by their standards and under Mourinho, who will want to make up for his last Chelsea tenure, and win the Champions League with the Londoners, they should stroll through the group even if that loss at Everton has set them back somewhat in terms of being contenders this season.

Is Ozil Arsenal's secret weapon?

As for Chelsea's big London rivals, Arsenal, they face their biggest challenge yet to take their usual spot in the Champions League second round, being drawn in the same group as Marseille, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli - all four clubs are title contenders in their respective leagues and this Group of Death should be a cracker to watch. Mesut Ozil could be the key - his play has already made a difference to Arsenal's offense and given his European pedigree, he could very well keep Arsenal's superb record of progression intact.

Dortmund's latest star, Aubemayang

Marek Hamsik - Napoli's heart once Argentine, now Slovak

It'll be a tight one between Arsenal, and Borussia Dortmund and Napoli, both of whom are scoring goals aplenty in their respective leagues. Both clubs are amongst the top goal scorers thanks to Reus, Aubemayang, Lewandowski, Hamsik, Higuain and Callejon. Let's not forget that Dortmund lost their key playmaker, Mario Gotze in the off-season - Marco Reus has carried on where Gotze left off.

Bale is playing in the Champions League at last - even if it took 85 million to do so

Then there are the Spanish giants, Barcelona and Real Madrid who on paper have the most talented sides in Europe. Neymar and Gareth Bale make their much highly anticipated debuts in the Champions League - both have started life in La Liga pretty well (never easy when you're making your debut for two of the world's most followed clubs).

How will Neymar go in his first ever Champions League?

On paper, Barcelona and Real Madrid should have the offense to take down even the tightest of defenses. But this is the Champions League, and sides like AC Milan and Juventus will go out and try and upset the rhythm of Ronaldo and Messi.

Tevez could be key to Juventus winning their first Champions League since 1996

Juventus are probably Italy's best chance at European glory this season. They've already finished a season unbeaten so Antonio Conte's next step is winning the Champions League while retaining the Scudetto ahead of Napoli and AC Milan.

Who else should we watch out for?

Cavani and Ibrahimovic will be key to PSG hopes

Paris St Germain under Laurent Blanc have started Ligue 1 slowly but have found the form that made them champions last season. They still have Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Javier Pastore and Gabriel Ezequiel, and of course, Napoli's Edinson Cavani has joined the club to bolster France's chances of winning only their second European title. PSG came so close to upsetting Barcelona last season and the new rich boys of European football will be keen to go one step further - especially with Monaco set to join them in the future in the Champions League.

David Villa has been a revelation for Atletico

Atletico Madrid could spring a surprise in the Champions League too - just as they have done so far in La Liga. They along with Barca are the only other side in La Liga with a 100% record and there's lots of talent playing for the red half of Madrid - David Villa has joined from Barca and is scoring goals aplenty, continuing where Radamel Falcao left off and there is quality from goalkeeper Thilbaut Cortouis to fellow striker, Diego Costa.

The Basque boys are back!

Atletico's fellow compatriots from the north are back in the Champions League for the first time in 10 years. Last time Real Sociedad were coming off the back of a season where they pushed Real Madrid hard for the title. This time, they made the Champions League in slightly quieter circumstances. Arsenal reject, Carlos Vela, has found his niche at the Basque club and fans are hoping that against Bayer Leverkusen and Shakhtar Donetsk, Real Sociedad could repeat their performance from 10 years ago when they made the 2nd round before losing to Lyon.

The Champions League is back folks! And I can't wait.

Here are my tips to make the 2nd round -
Group winners - 
Manchester United, Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona

Group runners-up - 
Real Sociedad, Juventus, Benfica, Manchester City, Schalke, Arsenal, Porto, AC Milan