MY ACCOUNT
Fixtures and UK kick-off times
Paris Saint-Germain vs Juventus (September 6, 8pm)
Benfica vs Maccabi Haifa (September 6, 8pm)
Juventus vs Benfica (September 13, 8pm)
Maccabi Haifa vs Paris Saint-Germain (September 13, 8pm)
Juventus vs Maccabi Haifa (October 5, 8pm)
Benfica vs Paris Saint-Germain (October 5, 8pm)
Maccabi Haifa vs Juventus (October 11, 5.45pm)
Paris Saint-Germain vs Benfica (October 11, 8pm)
Paris Saint-Germain vs Maccabi Haifa (October 25, 8pm)
Benfica vs Juventus (October 25, 8pm)
Juventus vs Paris Saint-Germain (November 2, 8pm)
Maccabi Haifa vs Benfica (November 2, 8pm)
Teams
For the third straight year, Paris Saint-Germain have begun the campaign with a new name in the dugout.
Christophe Galtier is aiming to be the man to finally deliver Champions League success to the French capital.
With Lionel Messi looking back to his best and combining with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar to devastating effect, this team could do some serious damage in this season’s competition.
They are joined by Juventus, whose last two campaigns have been disappointing by their standards.
The two-time European champions have lost some key men this summer but have also made some strong additions — among them ex-PSG man Angel Di Maria.
Fellow two-time kings of Europe Benfica are making their third consecutive Champions League group-stage appearance and reached the quarter-finals last term, losing to eventual runners-up Liverpool.
Portugal’s most successful club have made a strong start to the new season, winning eight out of eight games in all competitions.
Those three Champions League regulars are joined by Maccabi Haifa, who have qualified for the tournament for only the third time.
Israeli champions on 14 occasions — including in each of the last two campaigns — the Greens also shared a group with Juve on their previous appearance in 2010-11.
Key matches
If PSG are to secure top spot and top seeding for the last 16, their games against Juventus could well be the most important.
And the Ligue 1 champions have the chance to send out an early message when they welcome the Bianconeri to the Parc des Princes on Matchday 1.
Should Juve come out on top in that contest, though, the return fixture in Turin on Matchday 6 could turn out to be decisive.
One to watch: Dusan Vlahovic
Having joined Juve from Fiorentina in January, Dusan Vlahovic wasted no time in opening his Champions League account as he netted just 32 seconds into his competition debut against Villarreal in the last 16.
It remains the free-scoring Serb’s only Champions League goal — the Old Lady lost the Villarreal tie on aggregate — but do not expect that to be the case for long.
After finishing 2021-22 with 29 goals in all competitions, the 22-year-old has picked up where he left off at the start of the new season, bagging four times in four games.
Hot prospect: Goncalo Ramos
Rumoured to be on the radar of several Premier League clubs, Goncalo Ramos already has four European goals to his name this term, starting the season in style with a hat-trick against Midtjylland in Champions League qualifying.
The centre forward has also netted twice in his four league appearances and looks set for a statement campaign.
Benfica have lost the considerable goal threat of Darwin Nunez following his move to Liverpool but perhaps the Portugal Under-21s prodigy can step up to fill the void.
LiveScore verdict
Paris Saint-Germain
Juventus
Benfica
Maccabi Haifa
While most will surely be tipping talent-loaded PSG to win Group H, it would hardly be an almighty shock if Juve were to pip them to top spot. In any case, we are tipping both to advance to the knockout rounds.
Benfica have finished third or better in five of their last six group stage appearances, although they face a tougher task than last term, when they benefitted from being drawn against a Barcelona team in disarray.
Maccabi, meanwhile, could be in for a rough ride. They have lost four of their last five encounters with teams from Europe’s top five leagues, including a 7-2 defeat at Tottenham in the 2020-21 Europa League.
