The Champions League group stages are about to get underway. Michael Bell details the Dutchmen set to take part in the competition.
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Group A
Bayern Munich are the top seeds in Group A and Matthijs de Ligt is part of the German giants squad. He has had a frustrating campaign so far and has spent most of it on the bench. However, De Ligt will be aiming to break back into the eleven and shine in the Champions League
Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United have had a poor campaign so far in the Premier League but they could gain confidence in the Champions League. Tyrell Malacia is currently injured while Donny van de Beek is unlikely to feature in the games.
FC Copenhagen are the underdogs in the group with Kevin Diks a regular starter at right-back. Galatasaray are the other club in the group and they signed Dutch-born Hakim Ziyech this summer.
Group B
PSV Eindhoven are back in the Champions League and Peter Bosz’s side will be aiming to reach the knockout rounds. Patrick van Aanholt, Jordan Teze, Jerdy Schouten, Joey Veerman, Noa Lang and Luuk de Jong are all part of the squad, along with young talent Isaac Babadi.
PSV will have a battle with Arsenal for the top spot in the group but will not come up against Jurrien Timber as he is set to miss most of the campaign with an injury.
Sevilla and RC Lens are the other two teams in the group but they have no Dutchmen in their squads.
Group C
Real Madrid are the big name in Group C and they will come up against Italian champions Napoli and Portuguese outfit Braga.
Union Berlin are also in the group and their squad features former Vitesse centre-back Danilho Doekhi and winger Sheraldo Becker, who was a Netherlands youth international but plays for Suriname now.
Group D
Orkun Kokcu’s Benfica are in Group D and will face off against an Inter Milan side that features Denzel Dumfries and Stefan de Vrij. Dumfries was recently in excellent form for the Netherlands and De Vrij also earned his place back in Ronald Koeman’s squad following his performances in Italy.
Real Sociedad and RB Salzburg make up the rest of the group.
Group E
Eredivisie champions Feyenoord are in Group E of the competition and Arne Slot’s side will be fancying their chances of progressing. Justin Bijlow, Lutsharel Geertruida, Quilindschy Hartman, Thomas Beelen, Mats Wieffer, Quinten Timber, Calvin Stengs, and Javairo Dilrosun are just some of the Dutchmen who could feature during the group stage for the Rotterdammers.
Memphis Depay will be aiming to get fit again and take his place in the Atletico Madrid side. The attacker will be keen to play in Rotterdam again and get back into the Netherlands reckoning.
Celtic and Lazio are the other two sides that make up Group E.
Group F
French stars PSG are the favourites to progress from Group F but Kylian Mbappe and co have been placed in the Group of death.
AC Milan are keen to go far in the competition and they have new Dutch international Tijjani Reijnders in midfield. Donyell Malen has started the Bundesliga season in good goalscoring form and his goals could be crucial for Borussia Dortmund in the group.
Finally, Newcastle United are back in the Champions League following a long absence and they are bringing with them Dutch centre-back Sven Botman, who has been excellent in the Premier League for the Magpies.
Group G
Defending champions Manchester City are in Group G and Nathan Ake will once again be looking to get his hands on the trophy.
Their biggest challenge in the group will be RB Leipzig, who look dangerous thanks to the excellent Xavi Simons, who has made a blistering start to life in the Bundesliga.
Young Boys and Crvena Zvedza are the two teams in the group looking to pull of a shock against the bigger sides.
Group H
The excellent Frenkie de Jong will be hoping to guide Barcelona out of the group stages and they will face Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk.
The final team in the competition this season is Royal Antwerp, who have Marc Overmars as technical director and Mark van Bommel as head coach. In the squad, they have Owen Wijndal, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, Gyrano Kerk, and Vincent Janssen. The Belgian side will be looking to make a big impact in the competition and Van Bommel can enhance his reputation as an up-and-coming head coach.
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