Three domestic champions and one runner-up makes for quite an interesting group in the Champions League. The champions of Portugal, Ukraine and Turkey take on the Italian giants in group B of the UEFA Champions League. It is no doubt, going to be a tough group for each of the clubs, giving them an even chance at success. In spite of the departure of their talismanic striker Gonzalo Higuain, Napoli will still be the strongest contender to advance into the round of 16 from a group that includes Benfica, Besiktas and Dynamo Kyiv.

Predicted finish: Napoli (1), Benfica (2), Besiktas (3) and Dynamo Kyiv (4).

Clubs

Benfica

Losing one of their star players in Jorge Jesus last summer, could not stop the mighty Portuguese from reclaiming a hat-trick of the titles in the domestic league. However, they have been far from their best when it comes to European competition. Missing out on the Europa League title a couple of times and failure in putting a top performance in the Champions League.

However, those seem to have changed last year, when the Eagles put up a strong fight against Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. They were forced to exit at the end, but a 2-2 draw against the German Champions in Germany does sound like a promising result.

Benfica manager Rui Vitoria would hope to start things this season from where they left off.

Last season: UEFA Champions League quarter-finals

Best European Cup performance: winners (1960/61, 1961/62)

Besiktas

Turkish champions Besiktas are up for a topsy-turvy season ahead with high-profile departures from the club. They will mostly miss Mario Gomez, Gokhan Tore and Jose Sosa among others.

To soften the blows, Turkish champions will rely on the talents of loanees Vincent Aboubakar from Porto and Anderson Talisca from Benfica. While Portuguese mid-fielder Ricardo Quaresma will play a key role in shaping the overall attack for the team.

In this group Besiktas are highly unlikely to make advancement to the round of 16. So, they should set their sights clear on the third spot for another stint in the UEFA Europa League, having failed to make it beyond the group stages of the competition last season.

Last season: UEFA Europa League group stage

Best European Cup performance: quarter-finals (1986/87)

Dynamo Kyiv

Dynamo Kyiv went beyond expectations last season, making it to the round of 16. And were eliminated by semi-finalists Manchester City in the competition. Kyiv has won the domestic title for two consecutive years and are pretty much indomitable in Ukraine.

The loss of defensive stalwart Alexander Dragovic to Bayer Leverkusen leaves a big gap to fill in the heart of the defence. While, another major departure is that of Miguel Veloso to Genoa.

Given these departures Kyiv would be lucky to have been able to keep hold of winger Andriy Yarmolenko, who has been their best attacking threat last season.

Last season: UEFA Champions League round of 16

Best European Cup performance: semi-finals (1976/77, 1986/87, 1998/99)

Napoli

Having chased the Serie A title last season only to fall short of the ever dominating Juventus. Napoli only succeeded in reaching the round of 32 in the UEFA Europa League. The task this season for Napoli is even more difficult having sustained the loss of record-breaking goal scorer Gonzalo Higuain. The Argentinian scored 36 goals in Serie A last campaign.

Higuain’s boots will be filled by Poland centre-forward Arkadiuz Milik. Coach Maurizio Sarri has also added new players to the midfield, strengthening the team altogether.

However, the campaign is Seria A this season might be a little tougher than expected but Napoli are firm favourites to top the group in UEFA Champions League for a place in the round of 16.

Last season: UEFA Europa League round of 32

Best European Cup performance: second round (1990/91), round of 16 (2011/12)

Key fixture

Besiktas vs Dynamo Kyiv

Kyiv have played well while travelling and a similar result against Besiktas could well result in Kyiv making it to the Europa League. But the Turkish champions will not go down without a fight. It will be an interesting fight on the pitch to see when these two teams meet in the second game week in Turkey.