Champions League Group G predictions and odds: Wolves hunting last 16 spot

Team-by-team guide, betting predictions, best bets and analysis for Champions League Group G.

Lille

Manager
Title-winning boss Christophe Galtier departing for Nice this summer was a big blow for Lille and they've made a bad start to life under Jocelyn Gourvennec, who has previously managed Guingamp and Bordeaux in the French top flight.

Transfer activity
Lille lost two key players from their Ligue 1-winning side in Boubakary Soumare and Mike Maignan and have been relatively quiet on their transfer front with Amadou Onana from Hamburger their only permanent arrival.

Key man
Jonathan David made 46 appearances and scored 12 goals in all competitions last season and the Canadian forward remains crucial to the Lille cause.

Prospects
Lille made it as far as the round of 32 in last season's Europa League and lost five of their six group games the last time they were in the Champions League in 2019-20.

And there is little to suggest they will be more successful in their European endeavours this season with the team having made a stuttering start to their title defence in Ligue 1.

The 4-0 thrashing by Nice suggests there are defensive frailties which could hold them back and key forward Burak Yilmaz is another year older so they could struggle and, even in a more open section, may finish bottom.

Inside info

Best 11
Grbic; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Bradaric; Ikone, Andre, Yazici, Bamba; Yilmaz, David.

Penalty taker Burak Yilmaz

Set-piece aerial threat Burak Yilmaz

Card magnet Benjamin Andre

Star rating out of five Two

Salzburg

Manager
One of the less experienced managers in the tournament, 33-year-old Matthias Jaissle took charge of Salzburg back in July but has made a strong start in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Transfer activity
Midfielder Nicolas Capaldo is an exciting arrival from Boca Juniors and Bernardo will shore up their rearguard but the club have been hit hard by the sales of Zambian pair Enock Mwepu and Patson Daka to Brighton and Leicester.

Key man
With Erling Haaland and Daka moving on in recent years, Karim Adeyemi is the latest attacking starlet who Salzburg look to for something special.

Prospects
Salzburg fought admirably in a tough Champions League section featuring Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid last season but look weaker following the losses of Daka and Mwepu and manager Jesse Marsch, who is now at Leipzig.

Adeyemi is an exciting forward but Matthias Jaissle has no experience of managing in continental competitions and qualification for the knockout phase could be beyond their reach.

That said, their domestic obligations are not as strenuous as the other teams in this group and with an attacking mindset, they could secured third position.

Inside info

Best 11
Kohn; Kristensen, Solet, Wober, Ulmer; Capaldo, Camara, Seiwald; Sucic; Adeyemi, Sesko.

Penalty taker Karim Adeyemi

Set-piece aerial threat Rasmus Kristensen

Card magnet Mohamed Camara

Star rating out of five Two

Sevilla

Manager
The most experienced of the managers in this section, Julen Lopetegui led Sevilla to the 2019-20 Europa League title and has previously enjoyed stints in charge of Porto, Spain and Real Madrid.

Transfer activity
Thomas Delaney was a smart signing from Borussia Dortmund while Erik Lamela arriving from Tottenham softened the blow of losing Bryan Gil as part of the same deal. Forward Rafa Mir, who has joined from Wolves, could also prove to be a shrewd piece of business.

Key man
Morocco forward Youssef En-Nesyri netted 24 goals in all competitions last season and made more appearances than any other Sevilla player last year with 52.

Prospects
Sevilla are well-versed in how to go far in the Europa League but have less recent experience in the Champions League, featuring in the competition for the first time since 2017-18 last term.

They made the knockout stages on that occasion and the La Liga club should again be fancied to make the last 16.

Lopetegui is a great coach and Ivan Rakitic, Delaney and Jesus Navas provide the team with leadership and experience.

They finished only two points off Barcelona in La Liga last term and are too good not to make the top two at least.

Inside info

Best 11
Bono; Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Acuna; Jordan, Fernando; Suso, Gomez, Lamela; En-Nesyri.

Penalty taker Youssef En-Nesyri

Set-piece aerial threat Jules Kounde

Card magnet Diego Carlos

Star rating out of five Four

Wolfsburg

Manager
A Champions League winner and World Cup runner-up as a player, Mark van Bommel is only in his second ever first-team manager role but has made a positive start with Wolfsburg.

Transfer activity
Wolfsburg have done well to keep the bulk of a strong squad together and to it they have added two intriguing German forwards in Max Philipp, formerly of Borussia Dortmund, and Luca Waldschmidt, who returns to the Bundesliga after netting ten goals in 39 matches for Benfica last term.

Key man
Dutch target man Wout Weghorst is the focal point of every Wolfsburg attack and managed 20 goals in the Bundesliga in 2020-21.

Prospects
This Wolfsburg team may surprise a few people in the Champions League this season, having defied expectations to beat Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Monchengladbach to a top-four berth last term.

An inexperienced coach and a lack of recent European pedigree threatens to hold them back but they have the players to compensate.

Weghorst is a leader from the front, Max Arnold is commanding in midfield and Maxence Lacroix and John Brooks have formed a telepathic relationship at the back.

They have already beaten Leipzig in the league this season and could fluster some of the continent's more established outfits.

Inside info

Best 11
Casteels; Mbabu, Lacroix, Brooks, Roussillon; Schlager, Arnold; Baku, Philipp, Steffen; Weghorst.

Penalty taker Wout Weghorst

Set-piece aerial threat Maxence Lacroix

Card magnet Jerome Roussillon

Star rating out of five Three

Best bet

Wolfsburg to qualify
3pts 5-6 BoyleSports

Group preview

Wolfsburg are currently top of the Bundesliga after a 100 per cent start to the domestic campaign and their confidence should be high going into their opener with Lille.

The same cannot be said for the Ligue 1 champions who are struggling in the absence of former manager Galtier, while there have also been significant departures at Salzburg this season such as Premier League new boys Daka and Mwepu.

Sevilla are set up well to excel in this company and are unsurprisingly favourites to top the group but the better bet could be to back Wolfsburg to join them in the last 16.

Having last played in the group stage in 2015-16, there is little expectation from the Wolfsburg fans which may work in their favour.
Weghorst is a powerful central striker and only Leipzig (32) conceded fewer goals than the Wolves (37) in the Bundesliga last term.

Van Bommel has plenty to learn as a manger but the former Dutch star has made a strong start in the dugout and has the tactical nous to at least lead his side out of the section.

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