Champions League Preview: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund Make up Group D; Schedule Predictions

The 2012-13 Champions League Group Stage sees its first round of games take place on Tuesday. 32 club squads will compete to see which will prevail Europe's top club. Here is a look at Group D.

Real Madrid

Jose Mourinho's squad is off to the worst start in its history and the locker room drama grows daily as people try and figure out why Cristiano Ronaldo is "sad." Throw in the fact that this is easily the hardest group in the tournament and Real Madrid, who is supposed to win the group and the tournament, could be one of the two teams that fails to make the knockout rounds. Things don't get easier as a first match against Manchester City will only increase the pressure on Madrid. If Ronaldo falters, the other set of Galacticos will be called upon to take control.

Ajax Amsterdam

A year ago, the champions of the Eredivisie failed to get out of a group with Real Madrid, but they will look to rectify that this year with a stronger club and weaker Madrid. This is a gifted club that could land in second place if the other squads underperform. However, they are the underdog in the group and could wind up in last place.

Borussia Dortmund

Last year's Bundesliga champions are currently in a deadlock for third place on the table but have looked composed and solid through the beginning of the season. Marco Reus is on the cusp of stardom and the squad has already garnered former German coach Jurgen Klinsmann's seal of approval for being a top club. They should get out of the group should the Merengues continue to struggle; they may even win the group and the entire tournament.

Manchester City

The English champions will look to make put themselves down as championship contenders. With David Silva inked to a new contract to supplement the likes of Carlos Tevez, Samir Nasri, Joe Hart, Kolo Toure, Pablo Zabaleta, Maicon, Javi Garcia, James Milner, Sergio Aguero, and Mario Balotelli, this team is stacked. They could be the class of Group D and the eventual champions.

Schedule

Predictions

Real Madrid: 4 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw, 13 pts

Manchester City: 4 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw, 13 pts

Borussia Dortsmund: 3 wins, 1 loss, 2 draws, 11 pts

Ajax Amsterdam: 1 win, 5 losses, 3 pts

Real and Manchester pass while Borussia gets close. Ajax proves to be no chance for the other star laden squads.

Read about other groups at the Champions League. 

Group A Preview: ASG, FC Porto, Dyano Kiev, Dinamo Zagreb

Group B Preview: Olympiakos, Montpelier, Schalke 04, Arsenal

Group C Preview: AC Milan, Malaga, Zenit St Petersburg, Anderlecht

Group D Preview: Real madrid, Manchester City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund

Group E Preview: Juventus, Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Nordsjaelland

Group F Preview: Bayern Munich, Valencia, Lille, Bate Borisov

Group G Preview: Barcelona, Benfica, Spartak Moscow, Celtic

Group H Preview : Manchester United, Braga, Galatasaray, CFR Cluj-Napoca