Champions League predictions: Winner, dark horse, the Premier League team who go furthest, breakout star and more
Here's a look at the big questions ahead of the big kick-off this week
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Yes, after what seems like an eternity of midweek nights without the game's greatest domestic tournament, the Champions League returns to our lives this week.
The world's biggest names - and five English teams - begin their quest to win it all, starting this Tuesday.
But what do we have to look forward to? Here's a look at the big questions ahead of the big kick-off:
Which English team will go the furthest?
Miguel Delaney: Manchester City
They have a relatively forgiving group, all told, and Pep Guardiola's football is actually far better suited to Europe than it is the Premier League. City have to be targeting the final four at least.
Jack Pitt-Brooke: Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has won the competition twice with Barcelona and while this squad is not as good, it now has so much quality in attacking positions City can go toe-to-toe with Europe’s best. There will always be concerns about the defence, however.
Ed Malyon: Chelsea
It should be Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola and the team he has assembled there, but their defence is not good enough to stand up to the test of playing Barcelona, Real Madrid or Juventus. Chelsea have flaws but Antonio Conte has shown that between transfer windows is where he does his best work and if he can iron out the wrinkles – as he showed last year he can very effectively do – then the Blues have as good a chance as any English team of reaching the last four.
Ben Burrows: Chelsea
Logic says Manchester United given the vast summer outlay and their form to start the year but Chelsea have a tournament nous and - crucially - a manager that should see them go well. Conte has infamously never won a cup but worked miracles with a historically poor Italy side at Euro 2016 and a similarly pragmatic, backs to the wall approach could help them upset the odds here.
Samuel Lovett: Chelsea
Manchester City certainly have the means to cut open sides with their devastating frontline but questions continue to persist over their defence. Against the attacking might of the likes of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, City are likely to come undone. Although Chelsea are somewhat duller in comparison, there’s a sense the defensive discipline of the side and their ability to grand out results will see them reach the furthest stage of the competition out of the Premier League’s cohort. Don’t expect any English side to win it, though.
Jack Austin: Manchester United
Tottenham at Wembley, in a group with Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, has a whiff of a Europa League spot, but I expect the other four sides to all progress to the Round of 16. Manchester City have the strongest squad and Liverpool’s attack will blow sides away. Chelsea’s depth is a worry but Jose Mourinho loves the Champions League and knows how to play knockout football so don’t be surprised if Manchester United outdo the lot.
Evan Bartlett: Manchester City
Paired with Napoli, Shakhtar and Feyenoord in Group F, City should get through to the knockout rounds with ease and can push on from there. They have a bigger squad, a better defence and have had another season to adapt to Pep Guardiola’s system. As good as that young Monaco side were last year, we should not forget that City really had them there for the taking and should have gone much further in the competition.
Who is this year's dark horse?
MD: Borussia Dortmund
In terms of dark horse, it's a toss-up between them and Tottenham Hotspur - and thereby who comes out of the group. Neither are super-clubs but both have a distinctive and effective way of playing. Dortmund however have the greater experience and some ascendant stars.
JPB: Besiktas
Have added even more quality and experience this summer with Alvaro Negredo, Pepe and Gary Medel. Besiktas have a canny manager in Senol Gunes and a very difficult home to go to in their new Vodafone Arena. Not an easy group, though.
EM: Napoli
Perhaps I should have tipped Atleti here rather than among the main contenders, but looking at the groups it is hard to see how Napoli won’t progress, and the team that has emerged as Juventus’ main contender in recent seasons could worry the superclubs if they get rolling. Maurizio Sarri has been a revelation as coach and his squad has players primed to break out. While Arky Milik’s injury derailed them a little last season, a front line of him, Dries Mertens, Jose Callejon, Lorenzo Insigne in any combination will cause lots of problems.
BB: Napoli
Maurizio Sarri’s men are playing the best stuff in Europe and although Group F isn’t the easiest Napoli have the attacking firepower to trouble anyone in the latter stages. Lest we forget they led Real in both legs in the last 16 a year ago.
SL: Napoli
From Marek Hamsik and Dries Mertens to Lorenzo Insigne and Kalidou Koulibaly, Napoli’s starting line-up sounds like a whos-who of European transfer targets. The Italians have done well to hold on to their prized possessions and, as a result, possess the means to give the competition’s giants a run for their money. They’ll have few issues in terms of qualifying from the group stages and, should they get lucky in their draw, could go on to reach the latter stages of the tournament.
JA: RB Leipzig
It may be their Champions League debut, but RB Leipzig are my dark horses. Unlike Monaco, who have had the core of their team ripped from them, Leipzig’s finances mean that they have been able to go into the Champions League with a near unchanged squad from last season, with Naby Keita, Emil Forsberg, Timo Werner and co. With Besiktas, Porto and Monaco in their group, they will be confident of finishing top and avoiding a giant in the Round of 16. After that, you never know.
EB: Napoli
Napoli have been unfortunate to run into the behemoth that is this current Juventus team in domestic competition but there is no shame in being the second best side in Italy. They have won their first three Serie A game this season and with a relatively easy group in the Champions League should be able to coast through without exerting themselves too much early on. While it would be a push to see them go all the way there’s no reason they cannot reach the semi-finals and upset one or two of Europe’s bigger names along the way. No side will relish coming up against a frontline consisting of Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Marek Hamsik.
Who will be top scorer?
MD: Lionel Messi
Messi remains the one and appears to have responded to the sale of Neymar by somehow ramping up his form. A wizard.
JPB: Robert Lewandowski
Bayern Munich have a fairly gentle group – PSG, Anderlecht and Celtic – and they create so many chances for Lewandowski he could fill his boots and be well into double figures by Christmas
EM: Neymar
Neymar and PSG will likely fall short of winning the competition despite Unai Emery’s knockout prowess but the Brazilian should rack up a lot of goals this season and with four games against Celtic and Anderlecht in the group stage he could fill his boots.
BB: Cristiano Ronaldo
Who else?
SL: Cristiano Ronaldo
Much has been written of Ronaldo’s recent metamorphosis. Having adopted a more hands-off approach to his game, the Portuguese has ironically enjoyed greater personal success in front of goal. He was the competition’s top goalscorer last season and with the forward continuing to defy Father Time, expect him to repeat the feat this time round too – assuming he remains injury free.
JA: Cristiano Ronaldo
The holders have the toughest group of the big guns so Ronaldo is already at a disadvantage, but he had only managed two goals before the quarter-finals last year. He then scored 10 in five games – against Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Juventus. I’m backing him to do it again.
EB: Cristiano Ronaldo
This competition’s all-time top scorer and the golden boot winner for the past five seasons can do it again. Ronaldo has adapted his game as he has aged, now focusing on finishing off the chances his team creates rather than doing it all himself. Zidane managed his star man well last season, resting him for unnecessary league fixtures and allowing him to shine as Madrid went deep in the Champions League. Expect more of the same this year.
Who is this year's breakout star?
MD: Marco Asensio
‘Breakout’ is a stretch for someone already so well regarded and who scored in last season’s final but this season it will be impossible to not start Asensio – a superstar in the making.
JPB: Youri Tielemans
Has a big job on his hands at Monaco, walking into a team that has lost half of its best players, but Tielemans proved that he can handle the responsibility when he was first put into the Anderlecht team at the age of 17.
EM: Patrik Schick
Schick had a hell of a summer, with his move to Juventus falling through because of problems with a medical and then only a last-ditch loan move to Roma getting him the chance to play in the Champions League. But with that opportunity, Schick will shine and the 21-year-old striker is not only the great hope of the Czech Republic but also potentially one of the continent’s leading centre-forwards down the line. Watch him closely…
BB: Naby Keita
The eyes of the world – or at least Merseyside – will be on Leipzig’s main man and given just how hard the German side fought to keep him for their bow in this tournament the pressure is on him to deliver. Fear not though, Keita has all the tools to be an instant star on this stage and get Liverpool fans purring a year early.
SL: Corentin Tolisso
The French football factory is producing no-end of young talent, with Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele the most recent exports fresh from the conveyor belt. But while the pair have shot to stardom on the back of a series of stellar performances, fellow countryman Tolisso has been slowly bubbling away beneath the surface. Moving to Bayern Munich from Lyon this summer for €41.5m – a Bundesliga transfer record – the versatile central midfielder could be the man to rejuvenate the Germans’ ageing midfield unit. His evolution is far from complete but in a side with an abundance of top-class players who will naturally compliment his attacking abilities (he scored 14 goals in all competitions for Lyon last season from a variety of positions), the 23-year-old stands poised to enter the European mainstream.
JA: Marcus Rashford
He is already a breakout star in his own right in England, but has never played in the Champions League, and his searing pace will terrify defenders on the continent. He has started the season brilliantly and, despite a not scoring as many as Romelu Lukaku, has arguably been United’s best player. Rashford could do for United what Marco Asensio did for Real Madrid last season.
EB: Marco Asensio
Asensio's performances for Spain in the European Under-21 Championship and early stages of this La Liga season suggest he possesses everything needed to become a future Ballon d’Or winner. The Real Madrid youngster has only played 255 minutes in this competition but did score in last season’s final. Expect him to play a much bigger part this season.
Who will win it?
MD: Real Madrid
This is a team which, especially with Barcelona losing Neymar, boasts by far the strongest squad ever assembled and ultimately that will tell. An unprecedented three-peat beckons for the team who is synonymous with European success.
JPB: Juventus
Surely the last chance for this generation of Juve players to win it, after losing the finals in 2015 and 2017. They lost Leonardo Bonucci and Dani Alves this summer but added more quality and should have enough to finally get over the line in Kiev.
EM: Atletico Madrid
While Real Madrid have the best squad, Zinedine Zidane’s early-season issues and the sheer difficulty of winning three back-to-back Champions Leagues mean it’s time to look elsewhere this year. And why look far when Atletico can continue their brilliant run in this competition. Atleti have been eliminated by the same team in each of the last four season - two finals, a semi-final and a quarter-final – and it hurts when it’s your cross-town rival. But this summer they kept the band together and in January they will receive reinforcements in the shape of Diego Costa and Vitolo. Antoine Griezmann, Saul Niguez, Angel Correa and Lucas Hernandez are a year older and a year better. If they take a step up then this is entirely within their reach.
BB: Real Madrid
They only won it four months ago but they appear to have done the impossible and become even better in the interim, all without signing anyone of note. The rise of Isco and Marco Asensio make Real even more dangerous and, given how their rivals around them appear to have slipped back, I can’t see past an unprecedented hat-trick for the 11-time winners.
SL: Real Madrid
Real remain the side to beat. After completing a historic double, all focus at the Bernabeu will be firmly fixed on landing the triple – a feat never achieved in the modern era. With their closest rivals out of form, and Paris Saint-Germain not quite yet the finished article, despite their stellar summer splurge, the current European champions are the best team on the continent by a long shot. Only injuries or political upheaval inside the club itself could derail the side in their European quest.
JA: Real Madrid
Winning the Champions League three times in a row looks nigh on impossible given how long it took a team to retain it since the revamp from the European Cup in 1992, but Real Madrid are still leaps and bounds above everyone else in Europe. Barcelona have got worse, Bayern Munich are not all there and might just be too soon for Paris Saint-Germain. As for the English clubs, semi-finals would be an achievement for most.
EB: Real Madrid
While history would suggest a three-peat is impossible, it is hard to look beyond anyone other than this side. Zinedine Zidane has shown an aptitude in rotating his squad while keeping them all happy, excelling where so many of his predecessors have failed. Madrid made no eye-catching transfer signings this summer, instead adding depth to what is already the best team in world football. The era of the pampered galactico is gone and Madrid have a team of hard-nosed winners.
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