It’s been a strange old season concerning football, within COVID-19 causing chaos within leagues all over the world. This chaos also had quite an impact in the Champions League, yet in a recent announcement by UEFA, the event will be completed in August. Rather than see a structured format where teams play one another over a matter of months, there will be a more condensed format, with all games being played out in Lisbon over a matter of weeks.
The very first games are scheduled to be played on August 12th, which will be the completion of round 16 games. Following on from there, the final will be played on August 23rd. As you can see, there is still plenty of action to go in this year’s Champions League, which is why we are looking at who the more probable winner will be. With betting markets such as ArabicBet hotting up, along with domestic leagues coming to a conclusion, all eyes are now on this tournament.
1. Manchester City
Manchester City undoubtedly has one of the best squads in the world right now. Pep Guardiola’s men really should have made it to the final last year, yet they managed to lose a game that they really shouldn’t have. By narrowly missing out last year, we feel that they will be hungrier than ever to get Champions League glory, especially considering the fact that they have fallen short in the Premier League this season.
The team still has to wriggle through a tough second leg against Real Madrid, yet they go into it with a 2-1 lead on aggregate. In all honesty, Manchester City has a bit more depth in their team than Real Madrid, with players like Sterling, Aguero, De Bruyne, and many others bolstering the ranks. With so much firepower, it’s hard to write Manchester City off against any team left in the competition!
2. PSG
Paris Saint Germain is another team full of talent and ability. Players like Neymar, Cavani, Mbappe, Di Maria, and Verratti are all superstars of this team, and they are always a handful for any opponent. PSG is already through to the quarter-final stage having dispatched Borussia Dortmund back in March, and now they are simply waiting to see who they will face.
PSG is quite a funny one really when it comes to Champions League action. In recent years, they have been a bit of a Barcelona type team, with all the players, yet consistently underperforming in the latter stages of the tournament. You’d have thought that such a squad will always be a contender for the title, which is why we feel that this year could be their year to finally get this monkey off their back.
These guys are definitely one of the teams to watch come August, and they are sure to produce some top-quality football.
3. Juventus
If we had to describe the reason for this listing in one word, it would simply be, Ronaldo. How can you ever write off a team when this man is in their line up? He’s the absolute beast of the Champions League, period, and he has tormented many teams over the years with his incredible goal scoring ability. He just has that ability to lift any team’s belief and make them feel like they really can achieve great things, just look at the Euro 2016 tournament!
As long as he stays fit through August, it’s impossible to rule Juventus out from being title contenders. The beast will be hungrier than ever to lift a trophy with Juventus too, having achieved so much success with his previous club, Real Madrid. Juventus actually lost their opening leg against Lyon 1-0 in the last 16, but we feel they will overcome this and be competing for the trophy in August.
4. Bayern Munich
If you think about the superstars of football right now, Bayern Munich is a team that would often pop into your head. Munich has been dominating the German Bundesliga this season, and they swept the floor with Chelsea in the first leg of their last 16 clash, with a 3-0 victory. One would assume that with such a lead going into the second leg, they will make it through to the quarters, and probably beyond.
With players such as Lewandowski, Muller, Coutinho, and Alaba all in the starting line up, Bayern Munich is just a machine this season. They are certainly a threat to any of the remaining teams, and we wouldn’t be at all surprised if they did emerge victorious in August.
