Having seen Chelsea and Manchester City battle it out in the final to determine the winner of the Champions League last season, English sides continue to shine in the competition this term.
Of the last three Champions League finals, two have been contests between two Premier League teams, and an all-English final might be on the cards again this year.
City Seem The Team to Beat
Premier League frontrunners Manchester City are certainly looking like the team to stop in Europe’s elite competition this season. City are currently priced at odds of 27/10 in the outright markets, for those betting on the Champions League, to win the tournament. They’ve managed to edge out a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain to top their group this term. Many a Champions League prediction will have City as the favorites to go all the way this year and win the competition for the first time in their history. Manager Pep Guardiola and his team will be determined to learn from the heartbreak of last season, as they were edged out 1-0 by Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in the final.
The signs are certainly looking promising going off their form in the Premier League, with City managing to win 18 of their first 23 games of the campaign. Just two defeats from those matches have seen Guardiola’s side build up a healthy lead at the top of the table. As long as City doesn’t run out of steam, they will take some stopping to be denied at least a place in the Champions League final.
Reds Eyeing Final Return
Six-time European Champions Liverpool will also be seeking a return to the biggest game in club football this season. Again, the signs look positive with the Reds flying through a Champions League group that included the likes of AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, and Porto. To not only top the group but to go on and win all their games in the pool stages just shows the quality this Liverpool squad possesses under boss Jurgen Klopp.
The German tactician has already guided the Merseyside outfit to European glory by beating fellow Premier League outfit Tottenham in the 2018/2019 final. Many of the squad that beat Spurs in that final in Kyiv are still at the club and know what it takes to reach the showpiece event.
Blues and Red Devils Still in The Mix
Of course reigning champions Chelsea will still fancy themselves to reach the final, while Manchester United will have to show signs of improvement if they are to reach the game in St Petersburg on May 28th. Chelsea has real quality in their side and has shown they are capable of beating any team in Europe on their day. As for United, they are still working their way through a transitional phase before a new permanent manager is appointed. Success for the Red Devils in Europe this season appears to be more of a hope than an expectation of the club at this moment.
There is no doubting the quality of players in all four of the English teams left in the Champions League, and perhaps two of them might go head to head in St Petersburg this summer.
