Five Bold UEFA Champions League Predictions
After a summer break, Europe's biggest club tournament returned last month, and there are some strong contenders for the title in 2021/22.
Chelsea, along with Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich, began this year's campaign with high hopes. Punters can check out odds on oddshark to see how some of these favourites rank in terms of chance.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo stole the show this summer with their transfers to PSG and Manchester United, respectively.
With the exception of Real Madrid's three consecutive UCL victories from 2016 to 2018, no other team has repeated as champion since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990, making Chelsea's prospects of repeating slim.
Here are five bold predictions for the Champions League this season.
Three Premier League teams will qualify for the UEFA Champions League top four.
#1. Three EPL sides to reach semis
This season's Premier League teams competing in the UEFA Champions League are among the best in Europe. Last season's finalists were Manchester City and Chelsea. Both teams assessed their squads' strengths and weaknesses and reinforced where necessary.
While Manchester City bought Jack Grealish, Chelsea signed Romelu Lukaku to help them with their goal-scoring problems. Ibrahima Konate has been added to Liverpool's backline. The Merseysideiders already have a number of talented players on their books.
Manchester United has finally bulked up and now looks like a European powerhouse. The Red Devils have gone about adding some world-class players to the team over the last couple of seasons. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves credit for developing the young players in the group.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane, Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, and Luke Shaw are among the players who make United a strong contender this season. The Premier League teams have a good chance of progressing far in the UEFA Champions League this season.
#2. Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski to be this season’s top scorer
Despite the fact that both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are in their 30s, Robert Lewandowski is the better goalscorer at the moment. Over the previous two seasons, the Polish international has scored 20 goals in 16 UEFA Champions League outings.
Both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have moved on to new teams. Ronaldo may have returned to Manchester United, but the club is no longer the same as it was when he departed in 2009. While he is likely to do well, outscoring an in-form Lewandowski will be difficult.
Messi is surrounded by a tremendous amount of talent. As a result, we expect that PSG's goals will be distributed among various players, and that the former Barcelona man will not be particularly productive.
Borussia Dortmund hotshot Erling Haaland is scoring for fun in the UCL, and is already leading the charts, but we do not expect his side to push all the way past the quarters.
#3. Not PSG’s time yet
PSG's pieces are in place after Messi and his teammates joined the Ligue 1 club's army of talent this summer. The Parisians have high hopes given their squad's potential after falling short in spectacular manner the last two seasons, but it may not be enough.
They kicked off their season in style, outclassing a star-studded Manchester City 2-0 in Paris. Messi announced his arrival in style, and while his experience in Europe will be vital, the French giants may falter at some point.
The pressure on Kylian Mbappe will be enormous as he prepares to leave Paris Saint-Germain next summer. Messi isn't getting any younger, and Neymar's career has been marred by major injuries.
#4. Ajax will top Group C
Ajax is in Group C alongside Dortmund, Besiktas and Sporting Lisbon, but the Dutch team has already proven its worth in the Champions League.
Even when the team loses key players from prior seasons, Ajax is always a topic in top form. The young Dutch champions went to Portugal and dismantled Sporting Lisbon 5-1, ensuring they had collected maximum points in their first two matches. Next they welcome Dortmund at Amsterdam in what is seen as the biggest clash of the group.
Although it has been a few seasons since their spectacular run to the semifinals, this current team boasts a number of talented players who will undoubtedly get the attention of larger teams in the near future.
#5. Liverpool can go all the way
Six time champions Liverpool were not involved in any significant amount of business save for the purchase of Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig. They were written off, even in the domestic league for their failure to add into a thin squad.
Their first UCL assignment was against a resilient AC Milan side at Anfield. It took a well-taken Jordan Henderson strike to seal the match after Milan had come from behind to snatch a lead.
