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English teams have seriously struggled in Europe’s elite competition in the recent past, but I think that is all about to change, with both Manchester sides now having the quality within their squad to seriously challenge Europe’s elite.
Manchester City have added a whole array of talent in the off-season, with the likes of Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva arriving, whilst United have opted for Premier League experience with Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku the headline arrivals.
It goes without saying that Manchester City’s squad is incredibly strong. They have £50million players on the bench every single game, and have versatility not only in attack, but also in defence. Tactically Pep Guardiola can mix it with the very best and after his introductory season last campaign, I feel he is now ready to go for the Champions League title. Man City have spent enough money and have no real excuses now. They have invested heavily in both experienced and young players, and a world class manager. When you spend that sort of money, you can’t just be looking to win your domestic league – the ambition is clearly to be a consistent force in European football too and stop the La Liga dominance.
For me, Chelsea and Tottenham’s squads are too small to seriously compete for the Champions League at this stage, and Liverpool lack the overall quality in their team, especially in defence where they would be taken apart by the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Who is your pick for the Champions League? Bayern Munich are the bookies favourites, whilst Manchester City (14/1) are slightly preferred to Manchester United (15/1). If you fancy backing up your prediction, check out the Champions League odds 2018. I think City are good value, as they may yet still add more players to their already hugely talented squad, whether that be in the final weeks of August or in the January transfer window.
Manchester United, after winning the Europa League, have experienced winners in their squad and also a manager who knows how to win the Champions League in Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese man will be relishing the opportunity to be back in the competition and show the world what he and his players are capable of. United have both skilled players and physically big players, that will enable them to compete with all types of opponents. They could be a couple of players short still, but the club have allegedly reopened transfer talks with Inter Milan for Ivan Perisic, his arrival would be a big boost.
