This year’s Champions League competition will see sweeping changes to the format, but the level of prestige on offer remains the same. This tournament is arguably the biggest club football competition on the planet, with many clubs preferring to win this one over their own domestic league titles.
There’ll be thirty-six clubs competing in this year’s edition, six more than in previous years. While all clubs will have ambitions to go all the way, realistically, there’ll only be a handful of teams that can have any semblance of confidence that they might come out on top. Let’s take a closer look at the teams eyeing European glory.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid have made the Champions League their own in recent years, winning five of the nine previous editions. That’s an incredible achievement, especially given the strength of other teams around Europe at the time, including those based in England. Even when it looked like they were down and out, Madrid just found a way to keep on winning. The defending champions will be confident they can come out victorious again in 2025, especially given that world superstar Kylian Mbappe has now joined the team. The sports betting odds have Real Madrid in contention to lift the trophy, just behind Manchester City. However, if Mbappe, Bellingham, and Vinicius Jr. can all hit top form, don’t be surprised if they quickly emerge as frontrunners once the season gets underway. This, after all, is their trophy.
Manchester City
Manchester City may only have one Champions League title, but it was the biggest one of all: winning your first European Cup is the most difficult. Once you’ve got that in the bag, you can begin plotting how you’ll add more of them to the trophy cabinet.
Though the Premier League is competitive, Manchester City seem to have found a way to ensure that the title heads to the Etihad each May. And they’re slowly but surely figuring out how to win in Europe, too. As we mentioned above, bookmakers have made City favourites to win this year’s Champions League. The fact that it’s likely to be Guardiola’s last year as Manchester City manager will provide even greater incentive. Of all the trophies that Guardiola would like to end his career at Manchester City with, there’s no doubt that it’s the European Cup.
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Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich didn’t have the best campaign last season. It was one of those rare seasons when the German team ended up with no trophies whatsoever. But you have to imagine that won’t last forever. They got pretty close to the European Cup last season, losing in the semi-finals to eventual winners Real Madrid.
The club will be hoping to bounce back from last season’s disappointment by pulling off a double swoop for the Bundesliga and the Champions League, which would also serve as a great way for Harry Kane to finally land a winner’s medal.
Arsenal
Arsenal have been steadily improving in the past few years under Mikel Arteta. Yet, while they’ve gotten pretty close to overtaking Manchester City in the Premier League, they haven’t quite made their mark in the Champions League just yet. There’s hope that that could all change this time around, however. Arsenal’s young team is reaching its peak, and there’s no doubt that they can beat any club on the planet on their best day. If they can add a couple of experienced players to the squad, then there’s every chance that they make it to the final. If they can, then Arsenal fans won’t care what happens in the league, since it’ll be the first time that they’ve ever won the Champions League.
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