With The Champions League about to return in force we take a look at the leading contenders for the title this season. And it may be good news for Chelsea. Indeed, after their recent scintillating form, we wouldn’t be at all surprised if some Blues fans have tried to buy their Champions League final tickets already.
Real Madrid
It seemed that they might run away with every trophy on offer this season after winning 22 games on the trot in a sumptuous autumn of football.
But the turn of the year saw an end to the victorious run and, while Real Madrid must surely still be favourites to win the trophy again, their recent form has given the others hope.
Barcelona
Not having their best season. But Lionel Messi has returned to the boil of late and when he plays well the team seems to respond. We expect Luis Suarez, quiet since his transfer, to have a growing impact on the team as the season progresses and Barcelona steadily improve. A team of Barcelona’s quality can never be discounted.
Chelsea
While Chelsea fans won’t be counting their chickens just yet we think that they have all the qualities to repeat their victory of 2012. They have the same resolve of that team but far more power going forward than than they did 3 years ago. The recent dip in form of Real Madrid has lead us to feel that, while they still can’t go toe to toe with Los Blancos, they do have the quality to contain them and hit Real Madrid on the break.
If these two don’t meet each other before, we could easily imagine this one being the final.
Bayern Munchen
You can’t leave these guys out of the equation. They have a squad bursting with talent and could feasibly field two teams who could get into the latter stages of the competition. Their game against Chelsea is the tie of the round.
Manchester City
They have yet to win the competition but they are far more than dark horses. Manchester City are an amazingly powerful side going forward and, if they can lose the naivety that has so far stalled their progress in this competition, then it may be their year. What we can say, with confidence, is that noone would want to draw Manchester City.
While Manchester City may come close, we see the eventual winners coming from Real Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern Munchen.
What do you think?
The Champions League kicks off again on Tuesday 17th February
