Have you recently been watching Europe's champions league football? If you have not, I can assure you that I am definitely keeping a close eye on it 😁. If you have been watching, let me know who think will win it this year. The first person to predict the team that actually goes ahead to win it stands a chance to win 1,000 Kenyan shillings.
This year , 2023 / 2024 , the competition seems tougher than it looks and in my opinion, there are only 5 teams who are likely to win it. As we enjoy the round of 16, take a moment to read this article, predict your winner and stand the chance to win 1,000 shillings from Buy or Hire in Kenya.
To come up with this list of favorites, I have considered the recent form of these 5 football clubs in their local leagues and in the champions league. The ranking has randomly been arranged.
- INTER MILAN (ITALY)
Many may not have been expecting Inter Milan to be on this list. However, you cannot underestimate the Italian giants this season. They were finalists in the 2022 / 2023 season losing 1 - 0 courtesy of a brilliant Rodri strike ( Man City ).
This season in their local league ( Serie- A ) , after having played 24 matches, they are 1st with a 9 point gap over second place Juventus. They have won their last 5 games and have only lost 1 game and drawn 3 games. They also have the best goal difference in the league.
In the champions league, they finished second in a group consisting of RB-Salzburg ( Austria ) , Benfica ( Portugal ) and Real Sociedad ( Spain ). They won 3 games and drew 3 of them. They had the best goal difference in the group.
The fact that they are good defensively and have experienced players in the team makes them appear on this list. The danger men in their team are Lautaro Martinez ( Argentina ) and Marcus Thuram ( France ).
They beat Atletico Madrid of Spain 1 - 0 at home ( San Siro ) and are expected to win the second leg which is expected to be a close game.
2. REAL MADRID (SPAIN)
A list of champions league favorites is incomplete without having Read Madrid on the list. They hold the record for Champions league victories with a record of 14 victories.
Currently in La Liga ( their local league ) , they are 1st after having played 25 matches and are closely followed by Girona who are 6 points behind. They have lost 1 game and drawn 5. In their last five matches, they have won 3 and drawn 2.
In the Champions league group stages, they finished first in a group consisting of Napoli ( Italy ) , Braga ( Portugal ) and Union Berlin ( Germany ) . They scored the most goals in their group and conceded the least which translated to them winning all their 6 games.
In their round of 16 tie, they beat RB Leipzig of Germany 1 - 0 courtesy of a Brahim Diaz goal. They are expected to complete the job in the second leg at the Bernabéu stadium in Madrid.
Key Madrid players to watch out for are Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior.
3. ARSENAL (ENGLAND)
Arsenal is a team which seems to be unlucky in Europe. They like PSG are the only team in this list not to have won this competition. They are back in the competition after 6 long years of absence.
The gunners ( their alias ) have had a mixed season in England's Premier league initially struggling to replicate the attacking flair they displayed in the 2022 / 2023 season that saw them finish second in the league. Arsenal are currently 3rd with 13 games remaining to play trailing Liverpool ( leaders ) by 2 points.
In the Champions league, Arsenal have been lethal as they managed to finish 1st in a group comprising of PSV ( Netherlands ) , Sevilla ( Spain ) and Lens ( France). They won 4 games, drew 1 and lost 1.
In the round of 16 , they face Portuguese side Porto who are currently third in Portugal. With Arsenal winning their last 5 games in emphatic fashion , it is surely set to be an epic clash.
Despite having not won the title Arsenal are a team taunted to win this years competition. Their danger men are Bukayo Saka , Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.
4. MAN CITY (ENGLAND)
I know you were probably wondering at what point the treble winners will appear in the list. Man city were the best team in the world in the 2022 / 2023 season managing to win the Premier League , Champions League , Fa Cup and the Club World Cup. It was also their first time to lift the UCL trophy in their history.
Many argue that this season, they have not been at their best in the premier league and that is evidenced by them being 2nd in the league training Liverpool by 1 point and leading Arsenal by 1 point. However, the return of Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne seems to have revived their title push.
In the Champions league, there has been no doubt in their form with the champions finishing 1st in a group consisting of RB Leipzig ( Germany ) , Young Boys ( Switzerland ) and Crvena zvezda ( Serbia ). Despite their group being easy on paper, they still managed to win all of their 6 group matches.
In the round of 16 first leg against Copenhagen of Denmark, they managed to get a 3 - 1 away win courtesy of goals from KDB , Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden.
Their key danger men for city are Erlin Haaland , De Bruyne and Phil Foden.
5. PSG (FRANCE)
PSG like Arsenal are the only team not to have won a Champions league title among the 5 clubs in this list. However, with the attacking talent they have, you cannot fail to mention them as favourites when discussing Champions league contenders.
In Ligue 1 ( their domestic league ) PSG currently lead the way with 53 points from 22 games and are currently 13 points ahead of second placed Brest (kindly do not have perverted thoughts 🙃). PSG will always be expected to win their domestic league due to the lack of competition there.
In the Champions league, the Parisians managed to find a route to the knockouts by finishing 2nd in a group of death consisting of Borussia Dortmund ( Germany ) , Ac Milan ( Italy ) and Newcastle ( England).
With Kylian Mbappé scheduled to join Real Madrid in the summer, it will be exciting to see how he bows out of the tournament with his home team. Their key players to watch out for in PSG are Ousmane Dembélé , Kolo Muani, Gonçalo Ramos and Mbappé himself.
THE FIRST ONE TO PREDICT THE WINNER OF THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE IN THE COMMENTS SECTIONS STANDS A CHANCE TO WIN 1,000 KENYAN SHILLINGS
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TOP 5 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FAVOURITES 2023 / 2024