Who will win the 2020/21 Champions League?
Quite simply, the Champions League is the biggest club competition in European football. Thirty-two teams from Europe must qualify for the competition and become the winner or the runner-up in their group to go through to the knockout stages of the competition. Below is a look at the 2020/21 competition and how the tournament might play out.
The story so far
Right now, German side Bayern Munich are the defending champions, but, as is always the case of a Champions League champion, they’ll face stiff contention for their title. In 2020, they won their sixth Champions League trophy, defeating Paris St Germain behind closed doors in Lisbon. This tally includes their wins back when the competition was known as the ‘European Cup’.
How is this season’s Champions League progressing?
Into April and the Championship has reached the quarter finals. The defending champions have a little bit of work to do, as they finished the first leg trailing Paris St Germain, of all sides, 2-3. Their visit to Paris is going to be a tough one.
Another team who had a rough night away from home were Liverpool. At the Estadio Di Stefano, in Madrid, Zinedine Zidane’s boys punished the lads from Merseyside 3-1. Liverpool will have a tense game on their hands when Real Madrid head to Anfield for the second leg.
Meanwhile, Chelsea and Manchester City have fared better in the competition. City clinched a home win of 2-1 against Borussia Dortmund, while Chelsea, away from home, handed out a 2-0 defeat to Porto and gave themselves a two-goal cushion as they go into the second leg.
How could teams win or lose?
Chelsea are looking safe on set pieces and have improved their game in this regard massively. They also have several clean sheets to their name in the Premier League, not to mention their 1st leg victory against Porto, so they’re going to be tough to crack.
City have been a juggernaut and breezed into the league. However, they’ve a history of cracking under the pressure in the Champions League and have entered the competition with this mental baggage. As strong as they look in the early stages, history never feels far from repeating itself.
Liverpool, meanwhile, look strong in midfield, while Paris St Germain (PSG) have big guns such as Angel di Maria, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. PSG will be looking to deepen the current dent in Bayern’s hopes, and they have the players to make it happen.
Real Madrid also have the players to help them carry the trophy back to Spain. The side have a youthful blend of veterans, including Sergio Ramos, and talented younger players such as Eden Hazard and Vinicius Junior. The younger players bring freshness to Madrid’s play, whereas the older players perform their duties resolutely and with a cool head.
A look at some past winners
Several of the teams who have reached the quarter-final stage of the competition have laid their hands on the trophy. Chelsea, Porto, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern have all lifted it, but of these teams, only Chelsea and, to a small extent, Real Madrid have looked convincing so far. The other teams who have done so aren’t having an easy time in the competition.
This could turn out to be a Champions League made memorably by dark horses. PSG have performed well against Bayern and Chelsea may be looking to increase their Champions League final wins from one to two. Either team could surprise us.
Who are the favourites to win the Champions League?
The Champions League is exciting especially if you’ve placed a bet on a specific football team to win. Many fans across Europe can legally lay down some money backing a team to win a tournament like the Champions League. In particular, fans in the UK enjoy placing bets on football matches and tournaments. But like all football leagues, it’s difficult to predict who will come up trumps for you.
Interestingly, Manchester City, despite their demons in the championship, have been considered the strongest favourite to make 2019/20 their year in Europe. Like Chelsea, they have several clean sheets to their name as well.
However, their kindred spirits in Champions League terms, PSG, who have only reached the final once but failed to make it count, have been tipped to go one better in the tournament this time, too, despite being underdogs. With Neymar on the team, they have a powerful attack.
Meanwhile, the Anfield-ers have become major underdogs, but this is a side that almost lives for Europe, so it would be unwise to discount them. Some have done that, nevertheless, given the Reds’ lousy season in the Premier League, and they don’t see them bringing home the silverware to Anfield from the UEFA competition either.
Real Madrid have been prolific under Zinedine Zidane, lifting the trophy four times while he has been in charge. Even so, the team avoided a group stage elimination humiliation by the skin of their teeth this season. They topped their group on the final match day, but they’d have been just spectators following the rest of the competition if the other teams in the group hadn’t unwittingly done them a few favours. Just like the very best teams, Real Madrid can falter and they haven’t looked as strong in Spain’s La Liga.
The Champions League is providing its usual high levels of drama and is possibly gearing up a few surprises, with some of the heavyweights having gone out of the tournament early and some of the lighter weights looking stronger than expected. We’ll find out who was the strongest on 29 May at the Atatürk Stadium, in Turkey.
